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Is it: Tailgaters, Road Rage, Grooming while driving, No turn signals, Slowpokes in the fast lane, Driving greedy, The multi-lane dash, Staggering merge, Meals on wheels, or Driving with Cellphone? (http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/12/03/driver.pet.peeves/index.html)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/8_Lane_Traffic_Jam.jpgJon Gromer - AOL - Dec 4, 2007

Doesn't life seem more dangerous when you don't check the optional insurance boxes on a rental car contract? Last week I watched in horror from the driver's seat of my totally uninsured, shoestring-budget rental car as the rear quarter panel of a Crown Victoria lazily drifted almost to the skin of my precious rental's fender at 65 mph on Florida's Turnpike.

The near-sighted menace behind the wheel, a look-alike of the 'Mr. Magoo' cartoon character, forgot to use his turn signal and somehow couldn't tell that he was about to crumple my rental car with half my worldly possessions in it, and reduce my modest writer's lifestyle to Cup o' Noodles and cardboard-box living for a while.

As I finished my multi-state journey on the streets of my little corner in New Jersey (where Mad Max could have been filmed), I started thinking about what lunacy everyday drivers have to deal with on the road these days.

Here are the top 10 driving habits that drive me crazy, and probably get under your skin, too....http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/12/03/driver.pet.peeves/index.html

People who drive while using cellphones should have their license temporarily revoked and their right to own a cellphone permanently revoked. Period. As a motorcyclist I can't even begin to count the number of times I've been endangered by an idiot on a cellphone.:mad::mad::mad:

For me it's the tailgaters. Mount Rose is a treacherous highway where things can go wrong in a hurry and the road conditions can change several times in less than 100 meters, and where half the turns are blind, but even when I go 5 or 10 MPH over the limit I often get people so close on my tail that I can't see their license plate.

I've tried hand signals and slowing down to get them to drop back but it never works. The only thing I can do is ignore them and relish the fact that I am simultaneously forcing them to save some gas and driving them nuts by doing the speed limit.

It's not the worst or most dangerous thing, but I find the multi-lane dash to the exit the most vulgar....mentally picture a thug in baggy pants that slip off - mooning as they get their butt off the freeway.

For me it's the lady in a minivan putting on her makeup and eating a breakfast sandwich while talking on a cellphone and yelling at her kids in the backseat when she pulls out right in front of me on my Harley.

I have always been quite fond of those who feel it is your responsibility to wait in line for them and they rudely cut in front of you when the car in front of you moves up.

You have to be carefully taught, I guess.

Not all of these qualify as peeves for me. Here are the ones that make my Top 5:

1. Tailgating. A recent ODOT study found this to be the #1 cause of collisions, causing over 30% of them -- nearly equal to the #2 and #3 causes (excessive speed and failure to yield right of way, IIRC) combined. I've been injured twice in rear-enders, and although neither of those crashes was caused by tailgating, rear-ending is the mode of collision here so it's pretty poignant for me.
2. No turn signals. My #2 pet peeve. This doesn't cause that many actual accidents, but is responsible for possibly the majority of close calls I see. The sheer laziness of my fellow drivers being unable to literally lift a finger and signal their intentions never ceases to amaze me. This absurdity of this is always magnified when I'm burning 500 calories per hour on my bike. My local observations are that fully 1/4 of drivers here fail to signal turns, 1/3 to 1/2 fail to signal lane changes, and well over half fail to signal pulling over or pulling out from a curb.
3. Road Rage. Even here with supposedly the most civil drivers in America, it's amazing how some people will get worked up over the tiniest slights. Last week I honked at a pickup racing up a 30mph hill at 45mph, and the guy slowed down and paced next to me all the rest of the way up the hill, yelling at me how I'm not a cop and I have no right to tell him what to do. He even threatened to call the cops on me and turn me in for harassment. It was everything I could do to stifle a laugh at that point. For my part I remained calm, civil and coherent (none of which could describe him) through the entire exchange. That's actually pretty easy to do when you have a toddler in the car (who unfortunately may have learned some words from the other driver that I'd rather he not know about yet) and you want to set a good example.
4. Driving with Cellphone. But it depends on who's doing it. I don't condemn cellphone use 100% in all situations. I'll use my phone if I'm on a quiet road with no one around, and I'll even take brief incoming calls from my wife if traffic isn't too heavy. But I'll agree there are a lot of people who are simply incapable of operating heavy equipment while carrying on a conversation.
5. Driving while visually distracted. Not in the article's top 10 list, but makes my #5 and sure to rise from there. By this I mean reading, using the Nav system, watching videos, using your BMW's iDrive system or fussing with your stereo. Reading is the worst of these at the moment: I constantly see people in other cars reading books, papers, maps, and heaven knows what else. It's frightening. Nav and video systems are an increasing problem, and why hasn't someone filed a class action against BMW for continuing to foist iDrive on the world for so many years? Finally, changing channels on the stereo may not be a big deal, but other formerly simple tasks (adjusting bass and treble, setting the clock after a time change) can become incredibly involved and distracting thanks to the absolutely horrible ergonomics of the current generation of aftermarket car stereos.


