What is your driving-related pet peeve?

Originally Posted by skibbySTFU

ok. this happens every once in a while. makes me particularly upset when they go from tailgating me to trying to get in between me and the car ahead of me. i hate particular situations where people behind me are upset because im not tailgating the guy in front of me.

Every once in a while, when I am in a left lane in bumper to bumper going 70, which makes the passing lane just another driving lane, someone behind me will flash his brights at me to get me to move and let him by--as though I weren't already only four car lengths behind the guy in front of me as it is, and as though there was any opening to the lane to my right to let him by. In those cases I just wave cheerfully to him. There's nothing else I can do.

Originally Posted by Oscar

Thus we need to dumb this down for the average.

Actually, wouldn't that be "dumb this down to lowest common denominator?" The average person gets it right and turns headlights on. Still, its a major pet peeve of mine but I've long since given up trying to signal people (flash lights, turn mine off and on) that they need to turn their lights on. Instead of lights on all the time, a simple sensor to turn the lights on automatically is all that's needed, although it needs to be coupled also with a rain sensor.

My biggest pet peeve is cars that drive side-by-side on a multi-lane road when there is no traffic in front of them. It shows a total lack of consideration for the cars behind them, not to mention that driving directly alongside someone isn't the safest.

Originally Posted by brkf

1. People who do not accelerate when entering a freeway.
2. People who move into a lane with cars moving faster than they are going.
3. People who do not understand you can pull into a suicide lane and then merge when turning left. They wait until traffic is clear on both sides!!!!
4. People who will not drive between the curb and a car at a light to turn right.
5. People who do not turn on their lights in the rain
6. Any person with a Baby on Board sign
7. Bumper stickers
8. People on cell phones
9. Rubberneckers - if you are not slowing to help, then keep moving at the same speed. There's no need to look at the two idiots that swapped paint.

On #2, do you mean you are driving in a lane when someone from the right going slower pulls into your lane ahead of you, doing nothing but making you slow down to his speed? That's really irritating because it seems so random on their part.

Personally, I like automatic headlights. I see no downside to them, and there's no reason I can think of where I would want to control it manually. If I ever did, though, my car allows me to select manual off and manual on.

Originally Posted by skibbySTFU

ok. this happens every once in a while. makes me particularly upset when they go from tailgating me to trying to get in between me and the car ahead of me. i hate particular situations where people behind me are upset because im not tailgating the guy in front of me.

Yup. Those people don't understand the laws of physics or probabilities. Tailgating is probably my grade A pet peeve. People blithely increasing the odds of an accident for the cheapest of reasons: 'I'm in a hurry man, get out of my way.'

I wish I had video of the times I've been on a two lane road, maybe a semi rural road, speed limit 40 to 50, and some DB gets right on my tail even though I have several cars ahead of me with a sane spacing between us. I'm not going to get anywhere quicker by getting up on their ass. So I pull over and let the DB go by, only to see him go up and get on the next guy's butt. About a minute later, we all come to stop light where we sit together for a minute or so.

One of the ways I occasionally deal with tailgaters is I let up on the gas, slowly decreasing my speed. They end up getting closer to me, but then they back off. Then I resume my regular speed. The amazing thing is, three out of four times, the tailgater "gets" it, and stays backed off.

What this suggests to me is that three out of four times, the tailgater has simply become unaware of how close they really were, rather than being unreasonably aggressive. Not all the time, of course, but I'd say 75% of the time.

Originally Posted by cmac2012

Yup. Those people don't understand the laws of physics or probabilities. Tailgating is probably my grade A pet peeve. People blithely increasing the odds of an accident for the cheapest of reasons: 'I'm in a hurry man, get out of my way.'

I wish I had video of the times I've been on a two lane road, maybe a semi rural road, speed limit 40 to 50, and some DB gets right on my tail even though I have several cars ahead of me with a sane spacing between us. I'm not going to get anywhere quicker by getting up on their ass. So I pull over and let the DB go by, only to see him go up and get on the next guy's butt. About a minute later, we all come to stop light where we sit together for a minute or so.

or they get on your butt and you move over to let them pass - only to see them take an exit that is light-controlled - you carry on at your regular pace while they sit at the back of a line of traffic at a light fuming because they're held up YET AGAIN....

I do get kind of upset that my family say I "drive like a grandpa" - which I sort of do when the car has people in it - I give it a got bit more right-pedal when I'm on my own - but I'm always looking ahead, round the bend, at side-streets and intersections - and I practically never get on the butt of someone in traffic... coz it annoys me when people do it to me... the exception to that is when you get someone going 72 in the left lane on the interstate -I'll flash them to tell them to move right.

