Poll: Things that drive you up the wall

[The Enquirer]

I marked down inconsistent speed because that has been what has most annoyed me recently. But its really a long list of things. I live in New Jersey and I commute to school. It's about 100 miles round trip. The Pennsylvania drivers really irritate me (sorry if you are from there but just a fact of life for me right now). Almost all of them get in the left lane and drive below the speed limit for no reason and refuse to change lanes. In New Jersey, the left lane is meant for people who are passing other cars, not for driving slowly. There are times I can get around them but in heavy traffic it really is a major problem. Getting stuck behind anyone doing that easily tacks on an extra 15 minutes to my total trip time.

 

[Wyes]

Well, my truck's 10 years old and has it, even if it doesn't have a cassette/cd-player in it. And it's standard enough that I haven't heard of it listed as a feature in... well, my memory. Admittedly, my memory's terrible.

My car is about 23 years old, and the owner's manual mentions the option for cruise control in other models. Like I said, it's not like it doesn't exist here, people do have it and use it, it just doesn't seem to be as common (nobody I know has ever mentioned using it). My point was kinda that it's possible the people you're complaining about simply don't have cruise control, much in the same way that not all cars have power windows etc.

yes, I'm sure you will follow your own advice when you get old

If it were up to me, I'd introduce mandatory health checks for anybody over some appropriate age (60+ maybe?), or perhaps just mandatory health checks every time you renew your license. That way I wouldn't have a choice in the matter - if I were unfit to drive, I wouldn't get to drive.

 

[RaphaelsRedemption]

I'm a learner driver, and I hate tailgaters. I know I'm going slow. I know I'm not driving as well as the rest of you seasoned drivers. I know I'm limited to 100km while the rest of you can do 110km.

But do you really think getting right up my arse, flashing your lights, swerving in the lane and revving your engine is really going to help either of us? I know it's a inconvenience to be stuck behind me. But it's an inconvenience for me to have you distracting me as well. I'm trying to learn how to drive well, and you're just making me nervous.

Seriously, I try to stick to the speed limit, inasmuch as I can, being speed limited and all, but tailgaters just make it horrible to be on the road sometimes.

 

[Ix Rebound]

I'm a learner driver, and I hate tailgaters. I know I'm going slow. I know I'm not driving as well as the rest of you seasoned drivers. I know I'm limited to 100km while the rest of you can do 110km.

But do you really think getting right up my arse, flashing your lights, swerving in the lane and revving your engine is really going to help either of us? I know it's a inconvenience to be stuck behind me. But it's an inconvenience for me to have you distracting me as well. I'm trying to learn how to drive well, and you're just making me nervous.

Seriously, I try to stick to the speed limit, inasmuch as I can, being speed limited and all, but tailgaters just make it horrible to be on the road sometimes.

I know that feel, by god I know that feel.
Except change the limit from "100km" to 90km and the fact that I have to commonly drive on motorways where the speed limit is 110km and you'll see my problem.

And I sure as well experience the wrath of more seasoned drivers as they constantly up my ass as if they are trying to catch my slipstream.
Hell even this morning I had some asshole honk at me because I didn't start accelerating within a quarter of a second of the lights going green

 

[MiskWisk]

Ive seen that many a time all over the UK too. The UK police also have a habit of spawn camping literally on a speed limit sign. As a savvy motorist going from 60 to 30 you will try to maximise engine braking (assuming you are a real human being and drive a manual) and reduce wheel braking so your probably doing about 40-45 when you pass the sign gradually slowing to 30 and theres a cop sat literally on the sign waiting with a speed gun and they wonder why people lose respect for the police

Theres other times when ive been on the motorway and its slowed to 50 for roadworks which is ok during the day when the builders are pretending to work but in the evening they are still active it doesnt make sense

60MPH->30MPH? We at least have "staggered" reductions of 100 -> 80 -> 60 -> 50 spread out over at least 500 meters each.

