Are Scottsdale drivers the worst in the Valley? Locals debate

‘Tis the season to complain about drivers in the Valley, and Scottsdale’s Reddit users are in the holiday spirit.

Just about anywhere you go, people will swear that the drivers in their city or state are the worst — but the numbers in the Phoenix metro area might just back it up.  

Perhaps it’s the car-centric sprawl of the Valley or the carefree attitude that comes with basking in the sunshine, but driving here is notoriously dangerous. About a year ago, an Arizona’s Family analysis found that Phoenix had the worst traffic fatality rate in the country among large cities. Another report found that Phoenix had the fourth-highest pedestrian killing rate in the U.S. between 2019 and 2023.

As for its little sister, Scottsdale, users on the city’s subreddit made the case that the infamously glitzy and wealthy locale may have the worst drivers in all the Valley. In a thread posted on Saturday, several posters shared memorable stories of the most glaring bad driving behavior or shared theories on what made the collective of drivers in Scottsdale so bad.

“I’ve lived in AZ all my life, but much more recently started working in Scottsdale,” one user wrote. “It’s the craziest thing to me. Stop signs don’t exist, people driving the wrong direction down one-way roads, roundabouts literally break people.”

Plenty of people blamed “snowbirds” — the influx of residents who only reside in the Valley during the warm winter months — for both the driving and the sentiment. That would explain what prompted the Reddit discussion in December.

“Ah yes the Classic snow bird season post. Remember our population grows by 300,000 to 400,000 during this time of year,” one user said. “It won’t be till post WM open that things get better. Turn on your dash cam folks.”

Another added that the widespread reckless driving “feels like a mix of the snowbirds and people on their phones.”

Some think things are getting even worse.

“I was born here and have lived here in all different stages of my life so far,” one person wrote. “The roads don’t feel safe at this point half the time between construction, snow birds under the speed limit, and every lifted pickup truck driver with manhood issues/person under 25 years old going felony speed everywhere they go. It genuinely sucks.”

Another Scottsdale resident agreed.

“I’ve lived here my whole life and it just gets worse and worse every year,” they wrote. “I’ll never forget the time a few years ago I was driving north on the 101 near Via de Ventura around 10 am and glanced over to see the driver next to me just casually eating a big ceramic bowl of oatmeal, no hands on the wheel.”

At least that driver was following a healthy diet.

One user requested that drivers on State Route 101 stop busting ass like they’re “auditioning for Mad Max Fury Road,” a perfectly apt comparison for the driving culture in Scottsdale.

“You can be driving 80+ in the HOV lane and people will get right on your ass — I’m talking less than 3 feet — and start honking and flashing their lights. It’s insane!”

So, if you’re heading into Scottsdale this winter, keep your head on a swivel. You’ve been warned.