You drive me Crazy - 10 annoying driving habits...

[darin]

How many of these are you guilty of?

NOBODY i've met says "yup! I'm the jackass in the left lane (illegally in most states) - because as long as I go the speed limit, I can be in whichever lane I please!!"

or "Yup - I'm one of 'all those other crazy drivers' out there who shouldn't be on a bicycle, much less driving a car!"

:)



It's been said that the only two ways of really insulting someone is to call the person a lousy lover or a poor driver. I don't know about the first, but motoring among the unwashed for just a few minutes uncovers a catalog of offenses, ranging from simple discourtesies to outright felonies.

Most bad driving habits can be traced back to selfish behavior. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involve some form of driver inattention in the three seconds prior to collision. Reaching for a moving object increases the accident risk by a staggering 9 times; reading, applying makeup or dialing a cell phone by 3 times. Clearly pandering to such odds is rude to anyone owning sheet metal within striking distance, not to mention the irritation a near miss from such boneheaded action engenders.

And while we often see who sits behind the wheel, the blame goes deeper than just the offending party. For as complex as driving a car can be, we receive precious little training in the science (almost always from overworked teachers), and there's no follow-up instruction unless we get a ticket and attend traffic school. With that in mind, poking fun at the collective driving skill of American motorists might prove instructive; thus, MSN Autos has called upon me, the staff curmudgeon, to growl publically. So put it in park while I cover my short list of peeves from the pavement.





Read the rest list here:

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=726147&page=print

[Sitarro]

How many of these are you guilty of?

NOBODY i've met says "yup! I'm the jackass in the left lane (illegally in most states) - because as long as I go the speed limit, I can be in whichever lane I please!!"

or "Yup - I'm one of 'all those other crazy drivers' out there who shouldn't be on a bicycle, much less driving a car!"

:)

Read the rest list here:

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=726147&page=print

I take driving as serious as it is, propelling yourself around the landscape at high speeds in a capsule that weights tons and because of basic physics, takes a while to stop. Therefore, I'm a defensive driver, someone that pays attention to everything around me. I spend a great deal of my time working the lights also, I don't understand why others don't want as much light as possible. After living in Colorado for ten years, I keep my fog lights on all of the time at night, you can see the deer or elk about to jump in your path that normal lights don't illuminate.

It is an extraordinarily dangerous thing we do everyday and we can get complacent but that will be your demise eventually. The bigger, more comfortable and automatic cars are made, the more dangerous it is out there. Automatic transmissions have made the rolling stop the norm. With my truck, I have to stop to get it into first gear. The multiple adjustment lazyboy seats that are now in big truck stationwagons (SUVs) make people think they are in their living room watching the road on TV while they snack and talk to their friends on the cell phone. I don't have a problem with comfortable seating, it just should be geared around driving not relaxing.

Like so many things in our modern world, technology can be bought and with that technology, people are lulled into thinking they have some how bought a replacement for skill, not a big deal with cameras or computers but serious stuff in a vehicle capable of extremely quick speed or touchy handling. In the hands of a skilled driver, that quickness and touchy handling can get one from here to there very fast. In the hands of the unskilled, disaster can happen even faster. Parents who try to buy the love of their children and show off for the neighbors, the ones that buy their kids an extremely fast first car, they should be jailed. My nephew knew a 17 year old in high school who was given a new black Corvette for her birthday, she was pissed at her father for not getting her the Porsche that she wanted......... she eventually killed herself in that Vette, ran it into a tree at high speed on slick highways.

The housewife that just has to have the new Land Rover because everyone else is driving one. She moves up three feet up from her Mercedes but thinks she can drive it the same way, she can't and rolls it on the freeway changing lanes while texting her kid.

My 2 cents......... I agree with everything the author says, people just don't take it seriously enough.