Congratulations, you win the arsehole traffic control officials reward.

Yeah, the best I have seen here in the UK is a set of signs warning you about the speed change. Problem is, they don't always put them up so you don't tend to look for them.

 

[bearlotz]

I live in New Jersey and I commute to school. It's about 100 miles round trip. The Pennsylvania drivers really irritate me (sorry if you are from there but just a fact of life for me right now). Almost all of them get in the left lane and drive below the speed limit for no reason and refuse to change lanes. In New Jersey, the left lane is meant for people who are passing other cars, not for driving slowly. There are times I can get around them but in heavy traffic it really is a major problem. Getting stuck behind anyone doing that easily tacks on an extra 15 minutes to my total trip time.

By the beard of the All-Father, this pisses me off. I don't understand what it is about PA, but it seems like every time I see someone who just flat-out can't drive they have those damned yellow and blue plates. Maybe it's the high percentage of senior citizens in that state, maybe it's the fact that >half the state is either farms or back-country roads, but so often people from there just refuse to drive at the speed limit or at least go into the right lane. The flip side of this is the PA high school douchebags driving their pick-ups at 80 in a 35 and blasting gangster rap. It's like that state has a reverse driving test and they only give you a license if you fail everything horribly...

OT: I said "not using indicators". The best case of this is that I end up wasting time waiting for someone to drive past when I could have turned out sooner, at least then nobody is actually injured or anything. The worst is when people just merge into my lane on a highway with no warning and almost cause a crash. Seriously people, you can literally flick the lever with your damned pinkie-finger, why can't you just do that one thing to keep me from dieing? Do you enjoy tormenting me? Do you hate me?

 

[shootthebandit]

half the state is either farms or back-country roads,

this is similar to where i live in the UK. Im used to living near the bigger cities in the UK but ive had to move to the country and people are terrible drivers. the problem with where i live is that its all single lane roads so in order to get passed someone you need to go into oncoming traffic, thankfully my car is relatively fast so i can do this quickly. I consider myself a bit of a boy racer but i hate when people over-take near or on a bend when they cant see whats coming the other way. I know your roads in the states tend to be a lot straighter (in general) so its easier to pass people but in the UK the roads have a lot of bends

despite having a fast(ish) car im not keen driving into traffic but when people insist on doing 40Mph in a 60 (where you can safely do 80) I have no other option. Or when the tractors decide to come out as everyone is going to/coming home from work and theres a huge queue behind them with noone making and effort to get passed despite the fact the tractor is sitting at 20

 

[Zepherus14]

Other: All of the above.

Since I only got my license this past winter, I'm still in the mentality in that 'driving test' state. So it bugs the hell out of me when anyone isn't following the rules of the road because they already have their license, why should they actual have to worry about it, and yet the person getting the license needs to follow them to a tie.

I know, it's petty, but when you are trying to practice to get your license and someone is riding your ass because they need to go 130 down the highway, just really gets to me. And don't get me started on signaling and stopping at stop signs... >.>

All in all it just irks me that you spend all this time learning the rules of the road, only to the second you get your license completely forget them.

 

[2HF]

The people who stop like 20 feet behind another car. For fuck's sake, learn your car's dimensions and stop a few feet away from the next car. You could be blocking turn-offs or entrances to other lanes, or people could have judged how many cars would fit before they were left sitting in an intersection because you can't fucking drive, and, I'm sorry, but if you leave more than like 5 feet between you and the next car, you're a douche. It just causes so many problems behind you and you obviously don't give a shit about anyone but yourself.

... Yes, I do drive downtown to and from work every day. How can you tell?

You know that most places if you get rear ended and hit the car in front of you you're responsible for that damage due to being too close, right? At least that's how it was last time I checked.

