Top Ten Driving Peeves

I think most people think that it's just some knob they stuck in a car. I don't really see it as an optional device. Use it. It's really not that hard.

 

People who cannot stay in their lane without swerving in and out of the shoulder for whatever reason.

 

In general, I think people not knowing to use their turn signals is my biggest irritant. Second is some people's idea that the left lane on a two-lane highway is just another lane you can use whenever you feel like it; seriously, unless there's a whole bunch of cars in the right lane you know are going too slow for you, just drive in the right lane until you come upon a car that's going slower. Then, pass that car and get back into the right lane.

This is a fairly new one for me, but it happens about once every 3-4 months: To get to work, I take a left turn to get onto the street where the newsroom is. It's a signaled, green-arrow intersection with a double left-turn lane, and it's a busy intersection so both lanes are going to be filled up by the time we get the arrow. I get into the right left-turn lane because the paper's building is on the right-side of the street. So green arrow shows up, and me and the car to my left both make our turns, except the other car makes a turn that takes him from the left side of the double-turn lane to the right lane of the street we're entering, cutting me off in the process.

Hmmm! Let's see, two-lane turn onto a two-lane street. Wouldn't logic dictate if you start on the left side, you enter the other street on the left side also, especially if there's a car making a turn right next to you? Apparently not to some of these morons.

 

My top three:

Lack of turn signal usage.

Tailgating, especially, in construction zones.

People who don't realize in my town (and most towns I've been in) that unless the intersection is marked, you can make a right turn on red.

 

See, this is my problem with most drivers. I'm not calling you out, but to me this is part of the bigger picture. Driving is all about keeping traffic moving. It's the same idea as everybody calming down and driving 45 on the highway when traffic is backed up instead of speeding up to 70 and then slamming on the brakes and bringing traffic to a halt because everyone else panics and brakes when they see brake lights. If you get out in the intersection to turn left on a regular green light, you ensure that the guy behind you can get through too, moving traffic along. If you stay put, that's at least two cars that don't get through and back up traffic even more. Sure, sometimes you have to turn after the light has turned red, but if you get into the intersection in the first place, everyone knows your intentions.

 

1. Everyone else on the road
2. Everyone else on the road
3. Everyone else on the road
4. Everyone else on the road
5. Everyone else on the road
6. Everyone else on the road
7. Everyone else on the road
8. Everyone else on the road
9. Everyone else on the road
10. Everyone else on the road

 

I don't get it ...

 

That's right, and on most occasions I'll pull out to make the turn, but here's the deal: When you see a nice long stream of cars coming in your direction, what's the point of pulling out into the intersection when you know it's a turn you can't make? I'm thinking specifically of a T intersection right by my post office, where the left-hand turn requires going around two oncoming lanes, the green light is above the stop line and the speed limit is 40, but it travels near 50. If I pull out into the intersection, there's a strong chance I have to wait for the oncoming cars to come to a complete stop - and at that point, on that road, not only do I not see what's going on, but the number of people running yellow mean that I'm likely turning on the perpendicular folks' green.

But regardless of the example, your logic is flawed anyway because if I'm out in the intersection, and my light turns red and I make the left-hand turn, the person behind me should most certainly not be entering the intersection after I've turned.

 

There's no flaw in the logic; you just presented an extreme example that clearly makes sense. Aside from that extreme, getting into the intersection means you have no option but to turn left because a yellow light means clear the intersection. So if your green arrow turns yellow arrow/regular green, continue into the intersection because getting into the intersection keeps traffic flowing. I figure maybe 8 percent of people with licenses can actually drive worth a shit, but I don't expect the other 92 to be dumb enough to not be able to see that a vehicle fully committed to a left turn isn't going to turn left. And that second guy can get through the intersection too.

 

Unless the traffic laws have changed since this came into existence, I believe it's a permissible right turn on red AFTER you come to a stop to make sure it's clear. Most drivers treat this as though they're going into the first turn at Talladega.

 

Agreed. When I'm doing 65 in the middle or left lane, sometimes I have to speed up to 75-80 to get those idiots out of my blind spot.

The morons who don't use their turn signals.

The idiots who designed some interchanges where the acceleration lane to feed onto the highway and the exit lane to get off the highway are the same lane!

"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" - George Carlin