Cracked.com examines 9 types of bad drivers nobody complains about
Cracked.com is the go-to site for lists … of things. Thankfully, the site also has a writing staff that is pretty skilled at churning out funny bits of writing. One of their latest lists hits home as it takes a look at 9 Bad Drivers Nobody Complains About. Here are all nine, if you don’t feel like leaving the warm confines of Hooniverse.com:
9–People who are scared to death of concrete barriers
8–People who think bikes are a mile wide
7–People who time things just right to make you miss the light
6–People who pass you for no actual advantage
5–People who let everybody in
4–People who camp parking spaces
3–People who hang out in your blind spot
2–Slow drivers in denial
1–People who think emergency lights make them invincible
Now, clearly the author has never ridden with us. We complain about everyone. We think it’s worth a journey to their site, however, because the accompanying illustrations may just illicit a chuckle or seven.
Any drivers that they missed? Sound off in the comments.
[Source: Cracked.com/Image: LeftLaneDrivers.org]
Related posts:
I agree, Camry drivers are the worst.
I live just south of where they make them in Georgetown, KY and every 3rd car here is a Camry. Therefore every 3rd driver here is horrible.
#6 is probably my biggest annoyance. It is sort of related to when people keep on accelerating when there is a red light up ahead.
If you drive like a bat out of hell, you rarely meet these people.
Yeah, or when you continuously speed up because someone is at a speed close to your own.
"you're already going 90 in a 65!"
"it's the principal dammit!"
When I lived in Oregon, I loved to play with the mindless on my I-5 commute.
Slowly gain on someone squatting in the left lane, passing on the right, naturally, and slowly increase your speed and see just how fast you could get them going.
Better yet was, at the time, my DD was an unassuming 1985 Fleetwood Brougham d'elegance, so an old-mans car, in white, no less.
I think the best I did was I got someone from 58-60 to almost 80 before they backed out of it.
My dad would routinely do something similar to drivers that would "block" you from getting in front of them. The goal of the game was to get them to hit the person in front of them. He succeeded twice, I've been close once.
Until you get stuck in traffic then you are surrounded by these people.
I'm on the fence about that one – I'm annoyed when someone does it to me, but when I feel like I see the light at the end of the tunnel (re. the clearing ahead of a pack of incompetent clumped morons), I'll do whatever it takes to get out of that pack of assholes. And then I hate myself for being a little hypocritical.
Ask my fiancee and I'm sure she can recall times that I have complained about at least half of those.
I agree – Cracked totally misses the boat here. I have scratched them off my list of automotive references.
My personal bugaboos include Corolla S drivers and a whole category of motorist that is neither racially nor genderly correct. It's not the group you're thinking of but I'm not ready to out myself here.
It's me isn't it! Anyway almost every time I am stuck behind someone slow, it's a Toyota. For the two weeks I was in CA recently, it never failed.
Oh yeah, out here, it's always a Damry, Pious or a Corolla. I can often be heard muttering cod gam damry on freeway on-ramps, particularly the ramp nearest to my home (for some reason, there's about a quarter million Camries that use that ramp, and they are all too afraid of their gas pedal to break 40 before the merge).
Yes – Polish expats driving vintage Volvos. KC is teeming with you guys.
What do you have against middle class white guys who read too many automotive websites?
To clarify racially or ethnically?
I refuse to answer on the grounds that the response is so politically incorrect that I've never shared this observation with anyone. It is, however, an observation as opposed to a predisposition on my part.
I can honestly say I detest political correctness and only employ it when I don't know the conversational limits of present company such as at work or, strangely enough, a bunch of online people I will never meet. I believe it is turning us into a nation of thin skinned pussies and think that if were socially smart enough to discern the intent behind what is said instead of taking any word at face value as offensive because it is these letters in this arrangement. I do have a very thick skin though and am about as nondescript a white guy as you can get, so I guess I'm blind to the other side of the argument.
That being said is it a certain group of people that go to synagogues?
You offensive lout! What have you got against county inspectors/fire marshals? It's a thankless job to check the exit signs, fire alarms, and building occupancy permits!
Seriously now, last night I made a joke online and I think it went over very badly. How was I supposed to know that gaydar is like the n-word these days in some company? Anyway I felt so awful after the fact, I apologized, but still could not fall asleep until 2AM. A lot of people from AT and here must have read it, and honestly it was a simple joke, did not know it was an offensive term at all.
Ooh, I'm getting curiouser and curiouser. Not because I'm wondering, "What flavor of meanie is Alff?" but rather, "Is this someplace that I have failed to connect the dots?"