 

[Zepherus14]

The people who stop like 20 feet behind another car. For fuck's sake, learn your car's dimensions and stop a few feet away from the next car. You could be blocking turn-offs or entrances to other lanes, or people could have judged how many cars would fit before they were left sitting in an intersection because you can't fucking drive, and, I'm sorry, but if you leave more than like 5 feet between you and the next car, you're a douche. It just causes so many problems behind you and you obviously don't give a shit about anyone but yourself.

... Yes, I do drive downtown to and from work every day. How can you tell?

You know that most places if you get rear ended and hit the car in front of you you're responsible for that damage due to being too close, right? At least that's how it was last time I checked.

Yep, you're right on that one.

 

[LittleWings]

Not Indicating, especially at and on roundabouts. God, the number of times I've been stuck at a busy roundabout cause some idiot has decided that the indicator is a tool of peasants and he dare not communicate with anyone else on the road in case we think he actually gives a crap about anyone other than himself... Gah.

While I am the first to mutter "Oh ffs" under my breath when the car in front of me is doing 20 in a 40 zone, being a relatively new driver myself and having been in situations where I've not known the road I'm on/ where I'm going well, I do try and be considerate, and I've never tailgated or hooted my horn.

However, I do have a massive problem with (and I don't know if this is UK specific or area specific) people who see another driver they know and wind down the window to have a conversation with them. On the road. Most often I see this happen in school run traffic. I mean.... What?!

 

[shootthebandit]

Not Indicating, especially at and on roundabouts. God, the number of times I've been stuck at a busy roundabout cause some idiot has decided that the indicator is a tool of peasants and he dare not communicate with anyone else on the road in case we think he actually gives a crap about anyone other than himself... Gah.

I must admit theres sometimes ive done this (just purely out of lack of concentration, afterwards i always think "i mustve looked so inconsiderate there"

speaking of roundabouts I get really annoyed with mini-roundabouts (you know the pointless painted on ones. I remember when i was learning to drive my instructor made me go around them. It really annoys me when people go around them (when its not busy) when everyone just drives over the top of them

I really disapprove of speed limits (within reason), as you said when you are unsure of the speed limit you drive extra slowly to be on the safe side. in my opinion we should be allowed to drive at a speed we find appropriate for the road conditions and your personal circumstances. I have a set of brembo disks on my car so my braking distance is a lot shorter, im also 21 so my reaction time is probably at its peak. That being said i dont think people should be doing 100 in a built up area (on a motorway i dont see a problem with people doing 100). A common sense approach should be taken instead of a set arbitrary speed, a fifty limit is still a fifty limit in thick snow and ice which is stupid. we all know that 20 is excessive in icing/snow conditions.

I also find speed cameras/traps to be massively dangerous, id much rather have someone drive at 100 over someone driving at a hundred and slamming their brakes on because theyve seen a camera. Im not saying the police shouldnt stop speeding but i think an approach of pulling over drivers rather than the current "ambush" tactics would be bette

captcha: take care

 

[Varrdy]

I used to complain about lorry drivers overtaking other lorries but when you realise they have dealines and when they do things like i said above you have to give them a lot of respect

I work in a transport office so deal with lorry drivers daily and it's amazing how ones opinions can change! Many accidents involving lorries are down to other people cutting them up, not realising that 44 tonnes of artic takes a bit longer to stop than your average hatchback. One dashcam recorded a near miss caused by a Prius of all things (blinded by the smug floating around the car and was too busy savouring the smell of their own farts) pulling in front of one of our wagons. Que an expletive from the driver and the "harsh-brake" alarm sounding. Prius-boy stayed intact by one little inch. Close one and would almost likely have been declared the lorry driver's fault!

 

[The Enquirer]

I live in New Jersey and I commute to school. It's about 100 miles round trip. The Pennsylvania drivers really irritate me (sorry if you are from there but just a fact of life for me right now). Almost all of them get in the left lane and drive below the speed limit for no reason and refuse to change lanes. In New Jersey, the left lane is meant for people who are passing other cars, not for driving slowly. There are times I can get around them but in heavy traffic it really is a major problem. Getting stuck behind anyone doing that easily tacks on an extra 15 minutes to my total trip time.

