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.
Heads up ladies ... trying to put on eyeliner and mascara while driving is right up there with lighting a cigratte inside the hindenburg .... pretty stupid.
I cannot believe that women doing their makeup in the car did not get on this list.
-PJ
I think that one was tongue-in-cheek...
The version of this that spooks me is when I see (and I have) a woman/SUV using cell, smoking a cigarette and turning left through a major triffic light/intersection.
Still no cure for stoopid.
Well, be that as it may, it's the law. The speed limit should be obeyed by everyone on the road, regardless of our inclination to it.
Do I always obey the speed limit? Get real. But I try and I keep it to a safe level if I ever do get a lead foot. Some yahoos enjoy weeving through traffic at 85+ mph but they are idiots.
I think the key to the whole thing is COURTESY.
Courteous drivers are safe drivers.
Drivers who want everyone else on the road to conform to their habits are unsafe drivers.
"I don't know if this is in my top ten, but it sure burns me up. I have a boat. 23 feet long. On a trailer. I CANNOT GET ON THE FREEWAY!!!!! You come up a ramp. "
I'm a boater, too. This is a real problem...no question about it. I try really hard not to use on-ramps where there's lots of traffic. You can't always avoid it, but sometimes, I'll drive five miles on surface streets to use another ramp when towing my boat. That ramp is way longer, and will let me hit right lane speeds by the end of the ramp. It's also past the most crowded part of the highway, so it's usually easier.
The worst time I ever had was when I was driving across the country with a 24-foot moving truck right at its GVW limit. It was one of those big U-hauls. I bought the thing from U-haul. Talk about underpowered.
One thing I discovered was that big rigs are very nice about letting you merge if you're in a crappy truck like that. I remember one long, uphill ramp on I-35 in Iowa. There was no way on this planet that I was going to be doing more than 35 mph at the top of the ramp, even running that engine up to redline on each shift.
I started up the ramp with my foot through the floor. A guy driving a big semi saw me start up the ramp. He was about 1/4 mile back, and he slowed down so that he would be right behind me when I got to the top of the ramp. Made it easy for me.
I caught up with him later at a truck stop and thanked him for helping me out. He said, "Well, you guys in those little tiny trucks have a hard enough time. I thought I'd give you a hand."
Nah, go down to the barrio and have Jose put in some of those pneumatic lifts into the rear end of your car. Wire the brake lights and pneumatic lifts to a button on your dash and you can make it look like you're doing a panic stop to the tailgater. All the fun with no risk to you!
I actually ran a guy in a van off the road who tried to do that. After that happened I decided that it wasn't really that important, and that if someone wants to be a jerk on a road it will eventually catch up to him - I just don't let them bother me now.
Yea, every time I do that, I spill my wine. ;-)
Same thing with the merge lane. If you're slowed to a crawl and pass an intersection, conscientious drivers stay in their lanes, but here come the drivers down the merge lane trying to get to the end before actually merging. Orlando is notorious for that. Their merge lanes are way too long.
I hate to admit it, but I do shave sometimes on my commute. I've got a battery powered shaver. Hey, sometimes you just gotta shave time.
"I hate drivers who go up to the very end of a lane marked as "closed" then try get into the open lane, ahead of those of us who actually changed lanes when we saw the sign.
-- All that does is slow traffic down even more. Many road work areas now post signs to "use both lanes to merge point"
Exactly. Blocking one open lane or refusing to let people merge simply makes everything take longer. Using bth lanes to the merge point speeds things up as long as people cooperate at the merging point.
It totally infuriates mee when I see tractor trailers moving at 5 mph blocking lanes so that nobody can get past them. Sometimes when they're doing this the wreck or breakdown has already been cleared and they're blocking wide open lanes. Last time this happened to me, some turd in a Tahoe blocked me from getting to the next exit, even though the choke point was well past that exit. Idiots.
"Yeah, just one quick flick of the steering wheel, and you're hamburger. No need to listen to you yap, ever again...."
What a weird mentality you have. Just because I choose a more maneuverable and efficient mode of transportation. It's all about choice. you want to listen to the radio and sit in AC comfort. I need to get to work, it's that simple. Why take it so personally?
LOL
I've got the same problem when I'm towing. I've got 3,000 pounds of boat behind me plus 63 gallons of fuel and people still won't cut you any slack. Especially the ninnies that like to brake check at the bottom of a hill or cut across two lanes to hit that offramp. I try to stay off the interstate when I've got the boat behind me.
And, I do go out of my way to be polite to truckers. They remember, and return the favor if needed.
"I generally don't mind lane splitters, but I'd prefer it if they'd use the shoulder (if there is one)."
I agree, at least you have a reasonable outlook on it.
I am IN FULL SUPPORT OF a national law banning the use of cellphones while driving. I can honestly say that 90% of the time when I see someone driving like a total idiot, usually SLOW in the middle or far left lane and weaving, he or she has a phone attached to his/her ear.
I lived in Germany from 87-91 and the law there requires cars in the left lane to move to the right when faster traffic overtakes their vehicles. Also, it was illegal to pass on the right on the Autobahns. The vast majority of German (or drivers on German roads ) comply with this rule. Coming back to the USA, it drove me nuts to constantly have the slowest drivers hogging the left lane. I think some Americans were trying to enforce the speed limit by staying in the left lane. It doesn't bother me as much, but it is still a problem.
Don't they teach the rules in drivers ed?
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