My wife and I (ok, the Mrs. more than me) are two of the most open-minded people you could meet, but we've noticed something about handicapped spots in our area that's been eating at us lately. No, not fat people.
I do have to say that I would hesitate to share in a forum like this, mainly because I don't want to participate in something that would quickly devolve into a bitchfest.
Ooh, I'm getting curiouser and curiouser. Not because I'm wondering, "What flavor of meanie is Alff?" but rather, "Is this someplace that I have failed to connect the dots?"
My wife and I (ok, the Mrs. more than me) are two of the most open-minded people you could meet, but we've noticed something about handicapped spots in our area that's been eating at us lately. No, not fat people.
I do have to say that I would hesitate to share in a forum like this, mainly because I don't want to participate in something that would quickly devolve into a bitchfest, but also well meaning people can be misundertstood.
Discretion is the better something, something, something.
I complain about all bad drivers, including the nine in Cracked's list. I'm just a little more vocal about some of them.
Let's look inward for a moment. What are your sins on the road? I'll confess mine … I'm aggressive. I merge where the lanes come together, not some arbitrary amount ahead of time. At times, I have a blatant disregard for speed ordinances. If you're poking along in the left lane, I will pass you on the right. If you have not mastered merging from an on ramp, it's unlikely that I will slow to a crawl to let you in. These are my sins, I own them and at my advanced age am unlikely to change. On the bright side, I am (like most here, I suspect) a very aware driver and anticipate and attempt to compensate for potential problems.
The only sin I have is a little speeding…….just a little. Coming through NM last week in a construction zone that went on for miles and miles, on a Sunday, where they have been 4-laning the US highway for several years, the speed limit was 50mph (normally 65). There were no workers, but the 50mph signs were still up. So……I sped. I guess that was a lot. On I-25, the speed limit is 75, and I go 78. Now that's just a little. I am a very courteous, polite, defensive, excellent driver. *tooting own horn*
I speed, but my rule of thumb is keep it to less than 10 over on the highway and less than 5 over in the city (and I try to be significantly more careful in the city, because around here, people randomly walk out into the street everywhere). I find it pretty easy to control my top speed (my problem is that I like to get there as quickly as possible… "Once you put her on the floor one time, there ain't no turning back." — Drive By Truckers, "Daddy's Cup")
I get tired and annoyed when I've got to sit in traffic for long periods of time. Having to focus on someone's tail who isn't moving as fast as I'd like to gets under my skin. I can be a jerk about letting people in if I've been sitting in traffic for an hour. On a related note, I will punch it hard to get around people who are being inconsistent about their speed. People on I-5 who go around trucks at 65mph and then speed up to 75+mph past the truck will annoy me into breaking my 10 over rule.
Finally, I very rarely cross double yellow lines. In fact, the only times I can think of that I've done so has been when said double yellows were covered in a couple inches of ice and snow. (Only to pass people who are in over their heads and either being over cautious about their ordeal, or horribly, horribly dangerous but unable to push past 15mph thanks to the laws of physics.) When I'm on two lane mountain highways I never cross the double yellow, but I do try to apex within the confines of my lane and hustle down the road (this annoys my wife to road sickness more than anything else).
I won't speed more than 5 over, which the cops in CO don't seem to stop you for, but 10 over would probably be pushing it. In the mountains, I won't speed at all anymore, since I hit a deer with my then new 2003 Explorer. That experience really slowed me down to the speed limit.
My favorite mountain roads are all "Speed Limit enforced by the Laws of Physics" type roads, so hustling through the curves does not involve speeding, and you are very right about deer. Hell, there was a guy on ffcars a couple years ago who went for a Sunday drive on a big loop that went by Lake Tahoe via back roads. He drove over a squirrel (didn't even hit it, IIRC), and it got sucked up into the engine bay, did a couple laps around the block, took out the belts and did a surprising amount of damage. I try not to hit anything, no matter how small. My problem is I learned to drive on windy mountain highways, so they're my idea of "most fun place to drive." They also happen to be the most dangerous roads in the US.
The CHP is not required to pull you over if you are doing less than 10 over, and they normally have a target rich environment for people doing more than that. On the interstates, the traffic pace is normally between +5 and +10, so partially I'm just doing that to keep pace with traffic (however, I do tend to drive a little bit above the median speed).
The worst speeding I've ever done was I bombed through most of Oregon at 80mph once. Somehow, I didn't get a ticket. I fell in with a speeder convoy, and just cruised. My understanding is that OHP officers are much more strict than CHP, and OR still has a general 55mph limit throughout the state, so that was quite a bit more egregious than my normal habits. It was on 5 through the Willamette Valley, it's largely straight and rural and there wasn't much traffic on the road.