As for the other stuff in that article? Annoyances perhaps, but not in the top 10.

Slowpokes in the Fast Lane: Occasional annoyance, even now that I'm a hypermiler. Even if I'm one of the slower cars and don't need to get around them, Left Lane Bandits (as Car and Driver always used to call them) still gum up the works, creating big packs behind them and pushing lots of faster traffic into the right lanes.
Staggering merge: Northwesterners are pretty good about this, but in Minneapolis where I grew up, a lot more people tend to be idiots about it. Around here, merges tend to be orderly, and friendly enough that people in the merging lane still often wave at the guy behind who let them in. But the few who merge too early or race past everyone and try to cram in at the end do still manage to gum things up from time to time.
Driving Greedy: See staggering merge. Only an occasional annoyance here.
The multi-lane dash. Pretty infuriating when you see it, but I don't see it on a daily basis.
Meals on Wheels. Depends on how you do it. Eating soup or enchiladas in stop and go traffic, not such a good idea. Feeding your kid baby food, even worse. Burgers and fries on a quiet highway, fine. Not something I see causing trouble on a daily basis.
Grooming while Driving: Please. I don't very often see women applying makeup or guys shaving with cream and blades. Heck, I've been known to use an electric razor while driving myself, though mostly while stopped at lights and never in heavy traffic. And besides, I can do it while looking at the road and I don't need a mirror.

i keep seeing one that happens a lot lately.....the multi-vehicle pass. it's not on the list, but it should be. i happens when someone decides to pull out and pass 2, 3, 4 or maybe more cars in front of them. how dumb can you get? what if the second person in the line needs to turn left, and there the passer is??? what if someone turns into that lane and ends up looking straight at an oncoming car? WTF???

I voted for tailgating. And related to that is the person who tailgates at night with the brights on. Another pet peeve is someone who refuses to dim their brights when they are coming at you.

Ha! I liked this line from the article...
"Highway departments should develop something like a high-speed snowplow to come up behind these 'pokers, and gently shove them over to the right."

Not using turn signals always bugs me, especially when changing lanes on a highway in traffic. Not only dangerous, but also impolite.

Speaking of impolite (and egotistical), I also hate when traffic is backed up and people will pass a line of stopped traffic by using a lane they know is going to end or exit, just so they can merge back into the thru lane at the last moment. These are usually the same people who stay in the left lane at all other times. They just use that left lane as their 1st option, and when things slow down, then veer over to the right to pass... and they probably wonder why traffic doesn't flow better.

My #1 pet peeve while driving wasn't on the list or mentioned in the article; people driving on winding mountain roads very slow and and then they speed to 75mph on the strait passing lanes, not allowing other vehicles to pass. The inconsiderate driver then jams on the brake at the end of the passing lane, slowing back down to 35 mph, only to repeat the process at the next passing lane.

Another pet peeve is someone who refuses to dim their brights when they are coming at you.Those people are often drunk, especially if they don't respond when you flash yours. Drunks often don't notice this because their pupils are dilated.

I used to work with a former cop. He told me that he always used failure to dim lights as probable cause for traffic stops, and well over 50% of the time the driver was over the limit.

I have a strong distaste for people that talk on the phone while driving.... that and tailgaters.

HID headlights.

Ohhh, I can not STAND people who don't use turn signals for lane changes. In Atlanta, where I drive, drivers are so rude that if you use a turn signal to indicate a lane change they will speed up so you can't get over. Therefore most people no longer use a turn signal.

I still do, and I let people in front of me because, seriously, in the long run, how much time do I lose by letting a car in front of me? Esp. compared to how much time you would lose if a car accidentally rear ended you because they didn't know you were getting over.

