Worst Driver(s) You Have Experienced

[PainInTheAssInternet]

This will pretty much be a vent thread. I'm pretty good at those.

Mine was last weekend around a busy mall, so there are a lot of stop lights and stop signs meaning you can't get any decent speed before you have to stop again. He was driving a fairly recent Audi (pretty sure A3 or higher) sedan while I was in my 12-year-old Ford sedan, so he had lots of acceleration while I didn't.

That being said, he must have been in love with my ass because he would not dare drive any further than 4 feet from it at 40 km/h. Even though there were two lanes he could have used. I use "driving" in a light sense because he was far more concerned with his hair, fixing it in the driver's side mirror. At one point he got out of his car at a light, opened the driver's side back door and smacked his friend sitting there before getting back in and laughing. The light he did this at had a timer that would permit the left-turning lane to proceed before allowing opposite traffic to proceed. Just from that, you can tell how busy this intersection was meaning you really have to pay attention or screw everyone behind you over. When he pulled away from that light, I was already far ahead of him turning left on a very large avenue (8 lanes across). He then floored it, pulled beside me and gave me a glare as if I was in the wrong. Maybe he (correctly) sensed that I was glad to be getting away from him.

I have no idea why he thought he had the right to be angry at me. I hope he wraps himself around a tree, like he probably will anyways.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I can tell you about bad drivers I experience EVERY DAY.

1. You are making a left hand turn, but you wait until you are in the intersection to signal, freezing traffic behind you because no one knew WTF you were doing and they are now trapped.

2. You are making a left hand turn, and choose to do it on the precise street you want, despite the fact there are generous left hand turn lanes immediately before and after it which would cause no traffic flow problems.

3. You think you are hot shit and/or are a male aged 18-24, and you are weaving in and out of traffic like Batman chasing The Riddler to save 25 seconds on your commute. Your erratic driving is putting everyone else at risk because no one can reasonably predict what you will do next.

4. Despite the fact the guy in front of you is going 10-20 over the speed limit already, you are riding his ass because it's just not fast enough!

5. You don't believe in leaving two cars length or more of space, despite the fact you are traveling at highway speeds. You believe your mutant reflexes will allow you to stop on a dime, so you cram yourself into every space available.

6. You just follow cars into intersections, regardless of what the light is doing or what traffic looks like ahead. When you inevitably end up parked in the intersection, blocking traffic, you throw your arms in the air at the ensuing honks, to indicate there was nothing you could possibly have done to avoid this sad state of affairs.

7. You're on your phone at every possible moment, because PHONE > staying alive and not killing people.

8. You wiggle back and forth in your lane, occasionally straddling the center line, because the lines on the road are just loose guidelines. Odds are you are a bus driver.

9. You are slow as shit and driving exactly parallel to another car that is also slow as shit. It occurs to neither of you to share a lane.

10. You are slow as shit, but turn into Mario Andretti every time a passing lane appears.

All that said, Drivers > Pedestrians > Cyclists.

 

[Elfgore]

I remember one. It was on a Friday night and I was stupid enough to stop by gamestop. I'm driving home on the busiest road around and then some assfucker pulls out in front of me. I mean in front of me, I had to slam on my breaks no to hit him. He then drives twenty-five miles and hour the rest of the way to my house. Most zones were forty-five. The entire drive I was cussing nonstop at this asshole. I used at least every curse word once. I almost rear ended him I was so pissed off.

Three years of driving and I would pay several thousand dollars to have auto driving cars. My twenty minute commute to school every weekday makes me want to go on a driving rampage. If you can't tell I have a small amount of road rage.

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

9. You are slow as shit and driving exactly parallel to another car that is also slow as shit. It occurs to neither of you to share a lane.

This this this this and this!! And it always seems to happen on two-lane roads, going 10-15 miles under the speed limit.

Now I don't know if this is just a Denver thing, but out here, almost everyone who drives a Lexus drives like they're the only ones on the road and entitled to do whatever they please. They're the ones who predominantly weave in and out of traffic, never use turn signals, cut people off, drive up other cars' asses, and either drive really fast or drive really slow (particularly in the manner that BloatedGuppy mentioned above).

Another thing I can't stand is that nobody seems to remember what a turn signal is for, much less that this feature is built in to their cars.

The other one? It's really rare that anyone waves their hand in thanks when you slow down to let them into your lane. It's a sad state of affairs when I remember the people who do, because courtesy has become a rarity rather than the norm.

Oh! When coming up to lane closures due to road construction, someone jumps out of the lane that everyone is waiting in, drives up to the barricades, and expects to be let back in to traffic. Either that or they just weave into the tightest spot they can (never using a turn signal).

 

[schrodinger]

Since i live in Florida many drivers i have to constantly deal with are old people, tourist, old people tourist. Our traffic goes to moderate to shit because of the mass influx of these lost, confused and oblivious drivers of the north. Canadians aren't exempt from this either, especially those from Quebec.
This yearly insanity is tiring.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Does myself count?