[glockmail]

The left lane thing drives me nuts. I can be the 4th car on a 6 lane highway and three bastards will line themselves up right across and block me- for miles. Its worse here in NC than anywhere I lived, including MA, CT and NY. I've never seen anyone pulled over for being, what I have termed, a "Leftist". In fact I saw a local news show recently where they had a cop as a passenger in an unmarked camera car, doing 50 in a 55, taking video of everyone honking and giving them the finger, and the cop remarking on 'how rude everyone is when they drive'. Gimme a fucking break.

Also on a 2-lane when you get some asshole doing 45 in a 55, then the speed limit goes to 35 and he still does 45, until you get to a passing area and he picks it up to 60. That asshole deserves to be fucked up the ass by a gay biker gang.

[darin]

I try to be a Strategic Driver. I try to anticipate the moves of the cars around me, and try to plan my lane-changes and what-not. I'm not 100% right, but it helps keep me watching. When it makes sense I speed (often to put distance between myself and a scary/scared driver). When it makes sense I get passed a lot. I try to be considerate (by staying to the right always, except when passing or setting up for a turn within 1/4 mile).

[Abbey Marie]

I take driving as serious as it is, propelling yourself around the landscape at high speeds in a capsule that weights tons and because of basic physics, takes a while to stop. Therefore, I'm a defensive driver, someone that pays attention to everything around me.

Me too, baby. You have to be on red alert every moment in the car.

On I-95 last weekend, I was in the right-most of three lanes, going about 70 mph, when some guy tried to pass me on the right shoulder.

(Note: he didn't pass me. :laugh2:).

[glockmail]

Me too, baby. You have to be on red alert every moment in the car.

On I-95 last weekend, I was in the right-most of three lanes, going about 70 mph, when some guy tried to pass me on the right shoulder.

(Note: he didn't pass me. :laugh2:).Lemme guess: the serene northeast. I've had Massholes do that to me all he time. Back in the late 70's they used to pave the shoulders with loose pea stone, and they'd spray it all over the side of your car as they passed!

They have a related trick here- pass you in the decel lane just as you are about to enter it, to exit. I've learned to keep my eye on the shoulder within a 1/2 mile from the start of the taper, and cut the bastard off before he gets to it.

[Abbey Marie]

Lemme guess: the serene northeast. I've had Massholes do that to me all he time. Back in the late 70's they used to pave the shoulders with loose pea stone, and they'd spray it all over the side of your car as they passed!

They have a related trick here- pass you in the decel lane just as you are about to enter it, to exit. I've learned to keep my eye on the shoulder within a 1/2 mile from the start of the taper, and cut the bastard off before he gets to it.

Close enough. Pennsylvania.

[dan]

Close enough. Pennsylvania.

Damn, that's what I was going to guess, too!

[glockmail]

Eastern PA is the northeast, right along with NJ and metro NY. The attitude has even contaminated MD and northeast VA.

[Immanuel]

I'd say that the one of those that I come close to fitting is number 8 and it is not so much that I don't see you, but if I see you passing dozens of cars all of whom merge before the traffic bunched up, and then you try and force your way in at the last minute just because you think you are better than everyone else, I'll be damned if I'm going to let you in. This is especially the case when you are in a right turn only lane and then you want to stop everyone who wants to turn right so that you can get in ahead of everyone else by forcing your way in to the left hand lane that was stopped.

Believe me, you're likely to know that I see you when I salute you.

Immie

[Abbey Marie]

Eastern PA is the northeast, right along with NJ and metro NY. The attitude has even contaminated MD and northeast VA.

PA is considered a Mid-Atlantic state. The people are pretty much the same, though.

[glockmail]

PA is considered a Mid-Atlantic state. The people are pretty much the same, though. And VA is over the Mason-Dixon line, yet the crappy NE attitudes prevail.

[darin]

I'd say that the one of those that I come close to fitting is number 8 and it is not so much that I don't see you, but if I see you passing dozens of cars all of whom merge before the traffic bunched up, and then you try and force your way in at the last minute just because you think you are better than everyone else, I'll be damned if I'm going to let you in. This is especially the case when you are in a right turn only lane and then you want to stop everyone who wants to turn right so that you can get in ahead of everyone else by forcing your way in to the left hand lane that was stopped.

