Driving Peeves: SUV's & Turn Signals

[Mental Gridlock]

Which aspect of the highway transportation system do you despise the most? For me it's two things, SUV's blocking my vision and people not using their turn signals.

 

[Evo]

People driving under the speed limit, not using their turn signals, having their turn signal on and not intending to turn, tailgaters.

 

[BicycleTree]

People not taking buses when they can.

 

[juvenal]

People who drive slowly in the leftmost lanes, and/or don't let people pass them.

 

[BicycleTree]

People not taking bicycles when they can.

 

[Evo]

People riding bicycles in those expensive little outfits on single lane roads with no shoulders and so hilly/curvy that there is no passing allowed for 10 mile stretches and it's extremely dangerous to attempt going over into the oncoming lane due to the inability to see uncoming traffic.

My feeling is if I need to go around one of these suckers and I'm faced with an oncoming car, the bicycle guy is going to die. tsk I guess they should have picked a less dangerous route.

 

[Moonbear]

People riding bicycles in those expensive little outfits on single lane roads with no shoulders and so hilly/curvy that there is no passing allowed for 10 mile stretches and it's extremely dangerous to attempt going over into the oncoming lane due to the inability to see uncoming traffic.

My feeling is if I need to go around one of these suckers and I'm faced with an oncoming car, the bicycle guy is going to die. tsk I guess they should have picked a less dangerous route.

Oh, the worst was when I lived in Ann Arbor. The idiot bicyclists created half the traffic in the town as they wove in and out of traffic, the wrong way down one-way streets, and had complete disregard for traffic safety. They should have all been ticketed! If you want to share the road with cars, then follow the laws or get ticketed...or squashed!

 

[Huckleberry]

Around here it is the roads. Pot holes all over the place and they have been fixing the same stretch of road for about 3 months now. What about all the other pot holes that need fixing before the next winter?

 

[Evo]

Out here the roads are still a bit "rural" but these rich snotwads put on their expensive designer bike outfits and get on the main arteries thinking they're in the "Tour de France" and tie up traffic for miles. We get a lot of farm equipment on the roads here, but every mile or so, they pull to the side and let traffic go by. You'd think these brain dead cyclists would do the same.

The child of evo used to make fun of my ranting about the bicyclists until she started driving and barely missed a serious collision thanks to one, now she's on my side.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Speeding is the #1 cause of accidents. I dislike fast, impatient drivers, especially of the teenage variety. Last year, two days in a row I passed flipped over cars on the highway. Both had a gaggle of teenagers standing next to them, trembling, waiting for the authorities.

 

[DaveC426913]

Other people driving on my roads.

 

[Huckleberry]

Them youngsters think they are invulnerable. A car load of them ran into my brother in law. They were all drunk. All four of them died when they collided with a guard rail, flipped, and ran into my brother in law driving under an overpass. One of my brother in laws friends died also. Very much a tragedy for everyone. My brother in law walks with a cane now.

And living in Arizona I became very wary of elderly drivers. I don't know if they can't see or they forget where they are going, but they should have both adequate vision and memory to be allowed to drive. There was even one old guy who got on the highway in a golf cart. Where was he going?

 

[Huckleberry]

Other people driving on my roads.

If you want the roads all to yourself then you should go for a drive Thanksgiving morning.

 

[DaveC426913]

If you want the roads all to yourself then you should go for a drive Thanksgiving morning.

Which one? Yours or ours?

I was frankly surprised at how much you guys invest in this holiday. 'Trains, Planes and Automobiles' made a lot more sense to me after someone clued me in on your Thanksgiving tradition.

 

[JamesU]

from observation, just about anyone in arizona that is on the road...in tenisee, they have you pull the car out, drive around the building, and park, in their driving tests...and they still have better drivers than us!

 

[Huckleberry]

Oops, I didn't realize you weren't from the U.S. I'm sure there must be a holiday where you are that everybody takes a day off work.

Yeah, Thanksgiving is a big holiday here for many families.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Driving pet peeves, well, I would say http://www.catass.com/toonces/toonces1.avi

http://www.catass.com/toonces/

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

The people who forget how to drive in the rain between every rainy season.
People who tail gate infuriate me. When ever I have someone close to my bumper for more than 20 seconds I take my foot off the gas and coast until they get irritated enough to change lanes. Then sometimes I'll spead up to keep them from getting in front of me. Occasionally I just tap my break but it seems people get pissed at me and flip me off a lot when I do that.
OH! And those bastards with the super bright headlights get under my skin too. A couple times I have gotten myself behind them and turned my brights on in hopes that they get the picture.

