What is your biggest pet peeve about driving and why?

Tailgaters.

If you tailgate, I hate you.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. People who tootle along in the fast lane, with no one in front of them and a pack of cars behind them. I drive a lot in Southern California so it makes me CRAZY!!!!!! Also people who use the car pool lane with no intention of going any faster than the flow of traffic. UGGGG!!!!!!

@boots, We proably hate each other on the road. I only tailgate for a second in case you don’t realize I’m here, then I back off, but get the heck into the slow lane!!!

People who go 60 in the fast lane. It’s called the fast lane for a reason. And for those of you who say you do it to enforce the speed limit, newsflash, that’s not your job.

People who don’t signal before switching lanes. Uhh, hi. I’m right here. Kay, thanks.

@Judi If you mean somebody who decides to obey the speed limit regardless if there is a pack of assholes behind them, YOU ARE WRONG.

People talking on the phone. The danger of being a distracted driver is evident enough.

People going under the speed limit and, “Sunday driving”—Monday through Saturday. A-holes that fail to signal.

I hate the losers that don’t use their turn signals. They are there for safety. Use them. Also, when I come to a stop light on a one lane road and some dick creeps past me to turn right because I am going straight or left. If you do that to me I will drive your ass off the road. I will see to it that you get side swiped.

that I would have to
as I don’t know how

@spresto ; If there is no one in front of you, move to the slow lane. You’re the one who causes traffic jams on busy freeways. Single lane roads I have no problem with unless you fail to use slow vehicle turnouts.

People who view overtaking lanes on motorways or dual carriageways as “fast lanes”, and either just sit in them when they aren’t overtaking (because they think they have a right to, as they are travelling “fast”), or get really impatient when a legitimate user of the lane is overtaking, but just not at as high a speed as they wish.

I don’t know about America (so I’m not intentionally directing this comment at the people above – your laws may be different), but I know that here in the UK no motorway lanes are speeded. They are for overtaking traffic only. I’ve just as much right to overtake as the next person, but I own a small car with a 998cc engine, so when I overtake it sometimes takes a whole few seconds longer. I don’t really see why I should sit behind a slow-moving lorry and never overtake because it takes my car a little while to get up speed. I obviously use the lane as courteously as possible, moving in when there is plenty of room and not causing anyone to slow down, and moving back out when I’ve finished overtaking, but get so sick of idiots that bear down on the rear of my car when my overtaking at 85mph in the outside lane isn’t fast enough for their 95+ motorway speeding.

Tailgating is definitely my most loathed driving peeve. It’s utterly selfish and dangerous. To be honest, I don’t mind people driving recklessly – if they end up wrapped around a tree or a brick wall because of their own idiocy, fair enough. I just can’t stand when people force their recklessness upon me. Other than making one appear childishly unable to control one’s aggression whilst at the wheel, I’m not quite sure what else tailgaing achieves.

My pet driving peeve is getting up in the morning and heading out to find that my bloomin wife and taken my bloomin car and not hers, then I have to take her bloomin car instead. Adjust the bloomin seats and bloomin mirrors, Seriously. And then when I do manage to get my car back I have to re-bloomin-adjust the seats and mirrors in my car.

BLOOMIN!!! Ahh, feel better now.

@reverie ; European drivers are much more courteous. I don’t mind at all if you actually pass. It’s the people who just cruise there, pacing the car next to them. If they want to go the same speed as the car next to them then they should get in the same lane as them.

One last thing…
Don’t eat in my car.

@Judi, yes, I absolutely agree! Anyone that just floats around in an overtaking lane, unaware of a stream of traffic behind them when there’s no traffic on the inside lane (or traffic travelling at the same speed of them), is most annoying! I guess a lack of self-awareness and awareness of others when you’re driving is just as annoying as it is in other aspects of life.

@Judi or you can just go around. It is called a speed limit for a reason. SPEED LIMIT. Not speed minimum.