Logic: use it.

Ohhh, I can not STAND people who don't use turn signals for lane changes. In Atlanta, where I drive, drivers are so rude that if you use a turn signal to indicate a lane change they will speed up so you can't get over. Therefore most people no longer use a turn signal.

I still do, and I let people in front of me because, seriously, in the long run, how much time do I lose by letting a car in front of me? Esp. compared to how much time you would lose if a car accidentally rear ended you because they didn't know you were getting over.

Logic: use it.psyshack - it it the law in Oklahoma drivers need to use turn signals?

Not only is it not law in Texas, if you hint that you are going to lane change/pass drivers often block you. :rolleyes:

If someone *really* needs to get ahead of you the moment you
show intention to change a lane, and they do so, then the lane
change simply takes a little longer and you drop into the big
hole they left behind. No biggie. And the people following
probably see the whole thing play out and think "boy, that was
pretty discourteous for that guy to deliberately not let the other
one in". Well, I can hope.
.
For tight lines I've found that the "slow crush" tactic works
fairly well, even in boston: signal, and start moving over very
slowly, riding at the extreme edge of your own lane with the
leading wheels starting to ride the paint ... generally someone
will make a hole reasonably soon, but planning ahead helps.
.
Maybe my pet peeve is the surrounding drivers who don't give
others any maneuvering room to figure out where they're going, and
never account for the fact that maybe someone's from out of town
and hopelessly confused... that covers following distance and
bonehead moves all in one, I imagine.
.
_H*

Not only is it not law in TexasWHAT?? There are states where signals aren't required? WTF?

Work vehicles with equipment not tied down properly. My wife's Scenic hit a ladder on the motorway yesterday morning. Ripped the gear linkage out of the gearbox and left her stranded. I managed to pop the ball joint back into its socket on the side of the road and drove it home. I didn't find any ID on the ladder which is just as well...
Oh, and here's a good one: People driving on a run flat tire when its got no air in it. The sides wear away and the tread of the tire comes away leaving the car standing on two sidewalls!!
I had to dodge that during the summer. I guess run flats live up to their promise, for a while. Pity it's not noticeable to some that their tire is flat.
But my number one is tailgaters and number two is no indicators, especially on roundabouts. I just pull out in front of them and slow right down to make them brake. Dont worry, i dont do it if they are too close!

Here in NC they have a different kind of hypermiling: they lower or remove the tailgate, and reduce the weight of the truck by letting all the crap in the bed blow out. My brother-in-law hit a couch on the interstate. The truck that lost it, of course, took off.

Here in NC they have a different kind of hypermiling: they lower or remove the tailgate, and reduce the weight of the truck by letting all the crap in the bed blow out. My brother-in-law hit a couch on the interstate. The truck that lost it, of course, took off.

Haven't they seen Mythbusters? Tailgate down/off is bad for FE.

now that's it's cold up here on the frozen tundra, a winter peeve comes to mind.

it has several variations:

the driver that still has snow on his car, even though it hasn't snowed in 3 days
added to that is the one who still only has a hole cleared in that snow on the driver's side rear window. he probably cleared the front, but just barely.
another version is the guy who didn't clear his windows, just got off as much as he could running his wipers, while there's still a pile on his hood that he can barely see through, and that covers his headlights.

the below zero option:

the windows are fogged up inside, but the drive has scraped a peep hole on the front driver's side. he's waiting to get onto the highway with his side window rolled down so he can see oncoming traffic.

same version after freezing rain is of course has only scraped off his side of the front window, and not even bothered with the back.

see what you guys in texas miss? :p

My second biggest gripe wasn't there...

That's when someone passes you only to hit the brakes and turn off shortly thereafter forcing you to brake as well.

My second biggest gripe wasn't there...

That's when someone passes you only to hit the brakes and turn off shortly thereafter forcing you to brake as well.

I had forgotten about that one. Thanks for reminding me, I think.

No turn signals! Holy crap, it's like everybody here has no clue what turn signals are, where they are located, or how to use them. As a previous poster said, it probably doesn't cause a whole lot of accidents, but it's a common courtesy to let folks know where you're going.

My other pet peeve: folks around here have no idea how to use a merge lane. For god's sake, it's a MERGE lane, not a STOP AND WAIT FOR TRAFFIC TO CLEAR UP lane. Turn, accelerate, merge. This happens in town mostly, but surprisingly...on freeway onramps from time to time, too.