Poll: Things that drive you up the wall

[NoMercy Rider]

Another thing that I will add (and this partially comes from working in the construction industry) is folks that speed and tailgate through construction zones. There are a few reasons why this irks me to no end:

1) While the reduced speed is a minor inconvenience, those reduced speeds are for your SAFETY and also the safety of workers that are literally just a few feet from your massive hunk of metal. Construction zones typically have narrower lanes and heavy equipment that moves unpredictably. If you want to put your life at risk, fine by me, but I quite enjoy the life I'm living.

2) Speeding tickets (for most states at least) are DOUBLE in a construction zone. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to risk a HUGE fine simply because you want to reach your destination 30 seconds faster.

Oh... and one more thing that pisses me off: rubberneckers. You know what I am talking about, you are travelling along nicely along the freeway then... BAM! Traffic jam. You are wondering WTF is going on, only to find out further down the road that a policeman has someone pulled over ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FREEWAY. But everybody and their pet dog feels the need to slow down and see what's going on. Boy, I could go all day.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

3. CYCLISTS. Motherfuckers, you want respect? Start by SHOWING respect. The rules of the road apply to you too. Sure, you're not going to kill anyone crashing a bike into them, but all the motorists who have to swerve to avoid your stupid, rule flaunting ass can.

4. PEDESTRIANS. There are also rules for you! That flashing orange hand is NOT BECKONING YOU OUT INTO THE INTERSECTION. Your crazy fucking jaywalking bullshit is putting you AND motorists at risk. You are not the President. You are not the Pope. You can wait a whole fucking minute for the cross now light, or walk 3 feet to a proper crosswalk.

Grrrr. This. Sooo much. There's nothing I hate more than cyclists and pedestrians while I'm driving.

Other than maybe a poorly-timed sneezing fit as I'm coming up to a curve in the road. That's always fun.

Captcha: keep calm

 

[Miss G.]

All of the above, but with the first option being really scary for me because of my night-blindness and the 3rd option being more than annoying when I have somewhere to be and can overtake this person by driving at the speed limit because they're going too slow. The latter happened often enough back in The Bahamas, but rarely do I run into this now that I'm in America just because you can can booked for that here.

 

[Jynthor]

I live in the Netherlands and let's just say there are A LOT of people on bicycles , it has to be one of the truest stereotypes ever.
And they really piss me off, not following rules, having to slow down because they won't move their ass on a narrow road...

DEATH TO BICYCLES

 

[Mad World]

Not indicating! Man... so many people refuse to signal. I just honk now. It's disrespectful not to signal. Even if you're not blatantly cutting someone off, you should signal. Yes - if someone is quite far ahead of me, I won't care. But, if they're within 30ish feet, I consider it to be rude.

 

[C F]

For me, it's coming to sudden stops.

I can usually anticipate when people are going to turn or shift lanes if I'm driving near them long enough. Most people where I'm at are respectable drivers. But some people like to slow or brake for seemingly no reason, especially when there have been no discernible changes in the area to warrant it.

What is it? Did you think you saw a deer? I appreciate your caution, but it's 4 pm; they don't come out 'till later.
Nobody else is stopping. There are no new cars on the road. Still just me, you, that Ford F-150, and the minivan up there. There's no turn lanes for you to get into, and even if there were, they're plenty long enough for you to coast into fully, then brake. No intersections, no sideroads, nowhere for you to turn. Do you not know where you're going?
Sir.
Why are you breaking?
I am incapable of understanding your motives.

And if I'm on a highway and I see brake lights, I get just a wee bit mad. The more crowded the highway is and the farther left they are, the greater my urge is to take a handgun, shoot through my own windshield, through their back window, and straight into their skull.
Just a wee bit.
Let off the gas (or press cancel on your cruise control) and wait a few seconds. Newton's Laws will kick in for you. Brakes are for stopping, and we do not stop on highways.

 

[Varrdy]

People driving whilst using a phone.

It makes my liver fizz to see some moron yabbering away / tapping out a message while (supposedly) in control of over a tonne of metal! I rank them up there with turds who drive under the influence; if you don't care about your own safety, fine, but there are more people than just you on the road and, as a driver, you have a responsibility to them to do all you can to ensure their safety as much as your own.

If you really, really can't wait to prattle on about whatever the hell is soooooo important, F**KING PULL-OVER!

 

[Dirge Eterna]

Tailgating, really fucking annoying especially when you're doing the speed limit (I don't speed, not worth it; as a young person insurance is already fucking high enough, don't want any accidents to add to it).

Failing to indicate or not indicating correctly; yesterday I was behind a driver who went onto a roundabout whilst indicating right, so I thought he was getting off at the third exit, only for him to veer off at the 2nd (straight ahead), and to make matters worse he didn't indicate left to signal he was coming off either.

