Monday, November 20, 2006

Driving pet peeves

I had to drive to and from Mississauga today for some doctor's appointments. The drive itself isn't usually too bad, but the drivers today were terrible. I had some time to think about the things that really bug me about other drivers. I wish that people, when they were driving:
  • signaled their lane changes
  • checked their rear-view mirrors
  • got out of the way when someone was coming up behind them quickly
  • went fast in the faster lanes (there's no reason for people to pass you on the right)
  • went fast enough in the slow lane (when trucks pass you, you're going too slow)
  • drove with the flow of traffic - not too slow, so that everyone is passing you, and not too fast, so that you're passing everyone
  • accelerated BEFORE having to merge
  • didn't wait until the end of the merge lane to merge
  • left enough space for people merging into their lane
  • left enough space between cars all the time
  • didn't constantly accelerate and then brake
  • didn't talk on cellphones
  • didn't type on their BlackBerries
  • didn't vary their speeds for no reason (although these people are usually the ones who talk on cellphones)
  • accelerated as quickly as possible when cutting people off, like when turning from one street onto another
  • didn't cut people off on the highway
  • didn't slow down when changing to the faster lanes
  • didn't drive at the exact same speed as the person beside them
  • didn't slow down when driving beside trucks (they can't see you when you're there, so why spend time there?)
  • didn't weave in and out of lanes, both when traffic is moving well and when traffic is moving slowly
  • signaled their exits from roundabouts/traffic circles
  • took their turns at stop signs (just because you've been waiting behind someone doesn't mean that you can go when they do)
Sigh. Really, it comes down to being aware of what's going on around you and being considerate to other drivers. So many drivers behave as though the other cars are just moving targets, and they're trying to navigate between all those targets. It's as though people forget that there are other people in those cars.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for reminding me of the main reason I don't miss owning a car.

Really, though, you could devote an entire blog to annoying things done by other drivers....

Anonymous said...

One thing that people need to remember is that semis have HUGE blind areas, including alongside that truck. You always want to stay away from the trucks!