| Author | Message | ||
     Dos_centavos Citizen Username: Dos_centavos Post Number: 19 Registered: 11-2005  |
1) People who stay in the left hand lane on the highway and you have to pass them on the right hand side. In a perfect world, the left hand lane would always be clear unless you are passing someone. 2) People who see you coming put decide to wait until you get closer before they decide to pull out into the lane in front of you. 3) People who like to slow their vehicle down below the speed limit when law enforcement is driving by. It’s really ok to drive the speed limit. 4) People who honk there horn when there are people in front of you and there’s no where to go. 5) People who like to slooow down when cops have pulled someone over or you see an accident…especially on the highway. Ok…you don’t want to hit anyone….but are you wondering if it’s someone you know or are you planning on stopping? There’s more but I these are my top five. I also don’t understand people who have sports cars like a Porsche or Corvette (with an automatic no less) who drive under the speed limit but that’s just me….. What annoys you? | ||
| LilLB Citizen Username: Lillb Post Number: 2300 Registered: 10-2002  |
People who are in such a rush that they ride my ••• as though it will make me go faster. | ||
| sportsnut Citizen Username: Sportsnut Post Number: 2559 Registered: 10-2001  |
Your #2 is my biggest pet peeve on the highway. There is nothing worse than cruising in the left hand lane only to have someone pull out in front of you (so that you have to hit the brakes hard) and you look in your rear view and there's no one for miles behind you. The other thing I can't stand is weaving in and out of traffic when its heavy. I'm all for driving as fast as possible but there really is no excuse for weaving in and out. Usually just a poseur. BTW, I agree about the automatic thing.  | ||
| tjohn Supporter Username: Tjohn Post Number: 4737 Registered: 12-2001  |
#2 is beyond the control of drivers. It is caused by Van der Waals forces. Some vehicles tend to attract each other and others repel each other. Some people think that Van der Waals forces apply to molecules only, but it is clear from watching any road system that they apply to cars as well. | ||
| shoshannah Citizen Username: Shoshannah Post Number: 1353 Registered: 7-2002 |
I absolutely hate it when I am in the left lane (not a turn-only lane) in local traffic and the vehicle in front of me doesn't pull up into the intersection while waiting to make the left turn. If you stay behind the stop line, you'll never be able to make the turn! The light will turn red and we'll both still be sitting in the same place. Then the light turns green again and the cycle starts all over. You are supposed to move forward into the intersection and sit there with your signal light on. | ||
| melicious Citizen Username: Melicious Post Number: 743 Registered: 6-2002  |
Here's one of my favorites (its happened to me twice): someone is in the left lane. you pull up next to them in the right lane and they perceive that you are racing them - whatever. they then flip into road rage and try to race you. i was oblivious to the women (sorry, they both were women) next to me and they had this whole thing without me even knowing it - until I needed to make a turn and then they 1) tried to keep me from getting into their lane (they'll show me!!) and 2) tailgated me trying to piss me off. it was almost comedic - but was dangerous for me. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2799 Registered: 8-2003  |
My biggest pet peeve: drivers who are unaware of what's going on around them. I passed a guy in the middle lane on the GSP parkway yesterday. He couldn't have been doing more than 40 MPH. That's pretty dangerous. He didn't belong in the middle lane, he should have been in the right lane. I am a left lane highway driver, but that's generally because I drive faster than most people. I am always aware of what is going on behind, so that someone who wants to pass me never has to ride my butt (another pet peeve). I know when to move to let someone pass me. I am amazed at how many drivers seem to be completely unaware of how to use their rearview mirror. There is no excuse for a line of cars behind a slow left-lane driver. MOVE OVER!! You don't belong there! Pay attention!! shoshannah - your pet peeve is one of my mine too! Drives me nuts. I hate to be impatient, but it's just poor driving not to know to prepare for a turn to keep traffic flowing. | ||
| mjc Citizen Username: Mjc Post Number: 1284 Registered: 10-2004 |
People who stop, or sort of stop, at a stop sign, then pull out regardless of whether someone else is approaching or passing through the intersection. Completely air headed, and in my recent survey 100% of them are on their cell phones. | ||
| tom Citizen Username: Tom Post Number: 5612 Registered: 5-2001 |
shoshannah that's my number one complaint, too. It's as though they'd never made a left turn before. Are we going to sit here until rush hour is over? | ||
| LilLB Citizen Username: Lillb Post Number: 2303 Registered: 10-2002 |