Granted all of this is from my driving lesson (I never once driven after I passed my test) I mean I even once stall in the middle of a junction! Seriously I am bad at driving since I lack the confidence to drive properly (before you asked why I drive if I had no interests, my parent made me take lessons).

It took me four times to passed my test but to be fair the last two I had to take the test were in the next town over (which had awful roads) cos the test center where I took the first two tests had closed down.

 

[Tiger King]

so, the other day I was driving home and this person was coming towards me on the middle of the road! I expect him/her to move into the designated fucking lane but they don't! so get this! as I throw my car left (uk) to avoid the driver, HE BEEPS HIS HORN AT ME!!!
my head nearly exploded from the reaction of WTF!

I have friends and a brother that love messing with their cars, modifying them etc, but honestly, FUCK driving! there are too many dickheads on the road!

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

In the city where I live, turn signals are merely a suggestion and there are more cell phone drivers than non. Many is the time I've had tailgaters try to subtly encourage me to break the speed limit like they so obviously want to... and other times not so subtly.

But the worst hands down is one I thankfully wasn't in the driver's seat for, but my dad. We're on a two lane country road and apparently not going fast enough, because the car behind us pulls into the opposite lane (without signalling or checking ahead), accelerates past us and into the spot between us and a truck up ahead. Except we're going through a shallow curve now and the truck throttles back just a tad so there isn't enough space to safely get in. Someone's coming up fast in the left lane. The car oversteers into the gap and loses forward momentum, forcing my dad into a hard brake, honking and swerving off the road onto the gravel to ensure there is no collision.

Do they stop and apologize? Of course not. They pick up speed again without the slightest indication that anything's wrong, less than a meter away from the truck's bumper. We make sure to stay far, far away from them until they're gone.

 

[Fractral]

I'm pretty bad at driving. I had two lessons and then gave up; on the second lesson the instructor got me to turn off at a 4 way intersection. I began to turn, saw another car coming the other way who was also indicating to turn across me, panicked, screamed a bit and then floored the car down the street screaming some more.
My friends have stopped asking why I'm not taking my test anytime soon.

 

[SKBPinkie]

Just yesterday, in fact.

I was heading back from work - driving on the highway in the first lane, and this dude on the second lane didn't bother checking his blind spot before changing lanes. He almost hit me while we were both doing about 65. Obviously, I honked at him to try and let him know of my location. Lucky for me, as I was in the first lane - I drove into the hard shoulder to avoid the collision.

But the worst part is, he didn't even flinch or try and change back into his lane. It wasn't like he didn't see me, he knew I was there after my horn went off. He just sort of...acknowledged my honk and simply continued as if nothing happened. As he went ahead, I saw him zig-zag between lanes at the same speed.

And of course - he did all of this without using his indicator.

 

[shootthebandit]

He was driving a fairly recent Audi.........

thats all you needed to say. Im pretty sure audi indicators are an optional extra

1. I hate people who dont indicate (signal)
2. People who drive at 40 in a 60 limit. Then continue to do 40 in a 30. Its makes no sense. They wont do the limit on a fast road yet they break the limit in an area where there are kids running about
3. People who see my car and assume because its sporty I want to race them (usually some kid with a de-catted corsa with a k&n filter and stickerbombed it). 9 times out of 10 I wont even waste my time

 

[Lokis Maliki]

I have had a few. Worst was in the Philippines. The taxi I was in got sick of how slow the traffic was moving. Went into busy oncoming traffic and forced himself back into the right lane just before an oncoming vehicle nailed us.

Next worst/Tied: I was crossing at an intersection in Busan, a 5 million person city in Korea. I had the little green man and i was walking, minding my own business, when I heard "beep beep". I stop walking to look around just as a city bus blows the red light, bus driver grinning and waving at me as he goes.

 

[scorptatious]

Ah jeez. I just got myself a permit and I'm currently practicing driving, and I have made quite a few mistakes.

Just today, we were driving out of a parking lot, my dad told me to stop and wait for it to be clear. At first it seemed clear and I was moving ahead, then I saw that there was another car heading straight forward. I don't know what was going on in my head. Instead of stopping like I should have, I just kept going. Thankfully the guy pulled out of the way, honking at me afterwards. This wasn't the first time this has happened either. I need to practice being more observant of my surroundings when at an intersection.

Fucking Christ, driving is stressful.

6. You just follow cars into intersections, regardless of what the light is doing or what traffic looks like ahead. When you inevitably end up parked in the intersection, blocking traffic, you throw your arms in the air at the ensuing honks, to indicate there was nothing you could possibly have done to avoid this sad state of affairs.

Yeah, I've made that mistake a couple of times. I just follow other cars into an intersection and forget to check the light and traffic. Thankfully, I didn't cause any accidents or block traffic, but I very easily could have.