Drivers that block 'keep clear,' areas at junctions preventing people from emerging from said junctions, especially when there's a red light ahead and traffic isn't moving. God that makes my blood boil.

Lastly people who don't know how filters work, I had a woman (3rd into junction) try come across me from my right at a crossroads while I was just turning left only for her to nearly smash into the side of my car, even worse she didn't notice me slamming on my breaks whilst swerving to the left and kept driving on whilst totally oblivious. Yeah ***** that filter can go off too because ya know why else would we be moving????

What is a filter in this context? I think it is like a signal light in the US but I was just curious.

 

[Jamieson 90]

In the UK on certain junctions you'll have the usual red amber green set up, but to the side of the green light you'll have a green arrow, when that lights up it means you have priority and that traffic on the other sides of the junction will stop (the light will be red), but when the filter goes off the opposite traffic will go (light on green). Where the problem lies is that the filter will sometimes go off but your own lights will stay on green, and then it's like a normal crossroads where you have to give way to the right (left in the US I guess?) But if you don't know how they work you can end up going thinking no one will get in the way when really they're thinking they have priority now.

 

[Jamieson 90]

What is a filter in this context? I think it is like a signal light in the US but I was just curious.

In the UK on certain junctions you'll have the usual red amber green set up, but to the side of the green light you'll have a green arrow, when that lights up it means you have priority and that traffic on the other sides of the junction will stop (the light will be red), but when the filter goes off the opposite traffic will go (light on green). Where the problem lies is that the filter will sometimes go off but your own lights will stay on green, and then it's like a normal crossroads where you have to give way to the right (left in the US I guess?) But if you don't know how they work you can end up going thinking no one will get in the way when really they're thinking they have priority now.

 

[Shraggler]

Driving? One of my most hated activities.

- People who drive under the speed limit. When in doubt, go 35. Actually, when in doubt, pull over and stop driving.
- People who accelerate slowly. When the light turns green, gun it. Get up to the speed limit as quickly as possible.
- People who slow way the fuck down on highway off-ramps because they think the yellow sign with "40" is the speed limit, except those words are missing from the sign... IT'S A SUGGESTION! DRIVE!!!
- People who break hard before a turn and maintain their arrested speed throughout. Whip around the fucking curve and accelerate at the apex. Get the fuck out of the way.
- People who are approaching the same stop sign as you, but sooner, and wait for you to get to your stop line before taking any further action. What kind of creepy bullshit is that? Why does it feel like that person couldn't make an autonomous decision to save their life?
- People who, while on a flat road (like that matters in this country, the smallest percentage drive stick) and, while coming up to a traffic light with a queue, stop an entire car length away from the car in front of them. As if no one else is coming behind them. As if their stupid ass isn't blocking the left turn lane, so cars wanting to make that turn have to use the straight-through lane further blocking the folks trying to use that lane and moving straight ahead. Why the fuck do people do this? Of what pragmatic advantage does one gain when stopping so far away from the car in front of them? It's not room for acceleration, that's for fuck sure. These idiots take their time to simply get going when green means go. It seems like pure selfishness to me. Where are the catapults built into the roads when you need them?

I have to stop for health reasons. My blood pressure is causing my right eye to throb uncomfortably in its socket.

 

[shootthebandit]

I fucking hate people who go too slow. If its a 60 limit they will sit at 40. Then when it gets to a 30 they stay at 40 whats the deal with that?

I live in a ruralish area so its most all single track roads. Tractors annoy me because they are all out at 7am and 5pm. They must know that most people finish work then

 

[ShipofFools]

I try to just let it all go, you know? Getting angry at other cars won't solve anything, it only hurts yourself.

It doesn't work as well as I'd like it to.

 

[shootthebandit]

People driving whilst using a phone.

It makes my liver fizz to see some moron yabbering away / tapping out a message while (supposedly) in control of over a tonne of metal! I rank them up there with turds who drive under the influence; if you don't care about your own safety, fine, but there are more people than just you on the road and, as a driver, you have a responsibility to them to do all you can to ensure their safety as much as your own.

If you really, really can't wait to prattle on about whatever the hell is soooooo important, F**KING PULL-OVER!

Dont even get me started on these idiots. Handsfree bothers me too not because of safety but because nothing is that important that you cant wait til you get to your destination. I hate to categorise but these are usually audi or BMW drivers

Right lane hogging annoys me (left for everyone outside UK you awkward backward people) once youve passed someone pull back in again

 

[Yopaz]

Well, there are those who don't use turn signals. I almost ended up hitting a car with my bike because of that. Just decided to cut in right ahead of me missing me by a few inches.