People who sail through stop signs like they're just a suggestion. Also - People who, when two lanes are merging into one, speed up to the point of dangerous driving to make absolutely sure that they go first! This happens at the point crossing Millburn Ave on Valley. If I see the left lane is clear (no one is making a left-turn), I'll go in that lane to go straight through the light, but if someone was in the right lane wanting to go straight, but ended up delayed because they were behind someone turning right, they get all peeved that I might get in front of them when merging. I mean - is it really that f'ing important to be first? Honestly - just let the traffic flow - it's not a contest. | ||
| Dos_centavos Citizen Username: Dos_centavos Post Number: 20 Registered: 11-2005 |
Totally agree with not knowing how to use the rear view mirror. I constantly look there. Also people on the highway who when there is no one in front of them or even near them, they tap on their brakes for what ever reason. Just take you foot off the accerator if you want to slow down. I then slow down because I think they see a smoky or something but there's none. | ||
| mjh Supporter Username: Mjh Post Number: 761 Registered: 5-2001 |
People who jump the green light to make their left turn. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2802 Registered: 8-2003 |
mjh - OOOH I watched a guy with a car load of people jump the light at the intersection of Valley and Springfield. (turning from Valley onto Springfield) It was a d*** move and potentially dangerous, since oncoming traffic is coming from two lanes. The closer lane stopped for him to turn but the car in the furthest lane didn't. | ||
| tom Citizen Username: Tom Post Number: 5614 Registered: 5-2001 |
Just now a guy jumped the light at Parker and Valley to make a left, and what's more, crawled through the intersection forcing me to stop so I didn't broadside him. Look, either you're in a hurry or you're not. | ||
| fabulouswalls Citizen Username: Fabulouswalls Post Number: 218 Registered: 10-2005  |
All of the above + People who continue to ignore the law and endanger their children by piling 4 or 5 unbelted kids into the back seat of a car and/or on another passenger's lap. | ||
| jet Citizen Username: Jet Post Number: 1197 Registered: 7-2001 |
The covering move , this is a real Jersey thing . Your traveling in the left lane , your not going to crawl up their ••• , your just going to drop to the right lane , sure enough they move to the right. Just be a traffic cone ! | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2803 Registered: 8-2003 |
to further elaborate on Fabulouswalls' pet peeve: I hate when I pull up to a light to see a small child in the back seat standing up and facing me. Your kid belongs in a car seat!!!! | ||
| mrmaplewood Citizen Username: Mrmaplewood Post Number: 393 Registered: 5-2001 |
Dos Centavos People tap their brake when you follow them because you are tailgating. They want you off their back and hope you will get the message and pass them or just disappear. Slow down and behave yourself. | ||
| LilLB Citizen Username: Lillb Post Number: 2306 Registered: 10-2002 |
Pippi - I hate that too, and I also hate when people are wheeling their kids in the stroller, and push the stroller out into the street as they get ready to cross the street, even though traffic is still going. I see this all the time in NYC - people are trying to inch into the street waiting for an opportunity to cross and they just wheel the stroller out into the street as cars whiz by.... | ||
| Lou Citizen Username: Flf Post Number: 224 Registered: 8-2005 |
after driving in morrocos, i feel driving anywhere else (including in NJ) is simply wonderful! | ||
| Glock 17 Citizen Username: Glock17 Post Number: 1799 Registered: 7-2005  |
"I also don’t understand people who have sports cars like a Porsche or Corvette (with an automatic no less) who drive under the speed limit but that’s just me….. " OK 1. How do you know they have an automatic? 2. They probably drive like that in certain places because when you drive a car like that the cops are going to aim for you when they are looking for people to pull over. | ||
| Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater  Post Number: 2535 Registered: 10-2004 |
Dos Centavos, I HATE when people ride my azz. So I literally tap my brakes a lot of times to HOPEFULLY get the point across to the other driver to step off, just as Mr. Maplewood said. Which leads me into one of my biggest pet peeves of all. On the highway, the faster you are going the more distance you are supposed to leave between your car and the car in front of you. So when I'm going 65 mph (or more -- essentially going as fast as everyone else) in the mornings on the NJTPK I can't stand how people need to pass me and cut me off essentially forcing me to slow down to create more space between my car and theirs. I guess the concept is NOT that I'm driving too slowly but rather that the space in front of my car offends them somehow. They feel the compulsion to close up that gap with their car. Regardless of why they do it, it forces me to slow down to get off the guys rear end and my slowing down seems to convince the guy behind me that I'm going too slow so he passes me and makes my buffer space smaller again. Repeat ad infinitum. It's DEFINITELY a case of you can never beat em. So you join em. So now I go as fast as everyone else and ride the azz of the guy in front of me and leave as little buffer space as possible so people don't constantly cut me off. I HATE IT!!! It's totally unsafe. | ||
