Love those people who come to a complete stop at a green metering light at on ramps. Perhaps this is one of the reason why US market cars come with bigger engine than oversea markets.
One of my pet peeves (there are many) regards drivers who seem to have no sense that other vehicles are in their vicinity as they drive, thus resulting in dangerous encounters. Yes, there will always be folks who sneak up and ride in your blind spot, but how about drivers who have just passed somebody–literally 1 or 2 seconds previously–and then seem to have no knowledge that vehicle they just passed is still extremely close?
And, this type of numbness between the ears is clearly not limited to drivers in the US. As evidence of what I am talking about, take a look at the bone-headed manuever pulled by the driver of a press vehicle that was covering the Tour de France:
dadoctah, while I can sympathize I have to disagree. Yes, some people will close up the gap on you if you signal, but others will let you in. I make it a point to let people into my lane if they signal.
Bugler’s point about lack of turn signals covers my biggest complaint too. People come up to a 4-way stop and then turn in front of you with no signal, or they turn it on as they start turning. It’s a turn signal, an indicator not a documenter. Ever have someone come into your lane with no signal until they have 2 tires already in the lane with almost no room between you and them?
Regardless of what the others do, I still use my turn signals. I refuse to join the mob of discourteous drivers.
I think if the cities would start ticketing the people with improper turn signals we could pay off the debt in a year or two.
I drive on a highway going out of town to work every morning that crosses two lesser roads before it gets to the interstate. I hate it when southbound cars (I’m northbound out of town) cut the corner to make a left turn to go eastbound on the crossing road, when no other traffic is on that road at the light. They are thus crossing through the west-bound lanes, which triggers the light to cycle and catch us other north-south drivers who are far enough back to be caught at a red-light cycle, even though there is no side traffic waiting. Drives me crazy!
I also hate people racing to the front and cutting in line when a highway narrows down to fewer lanes, non-signalers and yellow-runners. I doubt most have even been told what a yellow light is supposed to mean. It doesn’t mean floor the gas so you can be at least under the light before it turns red. Years ago, at least, we were taught it means STOP NOW - if you can do so safely (ie there is no one tailgaiting you and you don’t need to do a full lock-em up panic stop, or the equivalent using EBS brakes).
It’s the first on your list, too, get off the freakin’ phone! We should prosecute all cell phone talking drivers for attempted murder.
I agree with most of the earlier comments. I haven’t read them all but am surprised not to see a complaint about “right laners” as we call them. These are drivers who never leave the right lane, even at intersections where many cars can turn right on red. Maybe turning right on red isn’t legal everywhere but it is here in south Texas. I see it every day, a long line of cars at a light with their right turn signals blinking and one car at the head of the line causing all of them to wait until the light turns green. This is just a symptom of oblivious, inconsiderate driving.
Head lights during bad weather and at dusk, I would really love to find someone to complain to about this but alas I live in NYS and the pride of NYS is the state police but they don’t use their headlights during these times.
Hello,
My biggest pet peeve is the few drivers who have no idea of what the “slower traffic keep right” laws are on freeways or worse, those who intentionally cause a rolling roadblock in the left lane with some Barney Fife vigilante move. It is not that I don’t give those “letter of the law” drivers the benefit of the doubt and stay safely behind them for the few minutes that it might take for them to remember what that shinny thing is one their windshield, but eventually, I need to move on with the average flow of traffic and keep from being tailgated by less skilled drivers.
Yup, it is an age old debate; obey the speed limit law or obey the slower traffic keep right law. At least in Arizona, the statute on this issue actually states, “A person driving a vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic should remain to the right”. It doesn’t take driving but a few miles on any freeway system to realize that the “normal speed of traffic” is rarely the actual speed limit. It is not right. It is not wriong. It is just reality.
Knowledge is power, but an good attention span can never be replaced,
Dr. Z.
A “Pet-Peeve” of mine is seeing a driver with a handicap placard hanging from their rear view mirror. It specifically states on them to remove before driving. Why would they say this? Because it creates a “dead spot” in their field of vision. By the time someone clears that area, it’s too late to do anything but plow into them. I know that a lot of people that use those placards really love the idea of parking up front, especially while Grandma is waiting in the car, and that removing them before driving is a huge inconvenience, but drivers need to realize that they are endangering others as well as themselves, especially when a truck tries to beat that red light. Of course, the idea of being stopped and reminded that you’re not suppose to drive with a handicapped placard hanging, would fly like a brick kite!
I have a thing about drivers at a stop light who don’t pull right up to the white line. They mistakenly think that if they can see the line at their vehicle’s nose, they are at the line. It’s especially bad with (some) car drivers because of the shallow viewing angle.
Not only are they taking up too much space, but they aren’t telling the light controller that there’s a vehicle there, so the light may take longer to change in their (and thus following drivers’) favor, especially in a left turn lane.
at some intersections, the stop lines have magnetic sensors under them to trigger a camera to catch scofflaws. That same type of sensor can be used in a traffic-sensitive signal control system.
Like I wrote before, if the light doesn’t know you’re there, it will take longer to change in your favor.
I had the idea not long ago (and I can’t be the first to say this) to help deal with left-lane drivers.
- All lanes should, by law, only be added on the left and only removed from the right. This means that people too lazy to shift lanes end up in the right lane and have to move left again to be in the left lane. This works for passing lanes and truck lanes.
- Roads of 2 lanes or more in one direction should be required at regular intervals to create a candy-stripe; in other words to add one lane on the left and at some interval, say one to two miles, remove the additional lane from the right. This would periodically shift everyone over to the right lane and provide an additional opportunity to move around difficult drivers.
Please, steal my idea.
It is interesting that many thoughts are put into traffic engineering for coping with left lane hoggers while PASSING ON THE RIGHT doesn’t register. It is perfectly legal and it works better than blasting horn, flashing high beam, and raising blood pressure and one’s digit.
Geschlechlichinginieur, you may not know this, but if someone rear-ends you, and your car makes contact with a car or object in front of you, your insurance company must pay for the damage caused by the impact of your car. Leaving a wide area between your car and an intersection is the wise and safe thing to do, unless you don’t mind being pushed out into crossing traffic.
The sensors under the road that detect a car aren’t usually just under the line, and the ones that detect metal should be able to detect a car at a reasonable distance.
It sounds like you are in a pretty big hurry, and worry too much about little things that aren’t that important in life. If you have to wait another minute or two for the light to change, it won’t kill you. Could this be a time management issue you are displacing on to others? If you leave for work a few minutes earlier, you won’t have to worry about things like these. When I am late for work because I am running behind schedule, it is my fault, not some other driver’s fault.