The driver who applies his/her brakes frequently and unnecessarily is almost always a person who is insecure behind the wheel. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to ride in back of a co-worker for several miles as she piloted her new Volvo.
When we both got to the parking lot at work, I said to Sue, “I would suggest that you take that new car back to the dealership a.s.a.p., as there is something wrong with the brake light switch”. Sue asked how I had come to that conclusion, and I replied that her brake lights kept flashing on and off very frequently as I drove in back of her for about 3 miles. She thanked me, and we went to our separate work areas.
A few days later, she stopped me to tell me that the problem with her brake lights had been resolved. It seems that she had driven with her husband as a passenger in her car, and he observed that she kept applying the brake, even when there was no need to. She and he then realized that, after having driven old junkers for so many years, she was extremely nervous and insecure about driving this new, pricey Volvo, and that this insecurity caused her to keep applying the brake needlessly.
A few weeks later, I was driving in back of her again, and–sure enough–because her husband had tactfully made her aware of her nervous brake habits, she was now driving like a confident driver. No more flashing brake lights!
Passing on the right, usually when someone is dawdling in the fast lane… I was on a three lane highway, moving between the middle and fast lane, moving back right when I passed someone… and this idiot keeps tailgating in the fast lane as I’m waiting for dawdlers, then diving for the slow lane to try to get ahead…
He was in a small car, I was in a full size pickup. It just happened that a number of times when he was getting ready to return to the middle lane or right across to the fast lane, I already occupied that space
He seemed a bit peeved, but it all ended when he spotted a clear right-hand lane and went for it… I just ‘happened’ to have safely returned to the proper lane where he might have thought of (of course without signals) ‘merging’ left…
Turns out he had entered the off-ramp to a service station, so he had no choice but to take a well deserved rest stop.
As I looked over, he was energetically waving goodbye, or thank-you… not quite sure which.
Cheers,
Rick
Re Butts out the window;
No, not mooning, but as T.S.Mountainbike says, cigarette butts out the window is rude and dangerous. I am also a motorcyclist. Haven’t had the pleasure of a lit one in the helmet, (wasps, yes) but I have pulled up beside butt-flickers a few times and ‘reminded’ them of the hazard to (someone’s) well-being.
Cheers,
Rick
My 11 year old daughter was quite concerned about tornadoes, earth quakes, hurricanes, floods and all the news-making weather since Japan.
Back then I told her all of the non-worrries we have up here at 6500 ft in the four corners desert.
But, FIRE, I told her, is our biggest worry.
At that time a house fire was the best she could relate having come from Washington state.
But NOW…after breathing smoke from the Arizona fire, a fire near Raton NM that effected my daily parts deliveries, and now Los Alamos NM is burning…it all makes pefect worrisome sense.
Gridlocksmith is a fellow
Who likes his traffic mellow.
When others would intrude
With attitudes so rude
It used to make him bellow.
Then he saw it folly.
So, he said, "By golly,
"They don’t mean to hurt,
"Just keep me alert."
A thought which made him jolly.
The last thing we need is to start acting like drivers who upset us. That’s how “road rage” contagion works. I hope I won’t be banned for sharing a couple of my designs…
Cars that (1) stop so that their rears tires are on the stop line at an intersection, and/or (2) keep creeping up expecting the light to change - though when it does they are the last to react.
Why should people have to use their cruise control if they don’t want to? I prefer it, but my car doesn’t have it, and I know people who prefer not to use theirs.
People who drive in the right lane of the highway but don’t allow room for others to enter from the on-ramps.
Big vehicles that try to taunt me in my much-smaller-than-theirs vehicle.
Ohio passed the windshield wiper law about a year and a half ago, but people don’t seem to be aware of it. I, in fact, made a call to the local police department when I witnessed several city cops not adhering to that rule. It seems that people whose jobs it is to drive as a part of their living would be required to know these things.
It really annoys me to see people in work trucks or service vehicles, (this could be UPS, USPS, an air-conditioning company, a plumber, a roofer, a pizza guy, etc.), talking on their phones and attempting to drive properly. If I see people in a vehicle that is boldly displaying a phone number and they do ANYTHING unusual, I will make a call. I would never allow my employees to use their phones while in one of my vehicles.
I forgot to mention people who drive an automatic with both feet. Brake lights stay on. (If it was an old car, I would assume it was faulty equipment, but it rarely is.)
I rarely use my wipers. Don’t know what your law there is, but I use Rain-X religiously, and I can see better without them, in most circumstances (very slow driving would be that exception).
People entering a highway usually will see a Yield sign on the ramp, the cars ON the highway have the right-of way. If they can’t learn to merge properly, maybe they should stay off the highway…
Mine is people who just have to pass you, and get back in your lane, even though the light ahead is red; as if we were trying to root each other out of the groove at Darlington, and they were going to get NASCAR driver points for making the pass.
BTW, favorite bumper sticker: “What, are you out of blinker fluid?”
Everyone’s comments above go to prove why we don’t (and shouldn’t) have air cars. If people drive like this in two dimensions, imagine what three would be like. Notice people always ask it as: “It’s the 21st century, where is my air car?” “My” air car. Like they’d be the only ones up there instead of thousands of others. Fortunately, we don’t have them, and let’s count our blessings.
1). Lack of use of turn signals…
2). While driving down the road, a car is waiting to make a turn into the flow of traffic…the car directly ahead of you comes TO A COMPLETE STOP IN ORDER TO LET THE OTHER CAR INTO TRAFFIC! No, people…you have the right of way…you do not stop to be nice and let tthe other guy in…there will always be an opening…DO…NOT…STOP…THE …FLOW…OF …TRAFFIC!
3). Lack of use of turn signals…
4). Truckers who think the road is completely theirs, and go like a bat out of hell during the worst possible driving conditions.
5). Lack of use of turn signals…
6). Motorcyclists who think they have the right to cut off any/all traffic that they can.
7). Did I mention the lack of use of turn signals???
I used to, and then I realized that by signalling, I was letting other drivers know that I wanted to be in that other lane. In theory, that’s supposed to make them think “oh, I need to take that guy’s intentions into account and leave enough room so he can do it with wrecking us both.”
Instead, it makes them think “that guy thinks the lane he’s trying to get into is ‘better’ than the one he’s in now. Maybe he knows something. I’d better get in that lane instead and keep him from taking it from me. Even if it means I have to wreck us both along with every other car on this road.”
So I don’t signal lane changes. Because I figure it saves lives.
People who slowly pedal onto the interstate, the on ramp is your opportunity to get to highway speed to safely merge with traffic. Too many times I have been behind the sedan trying to merge with 70+ MPH traffic going 45 MPH. Of course, there are always the exceptions for people who are load carriers and cannot accelerate fast enough (strange thing about these people though, right-lane drives move out of the way)
