It is for me.
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.
I know the feeling - try the Irish roads!
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=14457200288064322170
I moved from Nova Scotia to Ontario in a U-Haul Ford F350 based box truck with my Nissan Multi (Stanza Wagon in the US) in tow. That little truck, with that stuff behind it, didn't want to do much more than 55, maybe 60 tops, on the highway. Anyway, big truck drivers, and others, really appreciated it whenever I noticed a line up forming behind me and pulled over onto the shoulder to let them all pass.
Too many people don't realize that our roads are a game of give and take - rules and regulations are fine and all, but courtesy, consideration and a brain that's in gear go a long way, too. For example, generally cars on a multi-lane highway have the right of way over cars merging on on-ramps (thus the yield signs on the ramp) and have no particular responsibility to allow them to squeeze in. But the reality is that our highways are crowded and a little consideration to the mergers helps things move along better, and more safely. At the same time, when I'm the one merging, I assume that everyone on the highway is going to keep going as they are, and I adjust my speed and position to find a gap. Too many people won't even use the ramp to get up to the highway's speed before they merge.
Typical Clinton thinking. YOU are breaking the law but your contempt is for the people who won't join you in breaking the law.
I don't always agree with the speed limit (particularly when interstates were 55 during the Jimmy Carter era) but the law is the law and bitching about the people who are obeying the law is like complaining about people who won't walk into oncoming traffic just because you think it's safe to run across.
If you get nailed by the cops, you deserve it.
You forgot Volvo drivers. Put an Asian in a Volvo, and then you need to take two valium.
It is for me.
"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."
I am number 5. And if someone is REALLY trying to pass me, I enjoy pulling up next to a car going EXACTLY the speed limit and putting on cruise control. Just to see how big a line of speeders I can get trapped behind me on the highway. A lot of fun on I-85.
humina humina humina humina drool
ummmmm, lane splitting is legal in a few states. Chill.
One state. California. Do you live in California?
On a similar note, why do so many police/sheriff cars cruise the MAIN streets of any small or medium-sized town? When was the last time a crime, major or minor, occurred in front of a Kroger's, a McDonald's, the cinema, etc.? Have they not noticed that much of the crime occurs off the busy thoroughfares in neighborhoods (burglary, drug dealing), especially at night? Is this laziness, lack of imagination or is there some other reason cops are protecting what doesn't really need to be protected?
"And, quite frankly, it's rude - it's basically cutting in line in front of others waiting their turn in traffic. But certain types only think of themselves."
Think efficient instead of rude. Do you take lanesplitting as a personal affront to you?
You shouldn't, you'll live longer.
They are also the folks with the largest moral-superiority quotient, i.e., I'm a saint because I'm doing 55 in the hammer lane.
Seems like they left one off. That is the one that says left or right "lane closed ahead" and drivers continue to use the lane until the last minute and then try cutting in.
You make really good sense. We all have to make allowances for other vehicles on the road, even if they're doing something we don't like or even if they're doing something really stupid.
It's how it is out there. Insisting on your right of way could easily lead to an accident where you and others are hurt. I will always yield the right of way if there's any danger in insisting on it. It just makes sense.
If someone is merging onto a freeway I'm on and there is the potential for a conflict, I will slow to make space for them to merge or, if practical, will speed up to give them space behind me. That's just the polite thing to do.
I stay right, except to pass. However, if there are three lanes of traffic, I drive the speed limit in the center lane with no apologies. I avoid mergers and anyone may pass me on the left. If there are more than three lanes, I will take the lane next to the right lane if it is moving at the speed limit. Otherwise, I will take the lane to the right of the left lane.
Always, however, I will move over a lane if someone is overtaking me and it is safe to do so.
So far, I've been driving for 45 years, with no accidents and just one ticket that I got in 1971. I've driven everything from a 16-wheeler to a motorcycle.
"Coming back to the USA, it drove me nuts to constantly have the slowest drivers hogging the left lane."
so true. it reminds me of americans on escalators as well. why is it that in every other country in the world, there's an unspoken rule that you stand on one side and walk on the other side of the escalator. but not in america! every lazy butt standing on both sides so we all have to wait. makes me nuts.
Society functions because people respect that other people are in society as well. When you lane split, you're cutting in front of others. Like I said, if you want to be treated like a car, with the legal protections of such, then act like a car.
The speed limit is the lowest common denominator and is set for those who are too dense to drive to begin with.
I live in CT but ride there quite often as it pertains to my work.
Israel/Lebanon: Need one of THESE to outrun them bombs!
Oil Prices: In one of THESE you don't care about the price of gas!
Evolution: THIS is the ultimate in Car Evolution.
Creationism: THIS is why we were created -- to enjoy THIS.
ID: Design INtelligenced peaked when they made THIS.
And I don't blame you (LOL). That is a work of art.
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