Now imagine someone doing that on an icy road all of a sudden. Keeping a normal distance and having the car ahead of you suddenly break and turn. Yeah, that ended with me being sandwiched by the car in front and the car behind. Also since I was the one who actually hit someone I got the blame despite the fact that the moron just decided to break all of a sudden. Also I was driving below the speed limit because of the conditions.

Then there's those who drive really slowly and cling to the middle of the road going all the way over to the wrong side of the road in turns. Not only are you being slowed down, you can't pass even when the road is straight.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

People who don't use signal lights (indicators) when changing lanes. A little heads up would be nice before you suddenly start moving in front of me would be nice.

 

[Varrdy]

Dont even get me started on these idiots. Handsfree bothers me too not because of safety but because nothing is that important that you cant wait til you get to your destination. I hate to categorise but these are usually audi or BMW drivers

Right lane hogging annoys me (left for everyone outside UK you awkward backward people) once you've passed someone pull back in again

I'm a BMW driver (it's an older one though) but I will let that one slide! ;-) I don't have a hands-free kit but my phone barely rings anyway so I don't need (or want!) one.

And yes, right-lane hoggers, and those gits who use the hard-shoulder when there's stood traffic, can all go hang! A few months ago I took great glee in one of the latter being busted by the rozzers and told in no uncertain terms that there was an ambulance trying to get past (accident ahead, hence the jam) and that she was a tit!

 

[PFCboom]

EVERYTHING.
It's a curious thing, really. I love driving. I'm at my most content when I'm behind the wheel of my car, whether in cities or on the highway. I take pride in being a courteous, smart, skilled and defensive driver. I love driving.

And yet...

I hate everybody else on the road. The more cars there are around me, the less I enjoy driving. I'm constantly on the look-out for other drivers that could potentially be a problem. If a person doesn't slow down fast enough for a stop sign, or if they're wandering a bit within the lane, or even if they can't keep a constant speed - cruise control is a wondrous and useful thing, people! - I have a bad habit of keeping my eye on them.

On a completely unrelated note, personal experience has told me that I'm more likely to have issues with pickup truck drivers than anyone else. Unfortunately, around here, pickup trucks are everywhere, much to my dismay.

And, of course, because I keep my eye on those folks, I sometimes become only marginally aware of everything else around me. I'm aware that this is a really bad, potentially hazardous habit, and I'm trying to work on it, but sometimes certain factors come together that make me straight-up anxious.

Also, I know I come off as hypocritical, in more than one way. I say I'm content while driving, yet it sounds like I'm constantly nervous and about to lose my mind. I claim to be smart and skilled, then turn around and admit to almost tunnel-visioning to the point of being possibly the biggest hazard to everyone around me.


If I had to choose, though, I would think that cyclists are my biggest berserk button. The instant I see a cyclist pedaling their happy ass along the road in front of my right side - especially annoying when there's a perfectly good, empty sidewalk right next to them - I immediately go on the defensive. I don't know why, but it almost seems like cyclists are the least aware of their surroundings, and are convinced that they need about 3 feet around them more than what they really need. The wheels are, what, and inch and a half wide? Why do they feel like they need to be 4 feet out into the lane? MY lane? And again, there's a perfectly good sidewalk that's almost NEVER used! Now I have to either veer into the oncoming lane, a nervous move, even on a straight, clear road, or slow way the *&^% down because this jackass refuses to get out of the way of the half-ton of metal and I WILL RUN YOU THE *&^% DOWN IF-
...
*deep breath in*
......
*deep breath out*
...
Cyclists annoy me.

 

[shootthebandit]

Dont even get me started on these idiots. Handsfree bothers me too not because of safety but because nothing is that important that you cant wait til you get to your destination. I hate to categorise but these are usually audi or BMW drivers

Right lane hogging annoys me (left for everyone outside UK you awkward backward people) once you've passed someone pull back in again

I'm a BMW driver (it's an older one though) but I will let that one slide! ;-) I don't have a hands-free kit but my phone barely rings anyway so I don't need (or want!) one.

And yes, right-lane hoggers, and those gits who use the hard-shoulder when there's stood traffic, can all go hang! A few months ago I took great glee in one of the latter being busted by the rozzers and told in no uncertain terms that there was an ambulance trying to get past (accident ahead, hence the jam) and that she was a tit!

ive seen one of these right lane hoggers stay in the right lane until the last minute as it converged into one lane. Then a few lorry drivers blocked the idiot in. genuinely one of the funniest youve seen

I used to complain about lorry drivers overtaking other lorries but when you realise they have dealines and when they do things like i said above you have to give them a lot of respect