Driving pet peeves

Here in Cleveland and surrounding towns there's a terrible habit of people who are providing any sort of service to a home to just park on the street and throw on their flashers, or worse, just park there with no cones or anything. Were not talking just neighborhood streets, but 4 lane roads and everything in between. Lawn mowing companies, HVAC, plumbers, etc. They just roll up and stop in the road for a few hours instead of the driveway. I used to live in Atlanta and that shit would never fly; you'd get a ticket in a heartbeat.

 

People putting on makeup/doing their hair rather than focusing on driving. If you rear-end the car in front of you, or swerve into the car next to you, or get rear-ended because you're going too slow - That eye liner is going to be IN YOUR EYE!!!!! Think about how you'll look then!

Texas - city roads are usually 3 lanes each direction. Road will be empty besides you, someone will pull out into your lane and go slow.
Or, there will be 3 straight lanes, and 2 left-only turn lanes - jackass in the left most straight-only lane stops with his blinker on on a green light, with the two left turn lanes have a red and no one in them. My horn was blaring for about 30 seconds before he decided the left turn wasn't going to happen.

 

You can park in the street, it's legal. I now lawns, and park on the street almost always. I don't want to have to get my trailer in and out of the driveway, plus don't want to prevent the home owner from coming or going. Only home I pull in the driveway is a large old farmhouse. They have a massive U-dribe and parking lot.

 

Well I dont know you but I hate you even more now.


Kidding.

 

Back in 2010 when I was still on my learner's permit, I was in my Tacoma (mom was in front seat as per PA state law) driving to a friend's party. The plan was for my mom to drive the truck home and for me to go home with another friend who had a driver's license later on. I know you are supposed to "keep right except to pass," but cut me some slack I was a new driver. I was also doing at least the speed limit and I was actually passing a slow moving vehicle in the right lane. All of a sudden this asshole in a Chevrolet Express Class C motorhome roars behind me and just blinds me with his high-beams. I don't seem to remember him beeping, and if I'd had to brake suddenly, my roughly 6-month-old Tacoma (with like 4K miles on it at the time) would have probably been totaled before it's life truly began...

I just got out of his way.

 

"I was still on my learner's permit, I was in my Tacoma"
I just had drool on my chin looking at trucks while on my learner's permit!
First vehicle in my name at 45! Wife's insurance was much cheaper than mine, so only had vehicles in her name. But not anymore.

 

People who actually do something wrong and flip you the bird when you beep at them...

One time I was driving on Route 611 headed towards Doylestown, and some guy in a red 2nd gen DCLB coming the opposite direction made a left turn in front of me. I would have T-boned him if I hadn't slammed on the brakes. I laid on the horn and he flipped me off...

 

Drunks. Not drunk drivers. Just drunks...

One story of hundreds...
One time I was I pulled into the parking lot of Puck after running an errand, and there was a group of drunk people ambling along slowly right in the middle of the road. They were absolutely oblivious to the fact that there was a pickup truck inching along behind them. Finally got fed up and blasted the horn, and one drunk started puffing out his chest and acting like he wanted to start a fight...

 

DRUNK PEDESTRIANS...

I've also had a drunk guy start beating on the hood of my truck when I beeped at him to get OUT OF THE ROAD and onto the sidewalk, and then there's the asshole who walked right up to my truck and swiped a bag of ice out of the bed, then threw it at my truck and hit the roof when the bouncer came after him...

 

Pedestrians who either lack a brain or seem intent on committing suicide by Tacoma...

Even if there is a crosswalk there, why would anybody think it's okay to just run in front of a vehicle making a left turn when that vehicle has a green light and they have a red light? Why I'm glad I have a dashcam...

 

More like they force themselves in in a car that is all beaten up and know you will back off to save your car that you care about. The closing lane always moves faster.

 

My favorite... I was making a left turn onto the narrow alley my bar is on, and stopped to let a group of people cross at the crosswalk. Problem is I was almost entirely in the opposing lane, this idiot stopped in the MIDDLE of the crosswalk to carry on a conversation, and a Nissan Rogue hauled ass around the corner... I laid on the horn and this guy threw up his hands like I had no right to be beeping at him but did ultimately move...

 

One time I had a group of teenagers in a GTI tailgating me very closely, and I was very tempted to just slam on the brakes... I actually just slowed WAYYY down and they got the message and backed off...

Seriously, why would you tailgate a pickup truck in a compact?

 

In residential neighborhoods... People who stop their car in the middle of the street to chat with their neighbor who is also in their car and block you from getting to your house...

I got home from work at about 9pm one time, wasn't in a particularly good mood, and just wanted to plop down in front of the TV with a cold beer. I turned onto my street and the woman in the Lexus in front of me stops to chat with her neighbor coming in the opposite direction in her car. These two chatty women were completely blocking the street AND the fastest way to my house. I wasn't having it and just laid on the horn before they could even really talk. No, I don't regret doing that... Don't block me from getting to my house after a 9-hour shift so you can exchange gossip...

 

Classified info you're a horny driver aren't you? Nobody likes a horny driver always blowing your horn.

 

Good point, but anyone who does that had better be prepared to buy me a new bumper if they rear-end me....

 

Yeah, I admit that... I'm too horn happy, but nobody ever beeps at me... What does that tell you?

 

I keep seeing the ones that stop short from the line or leave 2 to 3 car lengths between cars. Stopping short is going to cause someone to rearend them when you figured you had plenty of space to stop. These also seem to be the ones that get one car through the turn arrow before it goes yellow since they were so far back from the line.

Another one is on the shore where people 10 miles under the speed limit and see a cop and still slow down. They seem to also be the ones to drive half on the shoulder if someone is coming from the opposite direction.

I keep getting cutoff coming out of the complex by people that think turning vehicles have the right of way over going straight.

The other day someone stopped making a left turn and waved someone from the parking lot across while I was going straight. I got the one finger salute. Idiots.

 

Spend 35 years driving for a living, and you will see HUNDREDS of examples of EVERY ONE of the aforementioned idiots out there, as well as dozens more that you would NEVER think people could do while driving!

 

Try driving a fire engine or ladder truck where they have a cell phone in one hand and Starbucks in the other.