I can’t go around if you’re pacing along beside the guy in the next lane.

@Judi I don’t do that I am in the slow lane. And believe it or not. I have had you and everyone like you still ride my ass.

@spresto, I’m absolutely sympathetic to you (as you can see from my post above), but if someone is in the outermost lane, “going around” them constitutes undertaking, which in the UK at least, is illegal. It’s considered unsafe to undertake somebody (i.e. overtake them on the inside) – although from your last response I’m not sure if this is what you mean, but it raises an interesting question – is undertaking illegal in the USA?

Wow, what a bunch of grumpy drivers!

My biggest peeve about driving is “PEOPLE”! Why, because there are so many idiots out there.

@reverie I am not sure what you mean by undertaking.

The other motorists. Oh and cyclists. Erm… and pedestrians. Also town planners…

@spresto, undertaking is to pass a car on the “kerb side” or “inside” lane. In the UK, it means being overtaken by a car on your left, and I guess in America, this would be being overtaken by a car on your right (i.e. between you and the kerb).

@reverie I am sure yes it is illegal. My argument is simply that if I dont want to speed just because the rest of the pack decided that the flow of traffic should be 5 miles over the designated speed limit, I should’nt have too.

Scariest drivers – Montreal. You have to be aggressive and a pretty decent driver to mesh well. Otherwise, they will beat your ass with a baguette.

My pet peeve is the guys who zip to the head of long lines of traffic and worm their way in. I’m pretty darned tolerant of poor driving skills and screw ups, but when someone acts as if his time is worth more than the time of all those other folks in the line…man, that says a lot about the kind of person he is.

Turn signals. USE THEM! Egh it drives me fucking crazy when people dont use them like its so much effort to turn them on.

My other one is people that need to come to a complete stop to turn right. Slow up for the turn sure, but theres no reason to stop all the way just to turn right.

people that weave in and out of traffic…especially when they don’t use their blinker. i love to cut these people off and block them from passing.

@uberbatman

I fall under the second category of people you listed. I stop when turning right on red because I can still get a ticket if I don’t. I’m broke and therefore have no money to pay a ticket. If you don’t pay a ticket, you can loose your license and that’s about the last thing I need.

At a red yes, but some people come to a complete stop when turning right even when the light is green. That’s irritating

@boots im not talking about turning right on red. Im talking about green lights or even streets where there is no light, just a right turn. When people come to the full stops there, thats when i start yelling in my car lol.

Actual reckless drivers and angry people venting in their driving, actually endangering people.

Second, the speed limits and laws and enforcement that are about rules and not about actual safety. It sucks to be a very skilled and safety-minded driver in a high-performance car on an empty straight road in perfect conditions, with a 25 MPH speed limit and bored suburban officers hiding in unmarked cars with LIDAR waiting to righteously extract fines which lawyers can buy you out of, etc.

I want to be able to get a safety certification course that would let me be more responsible for managing my safety. Yes, pull me over and mess with me if I’m REALLY actually doing something dangerous, but if I’m not, being actually safe should be a defense, and don’t even try to tell me that the posted speed limit is really the safe limit for all drivers and vehicles in all conditions on all stretches of road!

Or perhaps I should just go live in Germany or Italy or someplace with different driving culture.

@Allie It’s not actually called “the fast lane”, it’s called the passing lane and technically that’s what it’s for and technically people aren’t supposed to be in it unless they are passing, but that’s impractical because of the level of traffic on most highways.

People not looking out for us MOTORBIKERS!!!

Oh and not using a roundabout properly!!!

and one word CARAVANS!!

Happy motoring!!!!!!!!

that reminds me…motorcycle people that insist on riding between the lanes on the white lines when traffic is at a standstill.

@ccatron haha!! My hubby does that a lot he reckons its the privilage of having a motorbike!! You get to where you are going quicker!!