Three things I always try to respect... keep your rubber and brakes in good condition - be aware of road conditions - stopping takes more distance than you think it does - especially when you're needing to stop "in a hurry"

Originally Posted by wyb

or they get on your butt and you move over to let them pass - only to see them take an exit that is light-controlled - you carry on at your regular pace while they sit at the back of a line of traffic at a light fuming because they're held up YET AGAIN....

I do get kind of upset that my family say I "drive like a grandpa" - which I sort of do when the car has people in it - I give it a got bit more right-pedal when I'm on my own - but I'm always looking ahead, round the bend, at side-streets and intersections - and I practically never get on the butt of someone in traffic... coz it annoys me when people do it to me... the exception to that is when you get someone going 72 in the left lane on the interstate -I'll flash them to tell them to move right.

Three things I always try to respect... keep your rubber and brakes in good condition - be aware of road conditions - stopping takes more distance than you think it does - especially when you're needing to stop "in a hurry"

Are you a grandpa yet?

Originally Posted by chasfh

One of the ways I occasionally deal with tailgaters is I let up on the gas, slowly decreasing my speed. They end up getting closer to me, but then they back off. Then I resume my regular speed. The amazing thing is, three out of four times, the tailgater "gets" it, and stays backed off.

What this suggests to me is that three out of four times, the tailgater has simply become unaware of how close they really were, rather than being unreasonably aggressive. Not all the time, of course, but I'd say 75% of the time.

You call it tailgating, but the fact is he may have quicker reaction time than you do. Just say'n.

Originally Posted by Dave 330i

You call it tailgating, but the fact is he may have quicker reaction time than you do. Just say'n.

I think it depends how fast you're going - there is no way that some of these idiots are going to avoid hitting you if you have to do something drastic from 85 to stop - have you ever watched in the rear-view some of these folks who are driving so close? I'd say 33% are cursing you and want you out of their way - I will often oblige them - another 33% seem to be oblivious to the world, while the remainder are seemingly paying attention, but just see nothing wrong with being that close (probably think their reaction speeds are better than mine... and of those 34% - I reckon maybe, MAYBE 10-15% might be faster than me)....

Originally Posted by Dave 330i

You call it tailgating, but the fact is he may have quicker reaction time than you do. Just say'n.

I call it tailgating when I can't see his entire headlights in my rear view mirror.

I know, I know, just kidding. But, for sure, if you are concentrating more on the guy behind you, you just might rear end the guy in front if he has a panic stop. So, my advice? Ignore the guy behind you, or yes, move over and get the safety hazard guy off your mind. It's not about winning or losing a battle.

PS. 48 years of driving, no accidents. Knock on electrons.

FWIW, I don't concentrate on the guy behind me. I'm aware of the guy behind me. Personally, I don't think a driver should ignore any of his surroundings.

I don't see it as a battle.

pet peeve.
I'm enjoying a little speed in the fast lane, and here comes someone coming up fast behind me, so I move over, and then he slows down in the fast lane.

Originally Posted by Dave 330i

I know, I know, just kidding. But, for sure, if you are concentrating more on the guy behind you, you just might hit the guy in front if he has a panic stop. So, my advice? Ignore the guy behind you, or yes, move over and get the safety hazard guy off your mind. It's not a winning or losing battle.

PS. 48 years of driving, no accidents. Knock on electrons.

Sometimes moving over isn't possible, or more to the point in heavy traffic, you're just trading one tailgater for another. The best advice is to leave enough space in front of you so that you don't have to brake hard, and don't get frustrated when everyone else dives into the big gab you're leaving.

Originally Posted by Dave 330i

pet peeve.
I'm enjoying a little speed in the fast lane, and here comes someone coming up fast behind me, so I move over, and then he slows down in the fast lane.

I know, right? I saw that one just in the past week. Ack!

I hear what you're saying about concentrating on what is ahead - it isn't always easy to ignore the jackass behind - especially some of these lifted pickup trucks with their out out alignment headlight <<- another peeve.

while I'm here ... jackasses who drive with front foglights on... <<--- annoying as heck.

Driving on a two-lane freeway. All's clear except for the two big rigs driving back to back in the right lane ahead of me, doing 60. So I am going to pass them, no sweat.

Except ...