State troopers around here, if you're not pulling any stupid stunts or otherwise maneuvering dangerously, absolutely _will not_ bother you if you're doing less than 18 over, based on my experience. I've passed troopers doing well more than that even, and have not been stopped. Never received a ticket for less than 20 over, for that matter. 87 has gotten me a verbal warning.
They seem to recognize the natural speed of traffic and thankfully don't see it as a gold mine.
This, I should note, is not to say that I have a vast multitude of tickets and thus can nail down the precise speed at which you'll be stopped; more that I speed for 3 hours every single day, pass many cops, and am left alone.
Oh, 15 over is for normal roads for me. Highways are about 30 over. I forgot that in my confessions.
There have been many times when I'm aware of the possibilities and consider controlling it and letting it happen. That's probably an automotive sin. I will stay in the lane that is being merged into but if you pass me and drive any bit under the speed limit you will have me attempting to to give your car a sonata shaped supository. I live in PA, so passing on the right is a way of life. Also, if you have not mastered merging and I am behind you I will be next to you very, very shortly. 15 over is a way of life for me.
I am an asshole, I seek not absolution, just understanding.
Confessions
1) I run like 10 over in-town (but not in neighborhoods) and all freeways are 80-85mph
2) I pass on the right with no hesitation. It's just not something people are tought here in CA, the general process is: approach, flash lights once, downshift and pass on right. I do, however, move over for faster traffic.
2b) As a correllary, particularly since I've moved up to NorCal, I will go like 2 or 3 lanes to the right and bob and weave through traffic to get past a rolling roadblock of people all oscillating between 68 and 72 mph, but never in such a way as to open a gap.
3) Since (finally) getting a smartphone, I find myself looking down at it for directions/mapping waaaaay more than I should. It's clearly made me dumber, as I used to do more planning and memorizing of routes, now I'm like "oh yeah, it's over there…I'll just get going and get directions on the way."
Part of my "problem" is that I learned to drive in L.A. and have relocated to the midwest, where it seems everyone went to Grandma Edna's School of Driving.
Hm, not in Detroit. The average speed on the freeways here is about 75, and you can still count on getting passed if you're doing 80. [That's miles/hour, Imperial friends.]
and they even do that speed in the snow!
/former Toledo resident
If you call it a problem, "they" win!
My smart phone has brought out my Inner Grumpy Old Man, and I avoid using the navigation. I put a lot of time into learning land navigation. I'm damn well going to get some use out of that skill. I don't care if the stupid computer is better at it. I am just old enough that GPS navigation systems came out just after I felt I had mastered the art of not getting lost.
My flaws:
1- Road rage, which I never noticed until some of my friends brought it up at the bar once. Apparently I swear at old ladies a lot.
2- I have an alarming tendency to not pay that much attention when driving down my street. It's the only street where it happens, but there have been numerous "where did you come from?" moments pulling out of my drive way.
3- I accelerate with force from stoplights if I think the driver beside me is a douche.
Number three is merely self-preservation, not a flaw.
1: Speeding, up to how much depending on conditions. no more than 5 over in neighborhoods, 10 on major Roads(It's either Neighborhoods or Major Roads where I live) god knows on highways
2: If there is a lane closure, and it's marked miles ahead, I will sit half way in the closed lane towords the end to try and get people to not be giant dicks.
3. I have road rage, Actually just an anger issue in the first place. I frequently am frothing at the mouth while slogging through traffic
4. hardly ever use my blinker…It tells the enemy your next move.(I Learned to drive in Boston. What can I say?)
5. I don't know if this counts, but I hardly ever buckle up in trucks. Cars? Instantly belted in, but for some reason I dont in trucks
6. I have done ALOT of road trips with a kid who learned to drive in Europe. So I've gotten into the habit of passing people by running right up on their ass, and than swinging out to pass.
My big one is the California stop, I just can't seem to come to a complete stop at stop signs if there is nothing there. I keep getting ticketed for it here at work to the annoyance of my boss. Yes it's really for the selfish reason of I don't want to get slowed-down, but there is an aspect of getting more sea sick the more I have to do it. I speed too but not more than traffic anymore. I got two speeding tickets in my life, one of them deserved, the other was a dirt cop. That one that I was really speeding was twelve years ago. Honestly getting pulled over then, it might have saved my life cause I was also so distracted worried about my lease almost coming-up and having no luck finding a new place to live (ha) while about to get onto some mountain roads. A pickup went off the side a bit in front of me later. Now that I think about it, my getting stopped meant he did not, random and chilling. Anyway that experience and my GF getting pregnant slowed me down considerably. I'll probably get a speeding ticket in a construction zone speed trap in rural IL someday though. I go like everybody else when there is no work being done, a neighbor got a ticket that way.