Believe me, you're likely to know that I see you when I salute you.

Immie

I used to be like that, Immie. I've decided to use every available lane. There used to be a route I'd take home which was two-lanes going into one. Initially I'd sit miles-back from the merge point in a line of traffic. Eventually, I decided "My taxes are paying for that very-little-used right lane, so I'll use it."

After, I'd drive down the right lane until the merge point, saving me at times about 1 mile of sitting stopped. This was about 5 miles before a bridge, and for every 1/4 mile ahead I could get, it'd save me about 5 miles in commute time (as at the half-way point of the bridge people would decide to drive the speed limit - all of a sudden!).

So - be humble and let ppl merge who are using the road their taxes are paying for.

:)

[glockmail]

If two lanes are merging into one, for example the right lane disappearing, the drivers around here stack up for miles in the left lane. They get all pissed if someone uses the left lane for what its supposed to be used for. In MA they fill up both lanes then, amazingly, politely alternate in at the pinch point. It is the one thing that MA drivers do correctly and cooperatively.

[Immanuel]

If two lanes are merging into one, for example the right lane disappearing, the drivers around here stack up for miles in the left lane. They get all pissed if someone uses the left lane for what its supposed to be used for. In MA they fill up both lanes then, amazingly, politely alternate in at the pinch point. It is the one thing that MA drivers do correctly and cooperatively.

The problem is that the people in the free lane don't merge. They squeeze their way in front of moving traffic and cause everyone behind them to have to slam on their brakes and screwing traffic up for the next several hours. If traffic is moving realitively steady, I have no problem letting people in. What I hate most is the people who don't just merge when the lane ends, they drive up on the shoulder and go as far as they can or the ones in the "right turn only" lane and they drive up to the stop light and then wait to speed ahead of the people who were in the correct lane. In the meantime people who were doing as they were supposed to in order to turn right have to wait behind them.


Immie

[glockmail]

The problem is that the people in the free lane don't merge. They squeeze their way in front of moving traffic and cause everyone behind them to have to slam on their brakes and screwing traffic up for the next several hours. If traffic is moving realitively steady, I have no problem letting people in. What I hate most is the people who don't just merge when the lane ends, they drive up on the shoulder and go as far as they can or the ones in the "right turn only" lane and they drive up to the stop light and then wait to speed ahead of the people who were in the correct lane. In the meantime people who were doing as they were supposed to in order to turn right have to wait behind them.


Immie

If they are traveling on the shoulder then they are breaking the law. If they are in a RTO lane and don't take a RT then they are breaking the law. If they are in a legal lane then they have every right to be there.

[Immanuel]

If they are traveling on the shoulder then they are breaking the law. If they are in a RTO lane and don't take a RT then they are breaking the law. If they are in a legal lane then they have every right to be there.

Oh, I agree, but what pisses me off is not that they are there, but rather that when they get to the end of the lane, they think I have to stop to let them in or be forced off the road. I have absolutely no problem with them finding a place to merge into traffic. My problem is when they don't try to merge but rather they get to the end of the lane and then boom start pushing their way in.

Therein lies the problem. They do not try to merge. They are there and they are going to pull into the lane you are in, when their back tires are even with your front tires and if you don't let them in then they will hit you.

Those are the ones who I salute.

Immie

[5stringJeff]

I'd say that the one of those that I come close to fitting is number 8 and it is not so much that I don't see you, but if I see you passing dozens of cars all of whom merge before the traffic bunched up, and then you try and force your way in at the last minute just because you think you are better than everyone else, I'll be damned if I'm going to let you in. This is especially the case when you are in a right turn only lane and then you want to stop everyone who wants to turn right so that you can get in ahead of everyone else by forcing your way in to the left hand lane that was stopped.

Believe me, you're likely to know that I see you when I salute you.

Immie

This is one of my biggest ones too.

[glockmail]

Oh, I agree, but what pisses me off is not that they are there, but rather that when they get to the end of the lane, they think I have to stop to let them in or be forced off the road. I have absolutely no problem with them finding a place to merge into traffic. My problem is when they don't try to merge but rather they get to the end of the lane and then boom start pushing their way in.

