Driving pet peeves

People who block the left lane, but seem determined not to let you get in front of them when you're finally forced to pass them on the right!

 

Vehicles that are so poorly maintained, they make the typical vehicle in a demolition derby look showroom-fresh!

 

Had one of those pass me in TX. It was going at least 15-20over the posted limit, smoking, rattling...etc. I thought to myself that car isnt going to make it far. Sure enough it dies about a mile up the road still smoking, so I pull over to help. Had 2 clueless women in it with 3 kids and not one car seat! Then instead of pulling off the side of the road they leave it half parked in the right lane and in traffic. About this time a state trooper pulls up as Im telling one woman holding a kid to get the hell out of the middle of the highway. She and her kid about got smacked by a truck. I helped push the car out of the way and told the trooper have fun with this one...

 

@wilcam47

Here's a unique one...

Roadside/sidewalk panhandlers!

If they want to stand by the side of the road holding up a sign and waiting for a sympathetic motorist to give them money, that's fine...

I'm talking about a specific incident in Doylestown Borough earlier this year...

It was a nice day, so I had the windows down in my truck. I was driving from the state store back to the bar where I work with a truck bed full of liquor, and I stopped at a red light with Billy Joel blasting. There's a SEPTA bus stop close to this traffic light. Out of nowhere, this disheveled-looking guy (white guy, probably in his 30s or 40s, more than likely from the city) comes running up to my truck saying he needs money for the bus. Feeling bad, but more worried about looking like an asshole, I gave him two bucks before driving off...

Needless to say, I keep my windows rolled up in certain parts of Doylestown now...

 

When I was 16, I was second in line at a stop sign. The lady in front of me had the right of way and a clearing to go, so she gets off her brakes and goes. I let off my brakes and looked left to see if I'd have time to go. I bumped into her because she stopped, almost completely onto the highway, to let a car on the other side of the 4 lane highway go first. Still my fault, but annoying nonetheless.

Other than that, people who pass me and then slow down in front of me. Mega bonus points if it's at night and I can see their phone lighting up their car when they slow down.

 

This is not a driving pet peeve but a good samaritan story. Someone's 1998-2002ish Dodge Intrepid died on York Road in Furlong (near my old house) At least they'd had the presence of mind to pull off the road. They also knew exactly what was wrong with the car (I think it was the alternator or the distributor; something electrical). I always keep a pair of jumper cables in my Tacoma for situations like these, and I pulled over to see if they needed a jump. They didn't need a jump, as the problem with the car was much bigger than that. There was, however, a gas station with a garage directly across the street. The problem was that across the street was actually four lanes of traffic (two going in each direction), on a busy stretch of road. I'm guessing that a Dodge Intrepid, not including the gas in the tank and the driver, weighs more than 3,500 pounds. I figured they could use all the help they could get to push the Dodge across the street, so that's exactly what I did. We waited until traffic cleared up, and then 3 or 4 guys pushed the dead Dodge across the street while another guy (I'm guessing the owner) steered. That had to suck, since the car was dead, and as a result there no power steering or power brakes...

The guys thanked me for my help, and then I dashed back across the street to my Tacoma and continued on my way. I don't remember when exactly this happened, but I do know that it was at least a year ago, it was quite cold outside, and it was after we moved into the new house. I'm guessing it was late 2016-early 2017...

 

I saw someone watching their iPad or some sort of tablet device while they were driving! They just had the damn thing propped up on the dash and I initially thought it was the GPS display...

 

While out drinking with friends one night, a friend of a friend told me that he was driving home after a couple of beers. A woman ran a stop sign, making her at fault, and hit his car. The cops were called, and though tests showed he was below the legal limit, the cops still knew he'd been drinking. As a result, he was found at fault and his insurance had to pay for the damage to the woman's car...

Exactly why I go out of my way to not drink and drive! Just because you don't get a DUI and/or lose your license, does not mean that you will be free of all responsibility...

 

I live in AZ so this whole thread is basically what happens on a daily basis. But for some reason people don't start moving at green lights immediately here. I'm tired of it now and I've got shit to do, waiting another light cycle is annoying and I'm not the guy that goes through after it's red because another guy did it. When someone is sitting at a green I lay on the horn, and keep it on until they've begun moving. People also merge without looking here, I'm not talking look too quickly or misjudge they just plain don't fucking look because they're older than dirt or they have something more interesting on their phones. What can I say I honk at em all, been almost merged into multiple times and close calls on the Harley here and there as well.

