*^$(@#! Drivers!
In no particular order as to the irritation they cause:
1. Drivers who apparently realize they are entering an expressway about ten feet before the entrance while driving 40 m.p.h., stay at that speed until one unlucky driver has to hit the brakes or hit the idiot and the next six or seven cars have to hit their brakes, at which point the idiot speeds up to the expressway speed.
2. Drivers on a busy surface street who weave among the lanes, cutting people off, slamming their brakes, swerving toward open pavement, all to get to the red light a good five cars ahead of me.
3. The above drivers' cousins on expressways who act the same, getting to the exit 200 yards ahead of me.
4. Drivers that think their turn signal causes me to magically move from the space they are about to move into without looking.
5. Tailgaters and other drivers on the Interstates that pull up behind you to momentarily tailgate, move left and accelerate past you, only to pull in ahead of you and drive slower than you were driving when the maneuver started, then do it again five miles down the road.
6. Drivers on expressways who need to get into the right lane to get to the exit and slow down before they exit (causing the same braking as described in the first paragraph) and their even more moronic friends who cut you off to get in the right lane two feet in front of you.
7. Drivers on a five lane road who don't pull into the center lane to make a left turn.
8. Drivers who don't want to sit in a turn lane behind twenty other cars and pull up to the light in the left through lane, sitting until someone lets them in, blocking another ten drivers behind them who were planning on going through the intersection during THAT green light.
9. Drivers on a crowded street who don't let you in.
10. Drivers that don't nod, smile or wave when you let them in.
Feel free to add your own.
21 comments:
Drivers who stay ain any leftward lane when being routinely passed on the right.
The same drivers who, when I pass on the right, match my speed.
Driver who, when making a turn onto a street with two or more lanes, do not turn into the nearest lane but cut across to the second or third lane cutting off drivers turning from the other direction.
Dale, you got one I forgot.
SM, first, you have the right of way, though that will get you hit. Second, you remind me of the Southbound exit from I-85 to North Druid Hills Road here in Atlanta.
At evening rush hour, you have people coming off the Expressway, driving on the access road and making a right turn on to the access road from Corporate Blvd. Three lanes that turn into a cluster*^%$ as you approach NDH. You see, the people from Corporate and the access road mostly want to make a left on to NDH and the people on coming from 85 are about evenly split wanting to turn left and right on NDH.
Complicating matters, there's only about a hundred yards to get to the left or right. As you wend from the right to the left to make a left, you are faced with two legal choices and one illegal choice, while face with drivers from the left wanting to make a right, faced with two legal choices and one illegal choice. It's that center lane. The illegal choices are to go all the way to the light in the far left or right lanes and make, respectively a right or a left. Then there are the people on NDH, who pull into the intersection, knowing they can't get through before the light goes red, and then sit there ignoring the murderous looks, horns and fingers. Then there's the fact that as you make a left you have four lanes to choose from, the left two taking you to 85 North, the right two taking you South on NDH, only to be confronted with the backed up traffic trying to exit from 85 Northbound and the traffic try to get from all of the above to the lane they should have been in when they got to the intersection and the people wanting to get to two different office parks with entrances a hundred yards south of the intersection. Not to mention the people wanting to make lefts out of the gas station, the Subway and the shopping center on the right and the people now blocking the left lane wanting to make a left into one of about seven business on the left.
Is all that clear?
The intersection is a model of how not to design one.
Wow, its like I'm married to you. These are very much like listening to husband drive. Especially the people who don't acknowledge when you do something nice for them. Come to think it, th pisses me off to.
Dave - Reading your comments about NDH, I realized I forgot my fav....
"who pull into the intersection, knowing they can't get through before the light goes red"
IMHO, the ULTIMATE in selfishness.
In addition, HOV drivers who are driving slower than the regular lanes.
Drivers making a turn where there are two turn lanes, who do not maintain their lane choice.
Extra buffoonery points for the drivers who then flip me off when I honk at them for cutting me off.
People who park in traffic lane when dropping someone off or making a delivery when there is easy parking available.
I see these almost every morning when I turn from Juniper onto Ellis on my way to 75. The lane line idiots are at the turn and the parking offenders are in front of Habitat for Humanity.
Drivers who consider a turn signal to be an order rather than a request.
Dale, you've really got to get your own blog; or, I'll give you author rights and we won't tell your wife.