By the beard of the All-Father, this pisses me off. I don't understand what it is about PA, but it seems like every time I see someone who just flat-out can't drive they have those damned yellow and blue plates. Maybe it's the high percentage of senior citizens in that state, maybe it's the fact that >half the state is either farms or back-country roads, but so often people from there just refuse to drive at the speed limit or at least go into the right lane. The flip side of this is the PA high school douchebags driving their pick-ups at 80 in a 35 and blasting gangster rap. It's like that state has a reverse driving test and they only give you a license if you fail everything horribly...

OT: I said "not using indicators". The best case of this is that I end up wasting time waiting for someone to drive past when I could have turned out sooner, at least then nobody is actually injured or anything. The worst is when people just merge into my lane on a highway with no warning and almost cause a crash. Seriously people, you can literally flick the lever with your damned pinkie-finger, why can't you just do that one thing to keep me from dieing? Do you enjoy tormenting me? Do you hate me?

"By the beard of the All-Father. That's fantastic. Can I use that? And I know, I've almost gotten into serious crashes from people not signaling. The more I drive the more I think every single person here on earth is an idiot except for me.

I was actually listening to something on the radio a week or two ago about how people seem to be smoking pot and then driving. People were calling in explaining that they do and why. It's actually pretty scary the number of people who do that. The one part that stuck out to me was that when one of the callers said that "It helps him focus and not crash". One of the talk shows host's couldn't have said it better, "Shouldn't you be able to not crash into things when you get your license?". People just infuriate me.

 

[bossfight1]

I'm one of those folks who never got the 'driving test' mindset out, so I always drive, at most, 5 miles above the speed limit. So I hate when there's someone right behind me who never thinks to fucking pass me, even at an opportunity that seems to be presented on a silver platter by Jesus Christ.

 

[shootthebandit]

I used to complain about lorry drivers overtaking other lorries but when you realise they have dealines and when they do things like i said above you have to give them a lot of respect

I work in a transport office so deal with lorry drivers daily and it's amazing how ones opinions can change! Many accidents involving lorries are down to other people cutting them up, not realising that 44 tonnes of artic takes a bit longer to stop than your average hatchback. One dashcam recorded a near miss caused by a Prius of all things (blinded by the smug floating around the car and was too busy savouring the smell of their own farts) pulling in front of one of our wagons. Que an expletive from the driver and the "harsh-brake" alarm sounding. Prius-boy stayed intact by one little inch. Close one and would almost likely have been declared the lorry driver's fault!

its so easy for the lorry to take the blame in an accident because the other car will generally "lose" if they have a collision. People often blame foreign lorry drivers but then fail to realise that the driver is on the other side and they have been sitting in the lorries blind spot for ages. people dont realise that when a lorry is turning the trailer will have a wider turning circle than the cab yet they still sit next to the cab when its turning (despite most lorries having a sign on the back) theres also the whole "if you cant see my mirrors then i cant see you" thing. Its amazing how many people cant read and wonder why they get side-swiped by 44 tonnes of metal

I like to think of lorry drivers as the silent guardians of our highways

 

[-Seraph-]

Oh god, the number of idiots on the road I deal with each day... Now I will admit that I am no saint and have probably been guilty of some shit in the past, but I try to be a good and considerate driver. But yea, all that above shit annoys me.

Tailgaters bug me a lot, doubly so at night. If I can't see you license plate in my rear view mirror, you're too fucking close dammit. I try to remain far enough away from whoever is in front of me by judging if I can see at least their rear bumper or wheels, I shouldn't be any closer than that.

Speaking of night driving, TURN YOUR FUCKING HIGH BEAMS OFF IN THE CITY!!! Jesus christ, I can't look in my rear view mirror at night without fear of being blinded by the asshole behind me whose got their high beams on in the damn city.

