What are your driving pet peeves?

[tom slick]

"lazy mergers" bug me. They are the folks that are hug the white line when the right lane ends. Instead of actively merging into traffic using their signal, they continue on with no signal as if you are the one merging into their lane.

An annoyance I have locally is people who go 50 mph in a 55, when traffic moves about 60 on that road. The speed limit goes down to 45 as you get closer to town but they'll continue on at 50. when the speed limit drops to 35 then 25, they'll slow to 45 then 35. Apparently 55 is just too fast for them to travel but they don't really mind speeding in slower areas.

Going slow on on-ramps bugs me to. Traffic is moving at 65 so they go 35 until they reach the merge lane then step on it.

 

[rationull]

Originally Posted By: timish

So you are stating that you see no problem blocking the left lane while driving slower than other motorists on a multilane highway, forcing others to make lane changes to pass you on the right because you won't get out of the passing lane?


I think he's just saying he doesn't like tailgating, no matter the situation. I agree.. I hate it when people linger in the left lane when they're not going faster than traffic to the right, but I also don't appreciate it when I'm going 70 in a 65 in the left lane, passing somebody in the right lane, and somebody behind me wants to go 80 and thinks it's OK to come right up on my bumper, at an unsafe distance.

I'll get over when I can safely do so. In general IMO there's not much excuse for tailgating. It's dangerous.

 

[Popinski]

I'll add another:

Speeders who are going 20 OVER the limit sees a Police car, they immediately slam on their brakes and go 20 UNDER the limit. This happened to me 2 weeks ago and I had to brake on my, otherwise, smooth traveling and cruise control set to near speed limit.

I'm tired of people who are speeding and blame slower drivers that respect the law that they are hindering traffic when it's really the speeder's fault.

 

[timish]

I hate concrete mixer trucks on the freeway. One bump and they spew concrete shrapnel at the cars behind.

Add gravel trailers that aren't covered also which break windshields.

More irresponsible operators than anything else.

 

[rationull]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
An annoyance I have locally is people who go 50 mph in a 55, when traffic moves about 60 on that road. The speed limit goes down to 45 as you get closer to town but they'll continue on at 50. when the speed limit drops to 35 then 25, they'll slow to 45 then 35. Apparently 55 is just too fast for them to travel but they don't really mind speeding in slower areas.


My powers of deduction tell me you're talking about Los Osos Valley Road

One time I was on that road in the 35 mph section I think, and a pickup came right up on my tail. *Way* too close. I guess he was fed up with being behind me but didn't want to pass, so he made a left turn into a residential neighborhood (the same one I was going to). I turned left at a light and when I got onto the residential streets was amused to find him behind me again. I think he was pretty ticked.

 

[labman]

People waiting to make a left that don't pull into the center of the intersection allowing the people going straight to pass them on the right.

I always try to let people by me. Back when an F100 was a full sized truck, I was surprised to see a school bus squeeze by me.

 

[Duffman77]

People that dont put their headlights on in poor visibility (especially on the highway).

A general lack of courtesy for others on the road. This can range from the knob being excessively cautious with traffic lining up behind him to the guy that sees you slowing down for a red but he needs to get to the red light faster for some reason and pulls ahead of you. Blocking visibility of turning vehicles was also a good one. The Passing lanes in Ontario is also a good example. Rubbernecking and blocking intersections.

Paying more attention to a phone/stereo/passenger than the road.

 

[tom slick]

Originally Posted By: rationull

My powers of deduction tell me you're talking about Los Osos Valley Road ...

yep!
The lazy mergers happen most on LOVR where the residential stops near sunny acres before foothill heading toward LO.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: Paul56


Drivers who bust their [censored] to pass you when a passing lane comes up then drive slower than you once the passing zone is finished.


One should only do that when the person they passed sped up.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: timish
I hate concrete mixer trucks on the freeway. One bump and they spew concrete shrapnel at the cars behind.

Add gravel trailers that aren't covered also which break windshields.

More irresponsible operators than anything else.


That is a major problem down here on all the roads but worse on I-95 and the Turnpike...I have the chips on my car to prove it...I try get away from them ASAP.

 

[swalve]

Number one, all time pet peeve: construction lane closure merge vigilantes. If traffic is moving, yes, you should merge over ahead of time. But if traffic is already jammed up, it is FASTER (and fairer) if everyone fills both lanes and merges one for one at the merge point. Most offensive when you are driving the opposite direction and see miles and miles of backup, with multiple merge nazis clogging up traffic every half mile. It just punishes the people who try to follow the rules, and rewards the people who try to jockey around for position. And woe to the poor people who have to sit in a backup caused by all this, just to get to their exit which is ahead of the merge.

 

[Touring5]

A) People who "cheat" at four-way stop signs by stopping 30' short of the intersection. Apparently they figure since they stopped first, they get to go first.