I've got this feeling this will be a big comment post - I've touched a nerve or seven.
How about the people that start out at a light normally and slow down, I thinking for a nice rear end accident?
although I do have a few pet peeves about other drivers I can't complain because several times in the last few weeks I have been one of those drivers, I think #4 on your list covers it for me. I drive a big truck and although I do look, I turn on my signal, look, and change lanes. Several time last week I have had some one in my blind spot or I didn't look good enough only to shove them of the road. So I can only apologize for be careless, even know it was not intentional.
I forgive you Wendy; but, not the rest of them.
A variation on #8 is the drivers who ignore the signs warning "Right lane ends 1 mile, 1/2 mile, 1/4 mile…" and wait until the very last minute to cut someone off and finally get over.
In East Texas inattentive drivers are a bigger problem than aggressive drivers. The light changes and they're so lost in their own little worlds that they never notice, or the light turns red and they blast right through it because they were following the car in front of them and never bothered to look up, or they're ready to back out of a parking space and they're so busy fiddling with the thermostat they forget to look and see if anyone is behind them. They don't mean to put your life in jeopardy; you just never occurred to them.
A correction, I meant CARE instead of Habitat.
Dave - Like an associate or something? I'm flattered. I am leaning toward a blog at some point, work pressure is less than it was before :-)
Dale, the offer stands - I'm by most measures, left of center. Some balance might be appreciated by the vast readership. Send me an Email, the address is on what I think is the "More about me" page.
It's called "View My Complete Profile."
"who pull into the intersection, knowing they can't get through before the light goes red"
When I first read this, I thought you were talking about me, but then I realized that you meant people who pull into the intersection knowing that they will be sitting there for a while while the is red for them. We have a few intersections like this around here.
But there are many other intersections where you HAVE to hang into the intersection, as the only way to make your left turn is to wait until oncoming traffic has had a solid red for a couple of seconds. See, what generally happens is the oncoming traffic is unrelenting, and as the light turns yellow, it doesn't let up. As the light turns red, it doesn't let up. Six, seven, maybe eight drivers slide through while the light is red. In a case like this, if you don't hang into the intersection and block cross traffic, you'll be stuck in that spot for a couple of hours.
So, maybe my pet peeve is those drivers who see the yellow and think it means "Drive like a bat out of hell, cause the light's gonna turn red, and only losers get stopped on THIS side of the intersection."
Unless, of course, it's me, and I have a perfectly valid reason for being in such a damned hurry! :)
The need to make the left turn is a recognized exception to my ire. You have to do that around here during rush hour, though you usually don't see people blowing the red light while you're sitting there. One cops are death on it; and, two, we have a lot of camera intersections that have gotten people used to actually stopping for red lights.
Dave, thank you for your forgiveness on my poor driving ability. Now lets talk about a pet peeve I do have with motorist, when I am riding my motorcycle.
I absolutely hate when a full size truck or car is tail gating me on my small 883 Harley. Very scary. In motorcycle 101 training they teach you to always have an escape route in the event of an emergency. Always have a plan to avoid a collision.
That's the easy part. i always have a plan for avoiding an on coming collision. I don't however have a plan for th idiot behind me. Because when I slam on the brakes when a car pulls out from a side street in front of me, because they did not see me coming the guy behind me is going to run me over. So give the poor motorcycles a little space in the event of an emergancy, and yes this means at a stop light as well. I just had a friend who was stopped at a light, the car behind him was stopped as well, but very close to him. The car behind the car behind him did not stop and hit the car behind him which in turn hit him and threw him into the street about 50 feet away. He has had to have surgery on his knee because the guy behind him did not plan an escape route.
(wow, I hope that made scene )
correction to above post
not scene, sense sorry
LOLOLOLOL. FUNNY.
But there is a justice here. When you get somewhere and park and then SPY the "bad driver" just pulling in and you realize that ... OH... they didn't get anywhere by being in a hurry. Here is where I nod and smile and WAVE. HEe HEE
I agree with you about the busy street and no one letting you in, that really sucks. I have to go thru that on a regular basis at the Elementary school. Parents get in the car with their kids and then forget how to drive.
Dave - I'm flattered. I will definitely keep your offer in mind over the next few months.
Either way Dale. Either way or another way, you ought to write rather than respond.
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