$kay, your post made me think, yesterday, and I consider myself pretty mellow behind the wheel, now.
Used to not be as much, but as you age, you chill out. When I drove professionally, nothing, nothing bothered me, while I was driving and being paid. Driving to/from work…that's a different story. I never realized how much I separated the two.
However… This morning, I found a new category, one which has always existed, I just hadn't thought much about it.
The arrogant drive.
This morning, I'm on I-35W, north of downtown Fort Worth, and there are entrance ramps every 1/2-1 mile, as you'd expect.
I'm moving along in the right lane, slowly, and some ARROGANT DUSCHE in an older Honda Accord pulls up next to me and starts moving over. His lane is ending. Mind you, there are about 6 car lengths behind me.
No eye contact, no nothing, just a slow creep into my lane. I held my position until our mirrors were less than 2" apart, then, to preserve the door-ding-free STS, I moved over a lane.
Then I had an adrenaline dump.
Oh, how I wish I'd had Baby Beater Benz right about then.
I'm still angry about it, because it was an incredibly arrogant and wholly unnecessary move.
Why is it those merging on to the freeway think THEY have the right-of-way. No, morons, it's up to you get get up to speed and find an open spot, not force your way in.
ACK! Now I'm mad again!
I need some breakfass scotch!
$kay, your post made me think, yesterday, and I consider myself pretty mellow behind the wheel, now.
Used to not be as forgiving/relaxed, but as you age, you chill out. When I drove professionally, nothing, nothing bothered me, while I was driving and being paid. Driving to/from work…that's a different story. I never realized how much I separated the two.
However… This morning, I found a new category, one which has always existed, I just hadn't thought much about it 'cause I don't see it all that often to this degree.
The arrogant driver.
This morning, I'm on I-35W, north of downtown Fort Worth, and there are entrance ramps every 1/2-1 mile, as you'd expect.
I'm moving along in the right lane, slowly, and some ULTRA-ARROGANT DUSCHE in an older Honda Accord pulls up next to me and starts moving over. His lane is ending. Mind you, there are about 6 car lengths of open space behind me.
No eye contact, no nothing, just a slow creep into my lane. I held my position until our mirrors were less than 2" apart, then, to preserve the door-ding-free STS, I moved over a lane. I should have laid on the horn, but I don't think that would have done anything.
Then I had an adrenaline dump.
Oh, how I wish I'd had Baby Beater Benz right about then. I couldn't help but punch the N*, get in front of his ass, and as soon as he went to change lanes around me, I brake-checked the living crap out of him. Yes…I turned into the dusche. I know I should have just let it go, but OOOOOHHHHH, I was tweaked.
I'm still angry about it, because it was an incredibly arrogant and wholly unnecessary move. I'm also upset with myself for letting it get to me the way it did. Feelings/emotions are difficult behaviours to modify.
Damn. I just had some Australian sneak in, there.
Why is it those merging on to the freeway think THEY have the right-of-way. No, morons, it's YOUR duty to get up-to-speed and find an open spot, not force your way in.
ACK! Now I'm mad again!
I need some breakfass scotch!
I admit to the bike deal, not because I think they are a mile wide, but because I hate whemn I'm riding and people try to muss my hair with their mirrors.
I'm going to add people who think their car is a mile wide. I HATE waiting to go right on red because someone can't understand that their car can fit between the straight-through car and the curb.*
*this also applies to people who won't go around someone waiting to turn left, or generally won't put their car within 4' of a stationary object. Also motorcyclists who park wherever they feel like, instead of manning up and just driving through whatever commercial establishment they are patronizing.
Thanks. I really wish that everybody could give me a yd/m from their passenger side mirror to my left elbow. I could be in that entire lane, but I'm reasonable and stay to the right, unless there is something I need to avoid. The worst are the drivers that pass me just to stop and make a right directly in front of me at the stop sign, and yes it has repeatedly been a butch looking Subaru driver on the way to the same place I work at the same stop sign. Man if she just was not so scary looking, I might talk to her someday. I usually catch-up in the parking lot.
That's a situational assessment. As a cyclist, I appreciate a wide berth. As a motorist, I will move into oncoming lanes as available to clear a bike. If it's not clear, then I expect you as a cyclist to hold your line.