Also, I don't understand why people would bring out their phones while driving. You're driving what is essentially a two ton deathtrap moving at high speeds. Since I started, this fact especially seems to bug me because I find myself on edge when I get behind the wheel.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Since I started, this fact especially seems to bug me because I find myself on edge when I get behind the wheel.

This will likely sound like counter-intuitive advice, but try not to be too nervous. Nervous drivers are erratic drivers. They slam on their brakes at the slightest provocation, freeze when they need to be decisive, and provoke even greater feats of idiocy than normal out of nearby twits who get frustrated with their granny antics. I was a very hesitant, halting driver when I first started to drive in a big city, and my girlfriend at the time lectured me senseless about it. It felt mean, but in retrospect it was good advice.

You want to be a good driver? Be orderly, be considerate, and above all be predictable. Be the most obvious ************ on the road.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I live in NY, think of it and either I've seen it or someone I know has seen it. Someone not even slowing down through a t junction and going through the iron bar fence of the school across the street, wheels spinning on the lawn, check. Moron not moving over as the road narrows and smashing the side of a parked car to pieces, check. Roided up d-bag repeatedly ramming a hatchback to smithereens, check. Livery cab drivers darting into oncoming traffic, every day when I lived in Flushing. Getting hit by a car while walking on the sidewalk, twice...in Flushing. Some other roided up freak in a picup truck peeping on kids making out at 'the fort', then chasing us down the expressway, then realizing he couldn't keep up, spinning around to drive the wrong way down the expressway...into oncoming traffic... yep. I could go on and on. Seriously, you have enough friends in NY or NJ, you'll hear every bad driver story possible. It's like a GTA game here sometimes.

 

[adamsaccount]

I got some crappy driver stories, I dont drive anymore myself but I did for a few years, so theyre mostly friends and family messing up; my grandma reversed into a ditch by letting the park brake off whilst looking for her handbag, she also went the wrong way around a roundabout. Pretty standard old person stuff, but she has one of those heavy german mercedes that are built like ww2 panzer tanks, which makes it a lot worse for the public. It took a huge fuck off tractor with a fire engine blocking the road and a police car to alcohol test her to tow her out of that ditch. Luckily she just takes it down the road to the shops now.

An old friend from Switzerland really hates traffic lights, so driving with her is a bit like one of those roller coasters that goes from 0 to some stupid speed in a fraction of a second, but better because where she lives there are a lot of traffic lights, so you get to feel the G's multiple times a minute.
Lastly, some idiot threw a half eaten cheese burger out of their window when I was on the motorway/free way, whatever, and that pissed me off more than anything else. Theres more but they involve gross bodily fluids so Ill leave that for the bodily fluids that accidentally got on your car thread.

 

[Barbas]

Since i live in Florida many drivers i have to constantly deal with are old people, tourist, old people tourist. Our traffic goes to moderate to shit because of the mass influx of these lost, confused and oblivious drivers of the north. Canadians aren't exempt from this either, especially those from Quebec.
This yearly insanity is tiring.

I went to Canada once and loved it. It was like America, except everyone was so mellow it was like being in a 24/7 stoner flick. Having said that, people from Quebec seem to be the source of an inordinate number of complaints. The words "whiny" and "French" are often used adjacent to each-other to describe them.

Ah jeez. I just got myself a permit and I'm currently practicing driving, and I have made quite a few mistakes.

That plagued me for a bit as well. I'd over-think things and before I knew it, I'd driven past something vital because I had my mind elsewhere. You just gotta remember to give yourself time and space to react and get a decent night's sleep before driving. Every unfamiliar stretch of road is a test. Speaking of which, I more or less cheated the hazard perception test - it was poorly designed, so I still maintain that it's their fault.

OT: I almost got stuck in an intersection because a truck had stopped right after it. The woman driving behind him was waiting for him to go, but she couldn't see there was nobody in it. That's right, ladies and gentlemen: Mister fucking guy had parked his truck on double lines and run into the store to get something. We had to shuffle around him in a long, backed-up line. Luckily the oncoming traffic stopped to let us all through and were pretty sporting about the whole thing. I swear, I felt like rolling down the window, crapping in my hand and smearing it all along the side of his truck as I drove past, hooting in a mindless display of animalistic vengeance. But it's hard to drive with crap on the steering wheel...and it probably doesn't smell that great either. Fucking motherfucker.

 

[ThreeName]

Printer drivers. No printer I've ever bought has ever worked satisfactorily, I hate those fucking machines.

...oh, you meant cars. Well. >_>

 

[Zipa]

I watched someone in front of me nearly cause a pile up today, they decided to turn right at a set of traffic lights that are left turn only.

Oh and the other day I watched someone pull into the oncoming traffic lane and go across a one way bridge the wrong way.