This is beyond car brain. This is the increasing amount of people simply not giving a shit about the social contract over the years coupled with cops not doing their actual jobs in favor whatever it is they do (sitting in their cars fucking around in their phones and harassing minorities?)

But you see the lack of concern for the social contract in many other aspects of american life. Asking people to wear a paper mask during a pandemic was probably the most notable recent non car example. We all know how that went. In other cultures it’s a regular practice; you simply do it as a courtesy when you have recently had a cold. In A america during a pandemic 30-40% of the population revealed themselves to be utterly pathetic toddlers that can’t handle being asked to do something by a perceived authority figure or slightly inconvenienced.

This isn’t cars this is people and their culture.

I am from the UK, a large city too, and we have lots of cars and incredibly busy roads where it’s standstill a lot, but cars will move out of the way for emergency vehicles, you’ll drive on the kerb if you have to.

Edit: We also have paramedics on motorcycles and bicycles so that they can get there even faster if traffic is an issue. Or in city centres.

Where I live, if a person on the crosswalk doesn't move out the way of an ambulance, it goes on the national news lol.

If you accept this one anecdote of an ambulance being stuck in NY, then you have to accept my anecdote that everyone in the PNW moves over to let ambulances through no problem.

It’s not all the same.