Posted on 07/17/2006 8:41:13 AM PDT by Smogger
Are you really a good, conscientious driver, or are your driving habits the behind-the-wheel equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard to everyone else on the road?
A recent survey of 10,000 drivers conducted by Hagerty Insurance, a company that insures collector cars, determined the 10 things that exasperate other drivers the most:
10. You're taking a carefree spin down the road when you notice that the car in front of you has its turn signal on ... and on ... and on. Five or 10 miles later, your left eye twitching, you realize the other driver is clueless to the fact their indicator is on. You have just experienced the 10th-biggest irritation, according to the drivers surveyed.
9. Ah, men. Running a little late for work, they often can be seen grooming and shaving while driving. To be certain, this is never an issue for those of us of the female persuasion. Heads up, gentlemen. Grooming while driving was ranked as the ninth-most annoying driver behavior.
8. Due to the fact that I get into deep hot water with motorcycle riders every time I write something negative about motorcycles driving in between lanes, I feel it necessary to post the following disclaimer: I did not conduct the survey. Hagerty Insurance did. That said, the survey concluded that motorcycles that split lanes are No. 8 on the list of what infuriates drivers the most.
7. If you have been told on more than one occasion that you are a good candidate for an anger-management class, you should be aware that those of you who take your rage out on the road are the seventh-most disliked drivers.
6. Do you find that reaching up and turning on that pesky turn signal is more effort than you care to expend while driving? Not bothering to use your turn signal is the sixth-most irksome thing you can do when behind the wheel.
5. If you are a driver with a superiority complex, beware. If you speed up to keep other people from changing lanes or passing you, you were ranked as the fifth-biggest irritation on the road.
4. Some drivers weave in and out of lanes for the precious advantage of arriving at their destination two minutes earlier than those silly folks who actually drive safely. Traffic weavers, you have been forewarned -- you are the fourth-most reviled drivers.
3. You look in your rear-view mirror and see another car driving within inches of your rear bumper. If you were to stop suddenly, the driver behind you would no doubt be meeting you in your front seat for lunch. The survey found that the third-most exasperating driver is the tailgater.
2. If you've got to drive slow, you better know where to go. Those who putz in the fast lane ranked as the second-biggest driving annoyance.
1. And the Big Kahuna, the No. 1 act that survey respondents said made them grind their teeth down to a pulp when they saw other drivers doing it? You guessed it -- chatting on the cell phone. Some 28.5 percent of those surveyed would like you to hang it up the next time you hit the road.
Yeah, I'm surprised it wasn't there. I see little dogs bouncing around in people's cars while driving and I think...how can they concentrate on what's going on with THAT going on?
susie
#2 is the primary one, and is a direct cause of #'s 3, 4, and 7.
I dunno, but people should obey traffiic laws, including that one.
No. 12.......Drivers who blow off the "merge ahead" signs, ride the empty lane at top speed and then put on their blinkers to cut into the front of the line.
Leni
"In their defense, it's almost impossible to turn the wheel any further than that when you have your shaver in one hand, your cellphone in the other, and you're steering with your knee."
Well, that's true enough.
A little old lady - well into her seventies - did that to me just yesterday, cutting me off very closely. I honked at her, and when I changed lanes and passed her, she stuck out her tongue at me!
You are an unsafe driver.
If traffic conditions are such that people are moving faster than the limit, you, by insisting on driving at a slower speed while in the left lanes, are a traffic hazard.
Not talking law or legality. Just safety. By sitting there blocking others, you force them into unneeded lane changes and passing maneuvers, thus increasing the risk of going down the road.
After having been nearly sideswiped by a teen on a cellphone, I am for an all out ban on talking on cellphones while driving................
No 1 should have been people who stay in the left lane on the interstate forcing people to pass on the right.
My pet peeve was not listed: Jerks who can't/won't politely merge into traffic. When a lane is closing down or when traffic backs up at an exit, these jerks go straight to the FRONT of the line and expect to be let in. Instead of waiting their turn at the back like everyone else does. I have a cardboard sign in my car that says "Cutting in line is juvenile!". I flash it when one of these idiots wants me to let them in near the front of the line.
It's probably the most frequently violated traffic law in most places I've been in the U.S.
Even in those states where this is legal behavior?
That's not my point. I stated there are entirely too many. It's become a revenue stream and a use-tax.
The biggest root cause of traffic jams are cops pulling motorists over for a ticket. The gapers just don't seem able to help themselves. *%&$#* the cops and the people who give them a quota to fill.
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