Top Ten Driving Peeves

The Toronto Star had a cute gimmick this week. They named it "List Week" and every day they'd have top ten/six/seven on a subject relevant to a given section. "Top Ten Road Movies", "Eleven Ways Restaurants Rip you Off", etc.

Jim Kenzie's been the Star auto writer for about 25 years and here's his top ten driving peeves.

http://www.wheels.ca/specials/article/716100

Amen to every single one of them, particularly tail-gaters and lane crashers

 

He had me until

 

My top 10 would only include a couple of his. Among those he forgot: When the green turn arrow comes on, hurry the F up and go because not many cars can make it through anyway; after the turn arrow has expired and you can still turn left on regular green light, get out in the intersection so the person behind you can make it through too; when traffic is backed up on the highway, don't be an idiot and try to get up to 70 when you'll only have to slam on the brakes to get back down to 40, which in turn causes everyone else to hit their brakes in a state of panic and brings traffic to a complete halt. And one of my biggest beefs with other drivers lately is the way people turn completely stupid at four-way stops. You get there first, you take off first.

 

No. 1 on my list?

Canadian drivers











;D ;D ;D Just kidding, JR.

 

Nos. 3 and 6 are particularly galling to me.

When I see someone overtly doing No. 3 in my rear-view mirror, I move subtly to block 'em just before they get to me. They're not going to pass me if I can help it all. They can wait their turn to get on or off the highway, or to move, just like everybody else.

When I see someone who has done No. 6, either straddling over the lines to take over two spaces, or, worse, parking diagonally and thus ensuring that no one will accidentally touch the side of their vehicle with a side door and making even more of a spectacle of their usually-nice, fancy car, all I want to do is take a key to it.

I think that, literally, every time I see it, although, unlike trying to block lane jumpers, I have never yet done this.

 

1. Left- and middle-lane bandits

"Drive Right'' not only means "drive correctly,'' it also means move the heck over. When you're on a multi-lane highway, you should be in the right lane unless you're passing someone. It's efficient, it's safe, it's polite – it's the law.

True. Different rules in some urban areas, though, where being in the correct turn lane and such for merging shouldn't be overlooked.

2. Tailgaters

They're invariably angry, especially towards the slow-poke "idiots'' they're tailgating. Hey – if the driver in front is such an idiot, why would the tailgater want to get that close to them? Guess you can't expect these fools to think that far ahead. Leave yourself at least two seconds between you and the car ahead.

On the highway, yes. But ever try to left turn in a metro intersection and that two seconds is what causes the switch triggering the light to turn yellow/red?

3. Lane-crashers

These people wouldn't barge in to a lineup at a movie theatre or the grocery store check-out counter. Why do they feel no compunction about doing so when a lane on the highway merges to an end? The guys who leave the driving lane and dive into the on-ramp to squeeze by two or three more cars are especially irritating – what makes their timetables so much more important than those of the rest of us?

Those who KNOW they're in the wrong lane should have to stay there a while. If you get in the wrong turn lane, tough. Especially so if you're jammed in traffic and you know your lane is to end soon. Merge ASAP, not only after you passed 20 other cars who got in the proper lane first.

4. Stealth drivers

These type of drivers are especially annoying – and downright dangerous – in poor weather. These people don't realize that their daytime running lights probably don't turn on the taillights (most cars do not do this automatically: shame on the car companies that do it that way; shame on Transport Canada for not requiring it). Think about it: Especially on highways where the vast majority of our kilometres are driven, it's actually more important to have the rear lights on than the fronts.

A related issue: People who don't realize that ONLY the Daytime Running Lights are on after dark. Again, no taillights.

The solution? Manually switch on all your lights, all the time.

5. Snow-blind drivers

These jerks don't clear all the snow off their car before driving away. This includes the roof – the accumulation can, and usually does, slide down to obscure the rear window. Ditto all lights, front and rear.

There should be a law on the books for this one everywhere. Ever had a sheet of snow/ice from one of those lazy drivers who can't be bothered to clean off his/her vehicle his yours? If you have, you'd probably clean off your vehicle for both yourself and fellow drivers in the future.

6. Greedy parkers

People who take up two parking spaces. I had to park two blocks away. Thanks a lot, you selfish creep.

While we're at it – I wish everyone would learn to back into their parking spots. It is so much safer when they leave.

Back in when convenient ... but understandably, it's not always convenient.

Anyone who is so self-important that he feels he needs two parking spaces has a life crisis. What ... you think your vehicle is that much more special than everyone else's? If you think it is, leave it home and make it a museum centerpiece.

7. The Idle Masses

Running a car at idle is the worst thing you can do – for the engine (raw gasoline can wash lubricating oil right off the cylinder walls), for your budget (your gas consumption rating is infinitely poor litres per 100 km) and for the environment (how can you justify spewing carbon dioxide into the air when you're not going anywhere?)

Switching off and back on again 30 times a minute – about as fast as it is possible to do – uses less fuel than idling for a minute. Even just a few seconds' idling is a bad idea.

Special places in hell are being reserved for big-rig truck drivers who know better – their engine manufacturers have been telling them not to do this for decades – and for people who have remote starters, the absolute worst accessory you can put on a car. Come on – it's Canada, of course your car will be cold first thing in the morning. Suck it up.

8. The four-wheel luge operators

Winter tires are designed for winter. We are in Canada; we have winter. Figure it out.

All-season tires should be called no-season tires: they're no good in summer (the compound wears quickly in the summer heat), they're no good in winter (the compound isn't grippy enough below 7 C). So far ,Quebec is the only province that mandates winter tires, but we shouldn't need our governments telling us to do the right things.

Oh, the worst thing you can do? Winter tires on the driving wheels, normal tires on the non-driving wheels. This makes the car virtually undriveable.

9. Know-it-alls

Those who have not updated their driving skills at an advanced driving school. You can tell these guys – they're the one in the guardrail in the first snowfall of the season. I've taken (or taught at) one or more advanced driving schools every year for 25 years, and never failed to learn something new every time. Okay, maybe I had more to learn. But most drivers out there have never EVER taken a lesson.

Scary stuff, kids.

10. Impaired drivers

Whether its from drugs, alcohol fatigue or other distractions, like the cellphone or programming a sat-nav system. I left this to last because surely we don't have to harp on this again?

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Mine would include the idiots who are operating a cell phone while turning left across a major intersection in the SUV they never learned how to drive properly in the first place.

And ANY SUV operator who thinks that intimidation will ever work with me.

 

People seem to get even stupider at uncontrolled intersections. Seems people either turn completely passive and will stop and wait regardless of whether anyone is approaching, or turn completely aggressive and blow through regardless of whether anyone is approaching.

 

My pet peeve is people who are just driving along in the lane next to me until I put on my turn signal, then they proceed to speed up.

Makes me wish I had machine guns and missiles hiding in my engine compartment to blow those fuckers up.

 

OK, which ones wouldn't you include? I can't think of one that isn't rleevant.

Corollary is, if two cars arrive at the same time, the one on the right has the right of way

 

At night along the street I travel, the lights change to flashing yellows. People think they're supposed to stop. You slow as you approach and go through the light, but you don't stop! That's covered in the first few pages of the state driving booklet.