Therein lies the problem. They do not try to merge. They are there and they are going to pull into the lane you are in, when their back tires are even with your front tires and if you don't let them in then they will hit you.

Those are the ones who I salute.

ImmieIf they are in front of you then you should let them in. You had the chance to use the right lane and didn't, so you're just being spiteful, and uncooperative. *shrug*

[Immanuel]

If they are in front of you then you should let them in. You had the chance to use the right lane and didn't, so you're just being spiteful, and uncooperative. *shrug*

Why should I have to stop and make everyone behind me stop so that an asshole that thinks he is better than everyone can skip ahead of other cars?

Again, he isn't merging, he's forcing his way in.

Edit: And yes, I should let him in. However, he should not FORCE his way in. Therein; lies the issue.

Immie

[5stringJeff]

There's a part of my commute where the road goes down to three lanes. The two right hand lanes go straight and form the on-ramp onto the freeway. The lefthand lane is a Left Turn Only lane. The line between the lanes turns solid white (i.e. no changing lanes) about 100 yards back from the traffic light (where the on-ramp starts). Every morning, I must see five cars drive WAY past where the solid white line begins, and then cut in. That pisses me off. I will let anyone in before that line turns solid white; after that, no way.

[Immanuel]

There's a part of my commute where the road goes down to three lanes. The two right hand lanes go straight and form the on-ramp onto the freeway. The lefthand lane is a Left Turn Only lane. The line between the lanes turns solid white (i.e. no changing lanes) about 100 yards back from the traffic light (where the on-ramp starts). Every morning, I must see five cars drive WAY past where the solid white line begins, and then cut in. That pisses me off. I will let anyone in before that line turns solid white; after that, no way.

Typically, if they signal and make an effort to look before they are 2/3rds of the way in my lane, I will let them in. It is the ones that are going to push there way in no matter what that piss me off.

Immie

[Abbey Marie]

I once had a guy try to force his way into my toll booth lane so far, that his truck actually bent my driver's side mirror. He stopped pushing. It's just my personality to never let anyone push their way.

[glockmail]

Why should I have to stop and make everyone behind me stop so that an asshole that thinks he is better than everyone can skip ahead of other cars?

Again, he isn't merging, he's forcing his way in.

Edit: And yes, I should let him in. However, he should not FORCE his way in. Therein; lies the issue.

Immie You're assuming what he thinks, not that it matters. He's got the right of way.

[glockmail]

There's a part of my commute where the road goes down to three lanes. The two right hand lanes go straight and form the on-ramp onto the freeway. The lefthand lane is a Left Turn Only lane. The line between the lanes turns solid white (i.e. no changing lanes) about 100 yards back from the traffic light (where the on-ramp starts). Every morning, I must see five cars drive WAY past where the solid white line begins, and then cut in. That pisses me off. I will let anyone in before that line turns solid white; after that, no way.


Gores
The term “gore” means the area of convergence between two lanes of traffi c. The gore is the area, usually similar to a triangle, formed by solid white lines between an existing lane of travel and a merging lane of travel. Gores are most often seen at the convergence of an acceleration lane and the adjacent travel lane on a controlled access highway. The gore is the area bounded by solid white lines between the acceleration lane and the adjacent travel lane. Drivers entering the controlled access highway are prohibited by law from crossing this solid white line, and are required to continue traveling in the acceleration lane until the solid white line disappears. 2009 GA Driver's Manual, Chapter 8.

[Immanuel]

You're assuming what he thinks, not that it matters. He's got the right of way.

Wrong he does not have the right of way... such a move will get him sited for an unsafe lane change. You cannot change lanes into another vehicle or directly in front of another vehicle in such a way that they cannot avoid hitting you.

You do not have the right to merge into traffic in an unsafe manner.

http://www.pe.com/columns/on_the_road/stories/PE_News_Local_S_traffic05.43141f2.html

"A co-worker was in a traffic accident and was found to be 'at fault' because the other vehicle had lane possession," wrote the Corona resident. "I couldn't find a definition of it on the DMV Web site or in their driver handbook. What is it?"

