Staying off the freeways these days

Does anyone else feel like the highways are getting too dangerous to navigate in Houston? If I have to go to the burbs or something I'll jump on the freeway but lately when I have to go anywhere that's within 10 miles or less, I feel far more comfortable on the side streets. It adds time to my trips but it feels like a small price to pay for not having to deal with the terror of the Houston freeways. I always see cars driving insanely fast, or the opposite–the other day a woman in a minivan with kids in the back was driving like 20 mph on a very busy highway, causing a huge hazard. The tailgating, the changing lanes without looking, the aggressiveness…I've lived in Houston for over a decade and never had a fear of driving on the freeways despite it always being a bit hairy, but within the last year it's just gotten so bad. Am I the only one who has started avoiding the freeways as much as possible?