Upding on that. I make an effort to hug the edge of my lane if there is a bike splitting (motorized or not). I usually try to position myself a little to the left edge by default, but I'll move right if I'm in traffic on a multilane highway and there's a motorcycle coming down the stripes on my left. And yes, I'm watching my mirrors for you guys.
And when I'm lane splitting through traffic, I hold my line.
I've had my ear nearly removed more than enough times when I've been on my bike that I will always give a cyclist a wide berth. If I can, and he's not being a total moron (i.e. riding on the correct side of the road), I will slow down to his pace until it's safe to pass and give him a wide margin. Seriously. I spent the first 22 years of my life riding bike, and have been run off the road WAY too many times not to.
Now, the morons who ride the wrong way, weave back and forth, and pay no attention to what's going on around them? they're fair game. They just make the rest of us look bad.
not sure if this happens in other cities, but in the Detroit area there are way too many drivers who slam on their brakes at a green light for no reason, sit until the light turns red for a few seconds, then drive through the intersection.
there's also an unusually high percentage of people who drive on the wrong side of the road.
the cop who almost hit me in a parking lot because he was staring at his phone gets an honorable mention.
There is a special place in hell for those dimbulbs who finger their phones while they are sitting in the driver's seat of a moving car. Notice I didn't call them "drivers". This waste of road is doing EVERYTHING but driving. I see them weaving across 2 lanes, looking to the world to morbidly intoxicated.
And then they get bent at me when I toot my horn at them to maybe coax them into maybe paying a little attention to the 3500lb, 70mph missile they are responsible for…
Sounds like a lot of drivers trying to lose a tail!
ha ha, yes. surprisingly, the camouflaged cars i've been shooting have never used this move, although they have taken an unexpected turn or exit.
If someone slams on their brakes for a green light, they are trying to commit insurance fraud.
i'm sure this applies to some, luckily my car stops in a shorter distance than the hoopties i see doing this. i think some people are just too drugged/drunk/stupid to understand how a traffic light works. remember, this is the same city where many people refuse to use car seats or seat belts for their children. i once saw a "transportation company" minivan with a child in the back cargo area WITH A SEAT BELT FROM THE BACK ROW OF SEATS AROUND HIS NECK to restrain him.
My biggest bad driver pet peeve is people who cannot maintain a speed on the highway , speed up , slow down , speed up , slow down , I just wanna push them in the ditch and keep driving .
I call it playing Cruise Control Leapfrog.
I call it infuriating , it's the same as someone doing 30km under the limit to only speed up when there is a passing opportunity
"1–People who think emergency lights make them invincible"
i'm not sure if they are referring to emergency vehicle drivers, but i assume they are.
in that case, may i submit the drivers who pass in the right lane when the other vehicles have moved over for a police officer standing next to a car, motorist changing tire, road workers, etc. nothing beats the thrill of gaining a few car lengths by risking vehicular homicide.
Actually, I think they just mean people with their hazards on…
thanks for clarifying. i call them "hazard lights" as well, to me emergency lights are police, ambulance, fire. apologies for taking a misunderstanding and running with it. although the idiots i referred to should have their license suspended.
I agree. To an extent. In Indiana, it's the law to move over or slow down for an emergency vehicle at the side of the road. There's no reason to do 35mph in the left lane when passing a cop on the right shoulder. I have, more than once, moved to the right lane, hugged the dotted line and passed at 40mph. If 15 below the limit and paying extreme attention isn't sufficient, then they need to make a traffic stop like a school bus stop.
You can call me #5. Someone has to let them in and since you are a dewsh who won't let anyone over, someone has to. That person is me.
I would like to submit for your cogitation the idea of Zipper Feeding.
Great idea, in theory. As a truck driver, I have a nice overview of the traffic patterns in front of me. I would say, that the idea of zipper feeding does not dawn on anyone. Bumper to bumper, then barge your way over at the last minute is the way it is in real life.
When in heavy traffic, I just select a gear and let as many people out than can make it until the end of the ramp.
I was reading through until the end of the comments where I was going to thank him for including me as #5. Zipper is the way. Also, if there is a ton of traffic and a car waiting to pull into traffic, I'm the guy that stops and let's them in because it's how I like to be treated when I drive. If you are the second car waiting, you gotta hope for another #5 to come along as you only get one from me. Why is this on the list?
I know it's not last call but I need help. Please, please, please talk me out of this…
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/2651915086.h…
Here goes….
Though smooth and powerful in its own time, that model is nothing particularly special today.
Even among contemporaries, it was antiquated, and yet it failed to gain a reputation for apocalyptic durability.