Serpentine drivers, you know the ones who drive faster than everyone else while constantly weaving between lanes regardless of how narrow the gap is. You are a menace to all you pass just to shave a few seconds off your damn drive only to more than likely still get stopped by that red light ahead. Good job!! you got 40 feet closer than you would have been!!

Slow/fast drivers only annoy me if their speed is of a major discrepancy of what the actual speed limit is. The other day I was in a single lane road where the limit was 60km/h, and the person in front of me was doing 30...god dammit. And this was a pretty straight and long road where you could clearly see there was fuck all cars in front of him. Would gladly have just overtaken him if it was legal to do so on that road.

I seem to be shouting this in my head a lot lately - "green light!!!". So the light goes front red to green, I'm maybe 1 or 2 cars behind the lead....why is the lead car taking like 10+ seconds to get moving? Pay attention to the road and signals please. Not asking you to floor it once it turns green, but don't be asleep at the wheel.

I also get rather paranoid when driving and seeing someone off to the side ready to turn onto the road I am on while I pass by. I've almost got sidelined a few times from people prematurely turning; I shouldn't be seeing your damn wheels rolling as I pass by, WAIT till it's clear!!

I think that covers the major bullshit I deal with most commonly.

 

[shootthebandit]

Slow/fast drivers only annoy me if their speed is of a major discrepancy of what the actual speed limit is. The other day I was in a single lane road where the limit was 60km/h, and the person in front of me was doing 30...god dammit. And this was a pretty straight and long road where you could clearly see there was fuck all cars in front of him. Would gladly have just overtaken him if it was legal to do so on that road.

I seem to be shouting this in my head a lot lately - "green light!!!". So the light goes front red to green, I'm maybe 1 or 2 cars behind the lead....why is the lead car taking like 10+ seconds to get moving? Pay attention to the road and signals please. Not asking you to floor it once it turns green, but don't be asleep at the wheel

Why is it illegal to overtake when you can clearly see whats coming? Ive coming down a hill stuck behind someone braking on the hill the other side of the road had an additional crawler lane for going up the hill. I knew i had enough of a gap so i went into the other lane (despite the big "no overtaking" sign). I know what i did was illegal but provided you can see far enough in front i really dont see why its a big deal. Having said that i would never dream of doing it if there was any doubt

I think a lot of people get to a traffic light and go into neutral and the lights change so they are flapping about trying to get into first. I leave my car in first with my foot on the clutch (which is essentially neutral) so i can pull away as soon as the light goes green

 

[Caiphus]

In New Zealand it seems like people have issues when merging lanes. Not only is it annoying but it is bloody dangerous. I've almost had two cars go into the side of me in the past month or so because they tried sneaking past me into the lane in which we were merging. Right up my blind spot. Assholes. Both times going ~80 km/h. So yeah.

That's probably the worst. Driving slowly is bad but at least it isn't liable to kill you without warning.

 

[Raikas]

I voted for leaving the indicator light on but on reading through the thread I probably could have gone for any of them - apparently I'm more easily annoyed than I like to think!

Ive seen that many a time all over the UK too. The UK police also have a habit of spawn camping literally on a speed limit sign. As a savvy motorist going from 60 to 30 you will try to maximise engine braking (assuming you are a real human being and drive a manual) and reduce wheel braking so your probably doing about 40-45 when you pass the sign gradually slowing to 30 and theres a cop sat literally on the sign waiting with a speed gun and they wonder why people lose respect for the police

I see that here too (in Canada) - I was driving through an area where the speed limit drops from 80 to 60 and then to 50 another 8km down the road, and there were a pair of cops right at the 60 point. At the 50 point I could understand, because at least that's less of a drop (and it's at the entry to a village and a sharp turn), but at the 60 it's just absurd since it's all but impossible to slow down fast enough to not be speeding there.