A: A definition of "lane possession" could not be located in the California Vehicle Code or through limited research on the Internet. Law enforcement officials, however, utilize a "working definition" of the term in carrying out their duties. And it's based largely on some sections of the vehicle code.

"Lane possession boils down to two points," said Lt. Kevin Gordon of the California Highway Patrol. "Am I lawfully within the lane being referenced? And do I have the right of way for the driving situation? If the answer is 'yes' to both, then that driver would be considered to possess the lane."

Gordon referenced 21658 of the vehicle code that notes for a roadway with two or more lanes, a vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from the lane until such movement can be made with reasonable safety.

"This is the section that covers unsafe lane changes and probably is the most applicable," Gordon wrote in an e-mail. "Essentially, you have to drive within the lane and cannot move your vehicle from that lane unless the movement can be done safely. Further, if a vehicle is traveling on a roadway, within a lane, it is considered to have the right of way."


Immie

[glockmail]

Wrong he does not have the right of way... such a move will get him sited for an unsafe lane change. You cannot change lanes into another vehicle or directly in front of another vehicle in such a way that they cannot avoid hitting you. .... He still has the right of way- you are in the wrong.

"Lane possession boils down to two points," said Lt. Kevin Gordon of the California Highway Patrol. "Am I lawfully within the lane being referenced? And do I have the right of way for the driving situation? If the answer is 'yes' to both, then that driver would be considered to possess the lane."

[Immanuel]

He still has the right of way- you are in the wrong.

"Lane possession boils down to two points," said Lt. Kevin Gordon of the California Highway Patrol. "Am I lawfully within the lane being referenced? And do I have the right of way for the driving situation? If the answer is 'yes' to both, then that driver would be considered to possess the lane."

In both of my situation described above the answer would be yes to both for me not for the asshole who forces his way in.

You are in the wrong.

Immie

[Immanuel]

Here, you might try boning up on the rules of the road which it appears you may have forgotten over the years.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl600.pdf

You might check page 26 for "lane change"

and page 40 for "Space to merge"

Please note it is the responsibility of the driver who is merging to be sure that the lane is clear. In other words, the driver with lane possession has the right of way.

Immie

[5stringJeff]

2009 GA Driver's Manual, Chapter 8.

There's no gore. Both lanes continue on, with a solid white line between them.

[glockmail]

Here, you might try boning up on the rules of the road which it appears you may have forgotten over the years.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl600.pdf

You might check page 26 for "lane change"

and page 40 for "Space to merge"

Please note it is the responsibility of the driver who is merging to be sure that the lane is clear. In other words, the driver with lane possession has the right of way.

ImmieIts the responsibility of you not to follow so closely and attempt to "close the gap".

[Lizabeth]

The left lane thing drives me nuts. I can be the 4th car on a 6 lane highway and three bastards will line themselves up right across and block me- for miles. Its worse here in NC than anywhere I lived, including MA, CT and NY. I've never seen anyone pulled over for being, what I have termed, a "Leftist". In fact I saw a local news show recently where they had a cop as a passenger in an unmarked camera car, doing 50 in a 55, taking video of everyone honking and giving them the finger, and the cop remarking on 'how rude everyone is when they drive'. Gimme a fucking break.

Also on a 2-lane when you get some asshole doing 45 in a 55, then the speed limit goes to 35 and he still does 45, until you get to a passing area and he picks it up to 60. That asshole deserves to be fucked up the ass by a gay biker gang.

They are commonly referred to as "Left Lane Richards" here in NJ! I have to agree it is a pet peeve of mine. However, I can say this if you can drive the roadways in NJ without experiencing at least one bout of road rage, then you just might be the inconsiderate driver that the article refers.

People who insist on tailgating during inclement weather or the idiots who regardless of weather ride with the hazard lights on are both runners up for me in the 10 most annoying driving habits.