B) People who pull into traffic - forcing the vehicles they pull in front of to slow considerably.

C) Tailgaters in reduced speed school zones. As much as I hate creeping along at 25 mph, I don't need the expense that a violation will cause. Frequently the offending tailgater, ends up pulling into the school lot to drop off his/her little snowflake. (I have to be excessively safe to protect your kid, yet you disregard the law).

D) Semi drivers that seem to not realize that it takes them longer to stop than automobiles (yes, the same criticism they use toward dumb car drivers). Frequently I've been driving in the middle lane on the interstate, travelling 10 mph above the speed limit, only to have some clown creep up to within 5' of my bumper and follow me endlessly - even if there is traffic directly in front of me.

 

[heypete]

Originally Posted By: timish
Drivers who don't understand, comprehend or are plain ignorant to "right of way" at a four way stop or a disabled traffic light.


Indeed. When I was in California a few years back, a big storm knocked out a bunch of traffic signals.

Nearly everyone behaved appropriately, came to a stop, and traffic proceeded in a safe manner.

Then there was the guy who either didn't see the inoperative light or thought he could just proceed, and blazed through the intersection at 40mph, nearly hitting two cars. Needless to say, there was much honking as he went through.

Closest I've seen to a major accident on city streets.

One other pet peeve: people who don't maintain their cars properly, resulting in catastrophic failure on the highway. Combined with this, not knowing how to safely react to catastrophic tire failure is also unsafe.

I've seen two vehicles each have catastrophic tire failure (I'm talking about the tire turning into chunks of flying rubber) on the interstate. The one driver didn't handle it well, slammed on his brakes, and spun six or seven times before spinning off to the median. He seemed uninjured but highly flustered when I passed him (I couldn't stop safely in time to help, as traffic was going ~75mph). The truck looked undamaged, other than that one tire and wheel.

The other motorist responded correctly after their tire lunched itself, gently applying the brakes, proceeding in a controlled manner onto the shoulder.

 

[PT1]

1. Soccer Moms who drive while:
a. talking on the phone/texting
b. screaming at the kids in the back
c. drinking a latte
d. putting on make-up
e. all of the above at the same time
2. Soccer Moms who toss their latte, cigarette,trash out the window while I am on my Harley behind them

 

[PT1]

Forgot: Semi trucks who have retreads that explode and they leave the rubber on the road...like this is OK. You hit a piece of that on a motorcycle and you are toast.

 

[heypete]

Originally Posted By: Duffman77
People that dont put their headlights on in poor visibility (especially on the highway).


We get that all the time here in Arizona, especially at night.

Either people don't notice that it's dark out and they should turn on their lights, or they assume the streetlights are adequate. I think it's the first one, though I also think that streetlights are unnecessary in nearly all non-intersection/non-merging-lane areas. Not only are they a waste of power, but it seems that more people don't bother with their headlights at night when streetlights are around.

Honestly, all cars should have a light sensor and turn the lights on automatically when it's dark unless the motorist actively turns the lights off (and the system should reset to "automatic" when they put the car in gear or restart the engine, like with traction control).

 

[Paul56]

Originally Posted By: PT1
Forgot: Semi trucks who have retreads that explode and they leave the rubber on the road...like this is OK. You hit a piece of that on a motorcycle and you are toast.


The problem for the semi-driver is one of personal safety and finding a safe place to park the rig.

When I drove there is no way I was going to park the rig alongside a busy highway and navigate the traffic on foot to pickup the mess.

The exploding tire is a very good reason to never tailgate... or run alongside a rig for more than necessary.

 

[timish]

Originally Posted By: PT1
Forgot: Semi trucks who have retreads that explode and they leave the rubber on the road...like this is OK. You hit a piece of that on a motorcycle and you are toast.


I hit one of these [censored] pieces of tire on the freeway 10 years ago and did $5000 worth of damage to the front of my car.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: heypete
Originally Posted By: Duffman77
People that dont put their headlights on in poor visibility (especially on the highway).


We get that all the time here in Arizona, especially at night.

Either people don't notice that it's dark out and they should turn on their lights, or they assume the streetlights are adequate. I think it's the first one, though I also think that streetlights are unnecessary in nearly all non-intersection/non-merging-lane areas. Not only are they a waste of power, but it seems that more people don't bother with their headlights at night when streetlights are around.

Honestly, all cars should have a light sensor and turn the lights on automatically when it's dark unless the motorist actively turns the lights off (and the system should reset to "automatic" when they put the car in gear or restart the engine, like with traction control).


Down here a lot of people think all they need are daytime running lights 24/7.

 

[brianl703]

Morons on cellphones who are sitting at a 2-way stop and start going just in time to cut me off. I can't figure out if it's that they didn't even see me or that they think it's a 4-way stop.

Almost everyone who does this at that particular intersection is on the phone, and they're usually female.