 

[Curious3141]

The people who forget how to drive in the rain between every rainy season.
People who tail gate infuriate me. When ever I have someone close to my bumper for more than 20 seconds I take my foot off the gas and coast until they get irritated enough to change lanes. Then sometimes I'll spead up to keep them from getting in front of me. Occasionally I just tap my break but it seems people get pissed at me and flip me off a lot when I do that.
OH! And those bastards with the super bright headlights get under my skin too. A couple times I have gotten myself behind them and turned my brights on in hopes that they get the picture.

Well, if you're road-hogging in the fast lane you deserve it. You shouldn't be going in the fast lane in a multi-lane road even if you're driving at the speed limit. If you see a faster car coming up behind you, you really should signal and move to the slower lane, that's just common courtesy.

Have you considered that the people who need to get by you are perhaps in a real hurry ? Like maybe they have a medical reason ? In any case, what does it profit you to play dog-in-the-manger ?

A lot of the time, drivers are forced to overtake people like you by using the designated slower lane, but this is dangerous. And in some places in the UK, doing this is actually illegal, so people are forced to endure roadhogging in the fast lane in mute rage.

Tailgating is wrong, and I don't do it or condone it, but if the road-hogging moron in front doesn't "get it" and move over, just how does one drive home the point ? The only unequivocal way to get the message across is with a brief flash of the headlights, but that can be irritating and dazzling to the driver in front. So sometimes considerate people in faster cars *and* in a hurry will just have to suffer in silence behind an inconsiderate driver going slow in the fast lane.

The driving behaviour you claim to practise and endorse in your post is inconsiderate. And dangerous too, because you're greatly increasing the chances of an accident by speeding up to prevent that poor car behind you from merging in front of you.

*You* would be one of my driving pet peeves, if I met you on the road.

 

[Gale]

Speeding is the #1 cause of accidents. I dislike fast, impatient drivers, especially of the teenage variety. Last year, two days in a row I passed flipped over cars on the highway. Both had a gaggle of teenagers standing next to them, trembling, waiting for the authorities.

hmmm... how about you hate the way those teens drive, instead of hating the teens themselves? I'm sometimes fast and impatient... but I'm fond of you zoob... i don't want you to hate me!

i used to hate fast drivers until i became one. now i really hate slow people. especially if they won't let me pass. its fine if someone else wants to take their time... pull over then and let me go by. (hmm, i also sort of have a death wish these days)

I also HATE road rage! i can't stand being in the car with people who get road rage easy. even when I'm really annoyed by a slow driver, i don't freak. someone can cut me off, and mostly i just get scared a sec, then move on. my mum is crazy though, and she scares me. She's one of those who'll yell out the window so you know she's pissed that you did whatever.

oh, and people who block intersections during traffic. i hate that. and people who don't stop for pedestrians. and people who don't smile and wave when i do something nice for them. oh, and in general, i hate all drivers from massachusettes, (mass-holes.)

 

[zoobyshoe]

hmmm... how about you hate the way those teens drive, instead of hating the teens themselves? I'm sometimes fast and impatient... but I'm fond of you zoob... i don't want you to hate me!

Course I don't hate teenagers.

 

[hypatia]

I don't like people who are so caught up in there cell phone conversation that they forget there driving. Oh and also people who see the lane is ending, yet wait till the last second to merge.

 

[Gale]

Course I don't hate teenagers.

you didn't finish your thought... you meant "course i don't hate teenagers... i love you gale!" there you go! i knew you loved me. you're like the zoobie i never had, but always wanted growing up. and erm... I'm the gale you always wanted? or something eh...

 

[zoobyshoe]

you didn't finish your thought... you meant "course i don't hate teenagers... i love you gale!"

Goes without saying, sweetie.

 

[brewnog]

I hate people who undertake, and the people who cause it by driving in the middle lane when the nearside lane is empty.

And I hate people who drive too close to the car in front on motorways, because as soon as someone slows down slightly, the person behind has to put their brakes on, and the person behind them puts their brakes on, and then there's a sea of red lights, and the whole carriageway grinds to a halt for no fegging reason at all.

And I hate being raped up the arse for my insurance premiums just because I'm stastistially a risk. They should make an advanced driver course specifically for young blokes which gives you the equivalent of 3 years no-claims or something, if you pass. Pass-Plus is a waste of time.

 

[FredGarvin]

For me it's the overall lack of attention drivers pay to the act of driving. For some reason, people have the notion that driving is something that can be done unconsciously, like breathing. People do not put forth any mental effort to be aware of what is going on with their vehicle and their surroundings. The act of driving is something that requires a lot more attention than people put forth.

If people would be more aware of the actual task of driving and not be so taken in with looking at the accident or construction on the side of the road or playing with the radio or smacking their kids in the back seat or eating food or talking on the phone or putting on make-up or reading the paper...

My other pet peeve is people that wait 10-15 seconds before moving after the light turns green, especially on a turn arrow.

