Driving pet peeves

No, that Chevy was the one waiting to turn...

 

The Chevy in front of me was the one turning, and their signal was on...

 

That fu@king stupid ass kid that ran the red and totaled my perfect condition ‘03 Tacoma Dbl Cab! Damnit!

 

Just had this happen yesterday. We were U Turning legally on a Green, this asshat was turning right on red... we go as we have the right of way to do... he lays on the horn... then as we turn into the business we were u turning for... he follows us in and yells that WE are the dumbasses and should pay attention to what we were doing. To avoid a charge... I just politely waved him on. He left.

Just shows you the driver education we have in this country.

 

Yea I'm betting on most people that drive like that don't even have a license. They could care less...it's really bad here in Cali.

 

What is with this habit? I'd never seen it before this summer when I drove through Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. Rain starts and suddenly everyone drops to 40 MPH and throws the flashers on. The hell? Who taught them that?

I also ran into several merge situations where people clearly had more than enough room to get in front of me and they would back off at the last second and pull in behind. Happened twice where the 2 lanes went to one and people passing on left would jam their brakes next to me and go in behind instead of passing and merging like a normal person.

 

I didn't read the whole thread to see if this is already here, but in Western Mass, people frequently attempt to "give" their right of way and it's always confusing and sometimes dangerous. For instance, I may be waiting for a single oncoming car to pass before making a left turn. In this scenario, it frequently happens that the oncoming car will slow to a crawl, and eventually stop (in the middle of the travel lane). Presumably they do this to be polite, giving me the right of way so that I can execute my turn in front of them.

The problem is that the whole dance ends up taking longer than if they were to just keep driving at normal speed and results in frustration (at least for me). It's difficult to decipher their intention when they stop for an unknown (to me) reason without signalling their intention, especially when their goal to be polite isn't particularly necessary or helpful (like when there isn't any traffic). After a brief stalemate, they usually flash their high beams or give a wave, after which, if I don't quickly execute the turn, then I'm the dick who is holding things up. Mind you, by this point I have already stopped and resigned myself to wait for the oncoming traffic to pass.

To be clear, there are potentially exceptions, like in heavy traffic, in which allowing the left-turner to proceed can be helpful, but this also carries the risk of an unwitting oncoming driver passing the "right-of-way giver" on the right, thus leading to an accident.

Bottom line, the right of way is determined by the rules of the road, and is not available for individual drivers to give or take as they see fit (defensive yielding to avoid danger is another topic).

 

when I’m on a road with multiple lanes going the same direction, and the only other car on the road decides to rear end/sideswipe me as opposed to going into the left lane like a normal not drunk person.

 

Good demonstration of why DUI is so unconscionable, but this should certainly be more that a pet peeve. Looks like you (unlike your car) were probably ok (I hope so). Hopefully the damage can be repaired to your satisfaction.

 

I feel this.. being too polite is a problem sometimes. I don't need special treatment, just do your job and I'll do mine

 

People do that here sometimes too and it drives me nuts. Especially at stop signs. When someone tries to 'be nice' and let someone go that was supposed to wait their turn, it fucks the whole order up.

I also hate it when I'm walking my daughter in her stroller around our neighborhood and people do this. We have some streets to cross without stop signs, so I wait for traffic to clear. Some people see me with the stroller and immediately slam their brakes to let us cross. I appreciate the gesture but no thanks...just because you stop doesn't mean everyone else will and it puts us in more danger to cross the street. Just keep going and we'll wait for it to clear

 

Not coming to a complete stop at a 4 way stop/going before it's your turn.
Not allowing someone to merge in when they have their blinker on but instead speeding up to block them (usually some bitch driving an expensive German vehicle).
Following too close.
Smoking (I don't wanna smell your cancer).
Speeding in neighborhoods where kids could be playing.
Leaving your loud ass/degenerate music on while pumping gas just so you "look" cool.
Having no tread left on your tires.
Not driving the speed limit.
Driving with your brights on with other vehicles coming toward you.

 

It certainly should be. It's too bad that it is one of those things lawyers get paid lots of money to get people off of on technicalities.

 

Yes, "falling for the wave" is a big reason for crashes in my area. One driver waves the other out to be polite and then doesn't account for the other lane. Or they then can't understand why the driver didn't see them attempt to stop them from going when they realized it was no longer safe; nevermind that said driver is now paying attention to where they are driving and not to the guy who waved them out.

 

I have the reverse problem...people who ride the shoulder of a merge way past the lane merging just to get ahead a few cars in traffic

Another personal favorite (read: deep hate) is the fake turn. Where people throw their blinker on, drive up the turn lane, then cut back in at the last second. Sometimes it's genuine error, but most of the time you can tell they're just impatient scumbags

 

The shoulder maneuver is one that cops are sometimes monitoring and enforcing, so there is potential for some satisfaction from time to time. As much as I understand the temptation to "teach a lesson", I remind myself that it's reckless to escalate these things, and someone could actually be having an emergency (most are just assholes, though).

 

Yeah I don't really ever enforce it myself tbh. Just shake a fist and carry on with my day.

Though one time I did have a fun encounter with some entitled lady in a large SUV. I was already well past the merge, and saw her riding the shoulder to get ahead. She figured I would be a good victim, and tried to cut ahead of me. I didn't let her...eventually she was right next to me in the shoulder with her window rolled down screaming at me. I stayed the course, and she eventually got behind me to lay on the horn for a solid 30 seconds straight. I just laughed.

If it's a real emergency, IMO someone would ride the shoulder all the way with their blinkers on, or just not try to cut in. She was furious, and I found it hilarious.

 

Yup..annoys me when someone in front of me does this not thinking about those behind them too. I'm all for being polite but don't do it when you have traffic behind.

 

Thought of another one.

Folks that use a decel/turn lane to go around a vehicle stopped, with a blinker on, waiting to make a left hand turn. I got pulled over by State Patrol when I was in my teens for doing this. Luckily, the officer was nice and just gave me a lecture and a warning. It has stuck with me ever since.

Also, people that use a decel/turn lane to go around a speed hump/bump. I have one particular place I drive on a daily and people regularly drive into the turn lane, looking as though they are about to turn right into the neighborhood, but then accel and merge back onto the road. I have to make a left into the neighborhood road so I never know if I turn, if I'm gonna get T-Boned or not because these fuckers can't slow down a little and go over the speed bump. Hardly anyone uses their blinker around here anymore so it's just a guessing game as to what their actual intentions are. I wish the county PD would sit and watch there because they would hit their quota in 1 day.

 

Fucking pussies who can’t navigate rotaries. We have a 5 way double lane you gotta play chicken rotary nearby. On the day both my kids got their permits I made them navigate it a dozen times at rush hour by teaching them how to read the traffic and roll into the openings safely. I’m talking Boston drivers. If a 16 year old new driver can learn this in 20 minutes so can all the stupid fucks with a license.