Also, you'll have to put in an aftermarket radio. Strike three.
It doesn't have a radio. And the ad is experiencing a severe shortage of Grey Poupon jokes.
<img src="http://cdn0.hark.com/images/000/322/342/322342/original.jpg" width="500">
Do it…. The hooniverse needs it's resident idio-guy who bought a rolls cause it was "cheap".
That was the worst, stupidist, dorkiest looking Rolls until the new Gigantor ones. You really want to own the Granada of Rolls-Royce? I didn't think so. Bide your time, you'll find better for the price. At least hold out for a Camargue…
Sadly, this is the "modern" Rolls I want most desperately. I think it's because Grandma and Grandpa would bring me a nice metal model car every time they traveled overseas (I loved it when they went to Italy). My favorite toy as a young Hoon was the Silver Shadow.
Perhaps for that reason, I wholly disagree with your perspective. This is the only desirable Rolls sedan produced since the late '60s. As for a Camargue or other, a proper Roller has four doors, unless one is so gauche as to drive a drop top.
I feel your pain.
I have to stay away from CL some days.
<img src="http://images.craigslist.org/5V25X15S43mb3pf3o7bav72c61087645c1b35.jpg" width="400">
Frankly, my wife would kill me if I did anything more than cruise CL looking for interesting cars. We have one garage spot in an apartment building and two cars. I don't have a spot for a PCH, and she'd notice a few thousand missing from the bank accounts. This is probably for the better. I have to make my purchases count.
While we have only 2.5 parking spaces at the house, 2 normal-sized cars and a bike of any sort would fit, I have a good friend with an airplane hangar about 40 miles away, who already lets me store the 40' diesel-pusher motorhome and Baby Beater Benz.
Hell, there's room in there, even with his stuff, including a 35' cabin cruiser and a '73 Mark IV, for another two cars, easy.
With a day of straightening, make that at least a half-dozen.
Must. Stop. Thinking. About. It.
Wait…that whole money thing. Never mind, thoughts over.
Big block … fwd … leather … drop top. You need this.
Just because it's a cheap Rolls now, doesn't mean it'll continue to be a cheap Rolls. Not unless you drop in an SBC. You Heathen, dropping in some Proletariat engine, with no appreciation for refinement, or adequate power.
There are no radios in any of my vehicles (unless you count the CB in the Freeway) and right-hand drive is awesome. Decent interiors are overrated. Get it.
I'd like to add people that drive in the left lane and NEVER GET OVER. This isn't your personal lane, it's a passing lane.
EDIT: I guess it's included in the article in a weird way.
Remember, people going slower than you are *idiots*. People going faster than you are *maniacs*.
Thanks, George.
I miss that guy's humor.
I would like to give a shout out to all the fullbacks out there. I know that from time to time I have been a fullback, and that I have enjoyed the company of a good fullback. I follow them through the ranks of meandering automobiles and we both watch for 5-0. I may not know you, man among men, but I appreciate you.
I did that for a semi over the summer, it was awesome. Scouted out position, took it and made room, then pulled up for the semi to get in and repeat. We made good time until he wasn't allowed out of the right lane anymore. Adios muchacho.
My mom doesn't drive anymore (she's in her 90s), but when she did, she was definitely Number 9 (terrified of concrete barriers). She also used to stop at the end of entrance ramps, which is one reason why she quit driving on freeways.
I have to say, though, in the 58 years that she did drive, she never had an at-fault accident. Which is more than I can say for myself. Pretty impressive.
My only at-fault accident was rear-ending someone who came to an abrupt stop at the end of an onramp. I glanced left and saw that it would be safe to maintain speed and merge, while at the same time the person in front of me decided she just wasn't ready to do the highway thing yet. I had time to slow, but not enough on the wet road.
Luckily no damage but a paint scratch from a licence plate screw, and her rather transparently desperate whiplash claim was thrown out as apparently you can't claim an injury if there's less than $300 worth of damage.
Anyway, I'm sure your mother is a very sweet person, but gosh I am glad she isn't stopping on any more onramps.
Yeah, that is the most dangerous thing someone can do outside of playing chicken with a telephone pole.
They missed one: Folks Who Can't Stay In their Lane. Generally glitzed up SUVs, but respects no economic barrier. I'll give you one wandering over the lane marker, and then I'll drop the hammer. I will not wait around to see if you're stoned or drunk, or chatting or just an idiot. And I won't be beside you the next time you forget that your lane doesn't stretch all the way to Kansas.