 

[brewnog]

If people would be more aware of the actual task of driving and not be so taken in with looking at the accident or construction on the side of the road or playing with the radio or smacking their kids in the back seat or eating food or talking on the phone or putting on make-up or reading the paper...

I really wouldn't mind if these people were only a danger to themselves, - the non fatal accidents they cause would teach them a lesson, and the fatal ones would take them off my roads. But they're a danger to me, and that's just not cricket. I've been a careful driver ever since I was following my friend one night through the Peak District. I went round a bend to to see his car was shiny-side down on the wrong side of the road. It scared the cack out of me, and I've been cautious ever since. He still drives like a twat though.

 

[honestrosewater]

I don't drive- it's just too dangerous. It would be nice if there was a real alternative to using personal autos for daily transporation. I don't think bicycles are an alternative, but better public transportation systems certainly could be. So everyone in a big enough city, write your mayor and tell them to get on it! Oh, and write your congressmen and tell them to send money!

 

[mattmns]

Yeah I am with honestrosewater. Personally, I think the whole US car dependence is terrible. And maybe we will see some good changes in the next 10 years or so, unless some magic fuel comes out. The problem is, of course, that public transportation, no matter how good, is not the American way. Public transportation has no freedom, which all of us Americans need. At least with driving there is freedom, no matter how inefficient and terribly designed it is.

 

[honestrosewater]

Yeah I am with honestrosewater. Personally, I think the whole US car dependence is terrible. And maybe we will see some good changes in the next 10 years or so, unless some magic fuel comes out. The problem is, of course, that public transportation, no matter how good, is not the American way. Public transportation has no freedom, which all of us Americans need. At least with driving there is freedom, no matter how inefficient and terribly designed it is.

I lived in Boston/Cambridge for a while, and they have a great public transportation system. The subway or buses can take you within a 10 minute walk of just about anywhere you want to go, and they are frequent enough that you don't need to wait for long. As more and more people in a city use public transportation, the system can afford to become more and more versatile and convenient. I would also consider taxis public transportation.

 

[FredGarvin]

I really wouldn't mind if these people were only a danger to themselves, - the non fatal accidents they cause would teach them a lesson, and the fatal ones would take them off my roads.

But at the same time, those are the idiots you can thank for your jacked up insurance premiums!

his car was shiny-side down on the wrong side of the road.

Shiny-side down. I like that one.

 

[brewnog]

But at the same time, those are the idiots you can thank for your jacked up insurance premiums!

Nah, I thoroughly understand why 21 year old male drivers get high premiums (I was once quoted £5,500 for a 1.3 litre Fiesta). I just think it's wrong that I (after 4 years and 40,000 miles of accident-free experience, 2 years of which were in moderately powerful cars) would get charged exactly the same premium as a friend of the same age who has only just passed his test.

Shiny-side down. I like that one.

I don't. It's the scariest thing I've ever contended with; a car upside down with my mate trapped inside, on a blind bend on a remote 60mph road in the middle of the night. He was ok, dangling inside from his seatbelt worrying about his no-claims...

I don't know who came up with the term 'shiny side down', but there's a traffic safety partnership around the same area now called the "Shiny Side Up Partnership", trying to keep bikers (like AdrianBaker!) on their own two wheels.

 

[FredGarvin]

I was referring to the phrase only. Not the event itself.

In the states, every single person that has insurance with your company effects your premiums. The people in your local area effect it more, but everyone does. That's why I cringe when I hear people say that they file insurance claims for very minor things. Also, if enough people in your area get into accidents, then you automatically get put into a higher risk category just because of where you live in relation to those people. It completely sucks.

 

[Evo]

Also, if enough people in your area get into accidents, then you automatically get put into a higher risk category just because of where you live in relation to those people. It completely sucks.

This actually makes sense though, if you are surrounded by bad drivers, you would be more likely to get hit.

 

[Moonbear]

My other pet peeve is people that wait 10-15 seconds before moving after the light turns green, especially on a turn arrow.

Or worse, the ones who don't pull up to the stop line and so never trip the sensor to get the green arrow! Why on Earth do they need more than a car length between them and the stop line?!

Oh, or the ones who turn on their turn signal AS they are turning, not before hand.

I agree with hypatia on the ones who wait until the last minute to merge and then clog up traffic expecting someone to let them cut in (and someone always does let them in), even if there are miles of warnings to merge ahead.

Or the nitwits who don't accelerate when entering a highway on the merge lane, and then cut in front of you so you have to slow down (or else they slam on the brakes last minute so nobody behind them can get up to speed for the merge either).

Or the ones who drive 15 mph under the speed limit for no reason...always in the no-passing zone or left lane. Or worse, they move out into the passing lane and then pace the car they should be passing!