@sakura – makes me want to open my door at the opportune moment! haha

haha! get on your bike and ride!!!

@ccatron I was surprised to find that was legal when I moved to California. Not something you ever see here, but it happened constantly there. I mean the motorcycles riding through stopped traffic, not the bit about opening your door at an opportune time

@ccatron In California and some other states it is legal to do this. Motorcycles can share lanes with cars. It is absolutely a privilege of riding a motorcycle.

not sure its illegal in UK possibly classed as dangerous driving?? But I reckon I could claim on your insurance if you opened your door, because you opened it without looking at the road without taking note of who or what was there?

either way, it gets on my nerves!

just thought of another one…people that wait till the last minute to merge….whether it be for an on-ramp or construction traffic. you saw the sign that said merge, put on your signal and merge! i can’t stand it when people fly to the front of the long line of people who have already merged. what makes this person more important than me?

I have to 2nd boots. Tailgaters are evil! Not using signal lights comes in at a close 2nd.

@ccatron totally agree on that point (merging)as they then expect to be able to push in and beep their horns like you are in the wrong!!

It’s a bit of a legacy rule for Motorcycle riders. Motorcycles used to be air cooled engines so sitting in traffic with everyone else would cause your bike to overheat. They just left it on the books after other cooling technology for bikes were developed.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic never knew that!! I like that rule, if I ever get pulled I’ll quote you!!! ;)

left lane blockers #$%#$ %^^^^ W#@$ %^$**** @@$%$%^ $%%%% ^%%&!

!!!!!

I don’t have none, whatever will be will be, we’re all in it together to learn of not manuevering than patiance.

Just thought of some more on my way home

People in the left lane driving EXACTLY the same speed as those in the right.

People who slow down whenever someone has been pulled over to look thus causing major traffic.

People who slow down far below the speed limit at the sight of a cop. If the speed limit is 50 and you see a cop, theres no reason to start going 45 now…. EGH

That I can’t read while I drive. It is so boring.

Tailgaters and people that don’t use turn signals.

I’m guessing that some people just couldn’t afford that on their car, right? That’s the only reason I can figure that someone is not using a turn signal. I mean really, it takes two freakin’ seconds to turn it on! USE THE TURN SIGNAL!

@cak I’d say it takes even less time than 2 seconds to signal…

@boots I was trying to be generous. I agree that it takes less than two seconds.

I’ve been known to use turn signals out in the woods miles away from any other people lol

I’m with the fast lane/passing lane folks. Get. Out. Of. My. Way!

My best friend laughed her ass off at me for using my turn signals in and refusing to cut across an empty parking lot at 3AM.

@Judi Nope, European drivers aren’t more courteous than anyone else. German and Swiss drivers are efficient, responsible and courteous, but french, Italian and Dutch drivers have to be the biggest a-holes in the universe.

I had a great experience in Italy. maybe it’s because we understand each other. They are agressive, but they always “zipper” when merging which no one in the US seems to do.

oh and another thing… stop pulling out of a junction at twice the speed limit, in front of me, causing me to slap on and then proceed along the road 10mph underneath the speed limit!!! ARGH!!!

@sakura huh?

@uberbatman just quoting me when driving home!! It really annoys me when people pull out of a junction super fast and then trundle along!! :)

Yeah, I don’t mind if you cut me off as long as you get moving!

@sakura ohhhh gotcha. Yea that drives me crazy too, like judi said, fine whatever cut me off but you better floor it after.

Slow drivers.
Slow drivers.
Slow drivers.

SLOW DRIVERS. IS THIS A JOKE FUCKING DRIVE HOLY SHIT ARE YOU RETARDED.
^ Me behind a slow driver on my way to school, running late. Aka, every day.

People who turn in front of me, essentially cutting me off and making me hit my brakes, when there is absolutely no one behind me. “Honestly, you couldn’t just wait?”

Getting stuck at a stop sign behind some yahoo yacking on the phone.