Everyone who drives around a city for any period of time knows there are other drivers who do things that are damn annoying. I'm sure we can all list off our driving pet peeves, especially after a long rush hour commute. The problem is that some of these annoying habits are actually pretty dangerous, for the person doing them as well as any occupants in their car and in other cars around them. These are the ten most annoying driving habits (according to yours truly) that everyone should work hard to avoid. 10. Not using your turn signal. I know sometimes people forget to hit their signal, but all in all I've noticed some drivers habitually signal while others rarely or never do. Around where I live signaling is actually consciously avoided by many, even though it is a ticket-worthy traffic offense. I've asked people why they don't signal and they have explained to me that signaling means others will close up a gap in an adjacent lane so they can't get over.
I've had that happen to me, but not signaling can mean other cars think they're going to go for that gap, rushing into the gap at the same time as you. Also, I really can't stand when someone suddenly slams on their brakes and then makes a turn into a driveway or intersecting road. Signaling lets me know that person is going to be applying the brakes, allowing me to do the same before they make their turn. 9. Not allowing others to transition lanes or merge. This is a major habit around here and one that drives me absolutely nuts! When I drive in the South I'm always amazed how courteous everyone is when it comes to lane transitions and merging, sometimes even literally waving me in once I put my turn signal on. I've seen traffic study after traffic study that shows cutting others off, refusing to let in cars from a lane that's ending, etc. actually makes traffic stack up. Stop being a jerk and let people in your lane so the traffic flows smoother for everyone!
8. Driving slow in passing lanes. I've noticed this seems to be more popular in rural areas or suburbs. The left lanes on a freeway or highway are generally for passing. This means if you aren't going faster than the traffic in the other lanes, move over and make way for those who are! I've heard some people explain that they travel slower in the left lane because they want to keep others from breaking the speed limit. That practice is incredibly self-righteous and misguided. The police are there to enforce the speed limits, not you. I've also heard from people that they were taught the left lanes are made for anyone who's going to be on the freeway for a long time, which is just plain ridiculous. Turtle drivers, move it to the right! 7. Speeding around in the snow. I've already talked about this one before in another blog post, but it's worth bringing up again.
I've noticed there are three types of vehicles I see speeding around during or after a huge snowstorm: 4x4s, all-wheel-drive vehicles and economy cars. 6. Not clearing snow, ice or frost from your car. After every snow storm I see morons driving around with a vehicle that looks like it is made entirely of snow, like they made a snowmanmobile or something ridiculous like that. In reality these people were too damn lazy to brush the snow off their car. I also regularly see people driving around with ice or frost covering their windows, except for a small clear patch at the bottom of the windshield. You can't really see where you're going like that, so scrape the stuff off your car before you drive off or wait for the defroster to clear up the windows. With snow, you need to brush off all you can from your vehicle before you start driving. Snow on your hood will fly up against the windshield, making it hard for you to see where you're going. Snow on your roof will fly onto the windshield of the car behind you.
No comments:
Post a Comment