Right behind them are the folks that can't keep a consistent speed – especially when I'm, passing. I'm not racing, I'm not checking you out, and I'm not trying to establish dominance – I'm just trying to get where I'm going at a speed that seems reasonable and safe right now. So please don't let your speed creep up when I'm passing, so it takes forever or I have to put on 20 mph just to get past. And don't you dare try to shut a door on me – I won't stay behind anyone who does that crap.
I'll drive as fast as I have to, to be as safe as I can.
My favorite all-time instance of that was a guy in a beat-to-heck Nissan Hardbody 4×2 trying to drive up an iced over 11% grade. In the dark. He was doing about 12-15mph and his tail end up was oscillating through at least a 120° arc. Fortunately, I was in 4hi, and had enough traction to punch it in second and make a quick shift to third to get around him when the oncoming lane was clear.
Maybe Im getting older but some of those dont bother me in the least
the giving way to bikes I actually like since in my state of Florida its the law to yield 3 ft for passing a cyclist. My wife cycle all the time and I appreciate some caution from the driver especially if there are small children riding bikes.
Now in that case I DO however hate when cyclists ride AGAINST traffic especially on blind curves and at night no less.
I don't mind letting a car or two in traffic but that should be the limit as far as drivers courtesy.
The thing that really pisses me off on the roads are the drivers that have no clue about road rules:
- no idea of right of way (my personal number one for near collisions)
- no idea of a 4 way stop and how it works (also flashing red light intersections)
- no idea about cutting you off and driving below the speed limit ( you can cut me off if you drive like Andretti)
At this point, I hate pretty much everybody – you could try to assign stereotypes, but everyone sucks across every demographic.
Other than the obvious, the meandering, lane hogging, aimless assholes, I can't stand when three or four cars in the perpendicular left turn lanes continue following through the turn well past the red light (and far enough down the line that at no point were they in the intersection while the light was yellow). It's at that point I wish I had about 5000lbs of ostentatious or battered V8 iron to go straight at them, engine racing and horn blaring to put the fear of some deity into them. This goes equally for people that get caught in intersections,
Put a nice heavy duty ram bumper on the truck, creep up against the car blocking the intersection, drop it into 4lo, and start pushing.
I have to admit to being one of those idiots, well, sometimes. I don't use cruise control because for some reason, turning on cruise control makes me more prone to distraction. I do pretty well until I've been on the road for a number of hours, and then sometimes my speed drifts down a bit, and then I'll pick up the pace again.
However, I make a point of letting people by when I start doing this.
We have a strange phenomenon around here of people driving 5-10mph below the speed limit. Usually in the left lane, but just as often side by side. On bright, sunny, dry days.
I have no idea why they do it. Do they think they're saving gas? Are they that involved in their lattes? Do they think they're helping the police? The worst part is the looks of shock and disgust they give you when you finally manage to get around them. Like I'm doing something wrong!
That phenomenon is known as Pennsylvania…
This really is weird. It seems to be quite localized to the county I live in. I know a couple of cops in the county south of us and asked them about it, and neither had seen anything of the sort, and I rarely see it there myself. I then asked one if it was OK if I just ran them off the road because they had no business being in the left lane. He's a really nice, very funny guy, but has no sense of humor when it comes to his job.
Wait, are you actually in Pennsylvania?
Nope, Indiana. Indianapolis metro area
I was going to say, that would have been quite a guess on my part.
Don't beat yourself up over that, as we can only be pushed so far, and that guy pushed you waaaay too far. No damage done, so life goes on. I used to have a bad habit (which I picked up from my ex) of vocally cussing out drivers, even though they couldn't hear me. When I decided to be a patient, courteous driver, I broke that habit too. I may occasionally say something under my breath though.
How about the morons who will tailgate you when you're in the far right lane? Frankly, if I'm in the far right lane, and there's no minimum speed limit, I can go as slow as I want- go around. It really pisses me off when I'm doing the speed limit, and the three lanes to the left are completely clear, and the only other car on the road is six inches off my back bumper. Actually, this applies to any lane, if there's space for them to pass on the left. Of course, if you're in any lane but the far right, you need to do at least the speed limit.
I like to play with those guys and see how slow I can go before they realize they can pass. It's fun to watch someone slow down from 65 to 35 before they decide to pass. I'm not usually that much of an ass, but I don't tolerate being tailgated if I'm not in the left lane and I'm doing a reasonable speed. If I am in the left lane, tailgate away and I'll move, if I didn't already.
Yeah, I hate those times when you miss having a beater. The one thing about my Jeep is that it put fear into people. That's a nice feature of a car, when everyone knows that you don't care if something happens to the vehicle you're in.