Before I can get there, the second truck swings into the left lane and proceeds to pass the first truck going 61--that is, going exactly one mile per hour faster than the first truck.

Going 61 behind a truck, waiting for him to pass another truck, feels like an eternity. And since they see you're in a BMW, you just know they're yukking it up with each other on their CB, good buddy.

Originally Posted by chasfh

Driving on a two-lane freeway. All's clear except for the two big rigs driving back to back in the right lane ahead of me, doing 60. So I am going to pass them, no sweat.

Except ...

Before I can get there, the second truck swings into the left lane and proceeds to pass the first truck going 61--that is, going exactly one mile per hour faster than the first truck.

Going 61 behind a truck, waiting for him to pass another truck, feels like an eternity. And since they see you're in a BMW, you just know they're yukking it up with each other on their CB, good buddy.

Truckers definitely do stuff to annoy drivers of "fast cars" - I've experienced it a couple times - but the worst this one...

We actually had a trucker change lanes on us while we were over-taking TWO truckers on I-80 between Cheyenne and Laramie - I am certain he deliberately tried to run me off I-80 - they were all on their CBs and I had to put my wheels PAST the rumble-strip and hit it HARD to get round him - we have no idea how close it was, but we were convinced it wasn't going to end well - by the time I was past him I was triple digits and then some - because I had started the over-taking maneuver doing 95+

This was 3 years back in the E92 335i - the car was well up to operating temp and those 90-something to 110+ are pretty quick - not 911 turbo quick, but still quick.

Why am I sure he did it deliberately? Because he moved from the middle lane to the fast (left) lane - with ZERO vehicles in front of him going up an incline - I asked Mrs wyb to get his plate - no front plate that she could see - I wanted to pull over - and Mrs wyb begged me not to - probably a good idea to keep going - so I just kept it triple digit and turned the air blue with my language instead of stopping...

Just watch out for truckers - they can be total morons.

I not only block tailgators in. Sometimes when I had my rsx I would open the gap so they think they can breeze by and then I shut the gap. I only do this to people who are seriously tailgating.

What's the deal with the fog lamps? I drive with my fogs on, they don't hinder anyone else they are properly adjusted. The extra light to me is safer and ill admit I also think it looks cooler.

Originally Posted by skibbySTFU

What's the deal with the fog lamps? I drive with my fogs on, they don't hinder anyone else they are properly adjusted. The extra light to me is safer and ill admit I also think it looks cooler.

Looks cooler? You are throwing extra lumens at oncoming traffic. This actually reduces your own safety and those of oncoming traffic.

Originally Posted by skibbySTFU

I not only block tailgators in. Sometimes when I had my rsx I would open the gap so they think they can breeze by and then I shut the gap. I only do this to people who are seriously tailgating.

Sounds like a DB thing to do.

Originally Posted by skibbySTFU

What's the deal with the fog lamps? I drive with my fogs on, they don't hinder anyone else they are properly adjusted. The extra light to me is safer and ill admit I also think it looks cooler.

If they are properly adjusted to not blind oncoming traffic, they're probably no effective in fog... again - DB thing to do imo. If they are factory fit- they are FOG light - not DRIVING lights - you want driving lights - fit them.

Originally Posted by wyb

I hear what you're saying about concentrating on what is ahead - it isn't always easy to ignore the jackass behind - especially some of these lifted pickup trucks with their out out alignment headlight <<- another peeve.

while I'm here ... jackasses who drive with front foglights on... <<--- annoying as heck.

When I'm really annoyed, especially the ones with HID, I let him get around me and put mine on. But I don't think he is irritated as much as I am.

Originally Posted by chasfh

On #2, do you mean you are driving in a lane when someone from the right going slower pulls into your lane ahead of you, doing nothing but making you slow down to his speed? That's really irritating because it seems so random on their part.

Yep, happens all the time. They don't gauge their speed v. mine. They just move over. My father always taught me, never disrupt the flow of other drivers. If someone else must brake for you, then you made a mistake,

@Dave - yeah driving annoys me in CA. People pay so little attention and seem to be doing their own thing regardless of the rest of us.

The Baby on Board thing infuriates me to no end though. I cannot fathom why anyone would have the audacity to put that on a car.

Enticement for pedophiles?
An admonishment to others to watch out for the driver and their precious offspring?
The misguided notion that first responders to an accident would see this diamond and then furiously search for the child at the expense of others?

It's just a kid. Almost everybody has 'em. Like cell phones and an embarrassing CD/song/record in their music collection.