I don't know about other parts of the nation. But, we were just talking about this in the office today. My life is spent commuting, working, and spending time with my family. I'm seeing things on my commute the past month or so that are really mindblowing. I think it must be a reflection of something affecting people. Just this morning there was a five car pileup in front of my office. 35 mph speed limit, no stop sights, no speed bumps, straight shot, two lanes...no reason for cars to run into each other. Yet, there it was. Almost no traffic at the time, very early in the morning. I've had a drunk stagger in front of my truck at 6:30 am, almost getting killed. I've seen multiple people passed out on drugs or booze with their legs out in the street and their upper bodies sprawled on the sidewalks. Lots of tents and boxes people sleep in almost anywhere they can place one - freeway cloverleafs, alleys, parks, creeks. I have seen multiple massive crashes lately - probably 5 in the past week - where somebody runs a red light doing at least 50 and just turns their car into a yard sale - often with bad injuries. I'm guessing people are either passing out or just playing with their phones. I'm seeing accidents like this almost every single day, sometimes a couple per day.

There's got to be something going on, right? My coworkers notice it too. Just this past week we've got stories of close calls on our commutes. Any theories on what it could be? I can't imagine. Perhaps it's just coincidence.