People who yield the Right-of-Way!
happens ALL THE TIME in Lexington. Stop on the hwy to let someone merge. stop at a green light to let someone turn left across traffic. 4-way stop signs take 15 minutes to get through because everyone is waving everyone else through. Clogging an intersection trying to make the green light even though there isn't room for a car.
And people don't know what to do if an emergency vehicle is coming up behind them. The emergency vehicle trying to get through an intersection pulls up behind the cars in the left turn lane and they don't know what to do. They can't comprehend making the turn then pulling to the side to allow the vehicle through.
IF tldr THEN all Lexington drivers
The seem to have ignored one group of people. The drivers who are terrified to pass trucks on the road
Here's one that might be an exclusive to my area: People who brake for jaywalkers. Even if there's no indication that they're actually going to jaywalk. Today, on an icy road, some guy decided it'd be cool to brake for a guy who wasn't intending on crossing the road, he was just getting into his truck. Crosswalks make sense, but braking all over the place because someone might cross the road maybe is super dangerous.
Wow, nobody has mentioned four way stops yet. Those individuals who encounter other vehicles at the four way and are paralyzed with indecision (Stop? Go? Who is on the right?) get me talking to myself all the time. Make up my frickin' mind will ya?
I wondered if you were BBB… Glad to see you made the transition here.
Strangely enough, the synagogue near me does get police/emergency services to stop traffic and let them in and out.
I really can't stand dramatic or oversensitive people, no matter what their issue is and only associate with them if I have no other choice.
Stop on the hwy to let someone merge. stop at a green light to let someone turn left across traffic. 4-way stop signs take 15 minutes to get through because everyone is waving everyone else through. Clogging an intersection trying to make the green light even though there isn't room for a car.
Your first point caused me to tap a 2002, or so, Honda Civic with my '85 RWD Fleetwood. Damage to the paint, natch, steel vs. paint, paint loses.
I didn't believe my eyes, at the time, this is Portland, OR, area, BTW. I thought I missed something while turning right on a green light. Homegirl COULDN'T have stopped on a green light to let someone turn left in front of them.
I paid the extortion cost of bumper painting and moved on. Pissed, but curious.
A couple of months later, I saw the EXACT SAME behaviour…different person, different intersection. I LAID on the four-tone horn in the Fleetwood, and the idiot driving in front of me could not figure out what the problems was.
I think it's something in the water, honestly.
Agreed.
Nothing like driving a car which is obvious you care absolutely nothing about exterior appearance.
I used to have a really beat-up Ford F-100, 1980 model. Significant damage everywhere but the passenger's door.
People stayed away from it.
Thanks. It's really nice to see people over here, too.
I've become a partial oppo junkie, but Hooniverse suits me just fine.
I see a 'roo bar in BBB's future. I need to learn how to weld….
Mine wasn't too beat up, but it also could have been because I have no idea how fast I was going (speedo tops at 85, my brother said he was doing… in excess of 85 to follow me once) and would wobble all over the place. Plus, the well tucked 32×11.5's just made it look mean.
there's also a law in Michigan that you have to move over for emergency or disabled vehicles or slow down. i wish they would enforce it, people driving 70+ mph less than a foot away from a person on the shoulder should lose their licenses permanently. not too long ago a road worker was killed in suburban Detroit, in an area where people routinely go 80 mph next to road work. there is no excuse for that kind of careless behavior.
That would be terrific… pictures are a must when it happens.
Gets me angry enough to Photoshop!
<img src="http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/fixbroke/doubleturnlane.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
<img src="http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/fixbroke/doubleturnlane.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
<img src="http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/fixbroke/doubleturnlane.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
<img src="http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/fixbroke/doubleturnlane.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
<img src="http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/fixbroke/doubleturnlane.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
<img src="http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g456/fixbroke/doubleturnlane.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
I've come within inches of doing that in my truck. Driver looks out door window to see 2 PIAA lights shining bright and not much else.
As much fun as it is to spew hate, (and the things that upset us westerners as incredibly small compared to the problems that face a lot of the world's people) bicyclists should be treated like they're a mile wide. Forget your beloved principles for a second and consider that if that rider should encounter any issue that causes them to deviate from a straight line, your car could easily kill them. That person is a mother/father/son/daughter/friend/lover of someone, they're doing their best to get where they're going, and a tiny amount of care by drivers will ensure that these nice folks will live to see another day. Take a breath, slow down, and wait till it's safe to pass. Still want to hate? Direct your hate to the anxious jackhole in the car behind you, who doesn't respect human life as much as he should.