 

Here's a good one...

One time just a month or two ago, I was waiting at a red light on a one-way street in Doylestown Borough. I think it was East State Street just past the County Theater, but I could be wrong.

So, the light turned green, but before I could take my foot off the brake, this fat middle-aged woman steps in the crosswalk and starts moseying the street in front of my truck as if she has the right of way. I toot my horn, and Large Marge looks at me with a dumbfounded (though not at all angry or upset) look on her place. I then give her a blank expression and point directly at the green light. She looks up at the green light and picks up the pace slightly...

 

At least she picked up the pace. Two days ago there was a father and his three young children all holding hands crossing 4 lanes moving traffic (40MPH zone), crosswalk was less than 200 feet away

 

One time I blasted my horn at a woman dragging her kids across the street with a child's ride-on toy of sort tucked under her arm. The light had just turned green and she darted in front of my truck, and she had the nerve to yell at me. Ironically, I'd been walking my boss's dog just moments earlier, and the children of this same woman had asked to pet the dog. We had a friendly conversation while the kids lavished attention on the dog.

I don't think this woman knew I was that same guy...

 

That's one of the few times I might not blast my horn because of the chaos that could occur if one of the kids darts off scared.

 

Yeah, I agree with you, but all I did was beep my horn. She flipped out at me...

 

Here's a fairly recent occurrence...

It happened earlier this month on Route 611 while I was running an errand for work, and I actually admit that I share some of the blame in this incident...

The right lane was packed, so I was in the left lane doing about 55-60. All of a sudden, this white 2004-2005ish Impala appears on the horizon. Now, what demographic typically drives older model, American-made, 4-door sedans? Senior citizens!

There were obviously two people in the car, so I assumed it was an elderly couple. I was expecting the driver to see me approaching rapidly before I ended up tailgating them, but they just seemed to slow down. They did not abruptly slow down, nor did they even hit their brakes (the lights never went on, anyway). Before long, I was 10-15 MPH under the speed limit in the fast lane, riding this Impala's ass. This went on for at least half a mile, until we came to a red light. I would like to point out that I never beeped at this Impala, not even even once. NEVER! They slowly accelerated, and after making sure I didn't cut off the SUV in the right lane, I turned on my signal and roared past this slowpoke in the left lane. The passenger stuck up his middle finger as I drove past. I would also like to point out that the driver and passenger were not elderly. The driver was a young black woman, probably in her early 30s at the oldest, who didn't even make eye contact with. The passenger was a white guy, probably in his 30s. I would like to say once again that it was the passenger who gave me the finger, not the driver!

I just ignored the guy, but unfortunately we were approaching another red light. The Impala was coming up quickly on my left, so I pointed my dashcam to the left. Sure enough, the guy starts to roll his window down. Without even making eye contact with the guy, I pointed at my dashcam. I still get a kick out of watching that video! The guy realizes he's on camera, shrugs in a combination of disgust and disappointment, rolls up his window, and looks straight ahead. The Impala then drops way back and I get in front of it. The Impala maintains a long distance until I make my left turn to get where I'm going. She kept driving in the direction of the turnpike...

 

That's a gift I wish I had gotten for XMAS, a dashcam. Hell I might just buy one, so many things that could have been avoided and it would have been cool to see my rollover earlier this year on instant replay.

 

Not using turn signals, all day long....by not using them, it just shows that they don't give a sh!t about anyone but themselves.

 

1: People that drive with their fucking dogs on their laps. It's not fucking cuddle time with pooch, it's don't hit me time with your fucking pos car

2: Turn lanes. They exist. They're there for you to use to turn. Don't wait till the last fucking second to half pull into it. It's not against the law to use the fucking lane in the middle of the road, in fact, it's encouraged.

 

seen this numerous times. Person uses a turning lane, left turn signal light blinking...then take a right completely cutting me off and cutting across the intersection!!!WTH!!

 

Some of my pet peeves are city driven. If you need to make a left turn I give you the flashing yellow arrow. It works great in intersections that don't have high traffic, but in areas with heavy traffic they suck. The pathetic part is a few weeks ago the city was scratching their head as to why there's so many wrecks at intersections that have them.