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.
Hehehe.. The author is a women. I think she was being a little tongue in cheek.
Then again, they're probably dialing a 900 number. LOL
"But that's OK - motorcyclists who pull that crap usually take themselves out of the gene pool eventually."
In California motorcycles are legally permitted to split lanes. They aren't taking anything away from anyone else by doing so (in fact they're reducing congestion by not sitting in it) and it only pisses off other drivers (cagers) because they're jealous. Well, that, and I suspect that many of my lane-splitting brethren are running insanely loud exhaust pipes that tend to startle people when they suddenly come by splitting lanes.
Anywhere else in North America, if you're splitting lanes you're breaking the law. I almost never see it happen here, for example.
Sorry, it's not jealosy. You're basically cutting in line, and it's human nature to get riled about that.
Like I said, if cyclists want to be treated like cars in traffic, they need to act like cars.
I'm surprised that spandex clad recreational bikers didn't make the list. They are most commonly seen riding three abreast at 15 to 20mph on what is normally a 40mph roadway. The sidewalk - or better yet, purpose built bikepath - 10 feet away and parallel to the road is invariably empty.
Bikers are the worst, police on revenue enforcement duty are a very close second.
Sorry...
I'm the driver with my left turn signal on thinking, "Oh gosh, I could have made that turn, I'll bet everyone behind me is flipping out!"
After I totalled my van making a left turn, I no longer give a crap.
Jerks like that are the reason turret guns were invented.
Oh man, is that ever true.
"What is it about the phrase "Keep Right Except to Pass" that so many drivers cannot comprehend?"
A lot of places don't have those signs. They have "Slower traffic keep right" or something similar, and nobody thinks that they're "Slower traffic". I'm not sure what we have in Ontario, but I'm pretty sure most people don't pay any attention, anyway.
It's perfectly legal in California for multiple vehicles to share lanes. For example. I can squeeze by you on the right if I am making a right hand turn and you are going straight. In fact a pet peeve of mine is morons that prevent this paticular activity by hogging the lane. ;-) Poor California we used to have the best drivers until all of the the illegals and Asians showed up :-(
Then you're part of the problem. To a lot of us, the speed limit is the minimum.
No. 2 seems to be epidemic in Ohio.
You'll get some old fart who sticks the cruise on at 58 MPH while he's trying to pass an 18 wheeler who's doing 57.9 MPH and it takes 15 minutes to complete the pass.
Then the old fart gets completely blown off of the road as the 2 miles of traffic zoom by him.
Absolutely agree.
Agreed. Mentioned by my coworker. Personally, I will roll past a grizly accident involving a school bus and a cement truck at 75 mph. without so much as a second glance. Get home and watch it on TV.
I have a bumper sticker that reads, Turn Signals?
I've read enough of this thread to know two things:
1. I know which of us represents the problem.
2. I don't really want to get dragged any further into a thread that has outlived its usefulness.
Happy motoring!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.