| argon_smythe Citizen Username: Argon_smythe Post Number: 905 Registered: 5-2001 |
I despise the left turn jumpers. I think people actually believe they have right of way in this circumstance, which might explain the phenomenon of "slow jumping." I also hate it when people doodle around kinda sorta the middle of the road, especially coming up to an intersection. Pick a lane! The light is going to change, I want to go straight, you're making a left turn but you're blocking everything up. Some people I swear WANT to get red lights. The light is green they sloooow down, hold on, it's coming, it's coming... yep! Yellow light, hit the brakes! Also when there is a right turn on red allowed, but someone willfully blocks the way so nobody behind can get up there to make the turn (unless there's no other option for them, in some intersections this is the case, no problem there). People who don't pull up into the intersection to make a left turn, blocking everyone behind them who wants to go straight but can't get past. You know where this happens a lot is right in front of Pro Pets, people turning left onto Valley there. Converse to this, people who won't go around someone making a left turn but sit there doodling in the middle blocking others from going around too. On the highway, people who don't use both lanes up to the merge point, but rather move over 3 miles back and expect that everyone else should too. They then resent others for using the other lane up to the merge point, and get PO'd about letting anyone merge in. You get this a lot out in the northwest but I've seen it up in New England too, they've got a strange sense of what's fair, and would leave the other lane wide open and empty for miles before it's actually blocked. Add to this then the people who don't do the "zipper" correctly at the merge point. Do the zipper people! People who wave me through an intersection or left turn or the like when they clearly have the right of way and I'm clearly waiting for them to drive in the correct manner. In fact anyone who willfully violates the rules of the road out of some misguided sense of kindness or something. Just follow the rules, driver. Then there's the guy stopped at a stop sign and I'm halfway down the block approaching the intersection. You do NOT need to sit there till I get to the intersection and come to a complete stop before pulling out! Oh man now I'm all worked up and I gotta get in the car now. | ||
| newone Citizen Username: Newone Post Number: 431 Registered: 8-2001 |
argon - I hate those people who wave you through when they have the right of way (or worse - at Jefferson and Maplewood - they stop at the yellow blinker to let those at the red blinker go). Also, those who drive slow up to a green light and if it turns yellow, they floor it to get through the light. Lastly, but not least, lazy people who double park to pick up their pizza, ice cream, etc and block traffic because they're too damn lazy to park and walk a few dozen yards!  } | ||
| msmith Citizen Username: Msmith Post Number: 30 Registered: 1-2005 |
I'm with the people who hate tailgaters. It is soooo dangerous. If I'm in the left lane, it's b/c I'm passing people and I'll move over as soon as it's safe to do so. Riding up my rear is not going to make me do it faster. If I'm going at least the speed limit, I have as much a right as anyone to be in the left lane to make a pass. I have two small children and I can't tell you how much it scares me when people tailgate. But I have learned my lesson. I was so aggravated by someone following this close that I flipped the tailgater the bird once he passed me. He slowed down and became very menacing. I had my two kids with me. So dumb of me and totally not worth it. Since then, I get over as soon as possible and keep my eyes straight ahead. You never know what kind of maniac is in the car behind you. | ||
| tom Citizen Username: Tom Post Number: 5618 Registered: 5-2001 |
The "right of way" is more than a right, it's an obligation. Anything else creates uncertainty, and uncertainty causes accidents. | ||
| Cynicalgirl Citizen Username: Cynicalgirl Post Number: 3100 Registered: 9-2003  |
The left turners jumping the light, absolute number 1. Never saw it anywhere else but here. The incredibl propensity for folks around here to swing their car door fully out into traffic and proceed to slowly do something or other in the car for an awfully long time. And then there's the really careful people who go around the metal plates on Parker, which are raised up just a smidge off the roadway. Same folks tend to nearly drive down the center of the road to avoid sideswiping parked cars. I admit to being a very conservative who drives the speed limit or the middle lane traffic flow, tries for the old "1 car length for every 10 mph" rule, doesn't talk on the cell phone or with my hands while driving. I do try to leave the other lanes for those who feel moved to speed, or weave, or whatever. Me, I'd rather be late. | ||
| red Citizen Username: Redy67 Post Number: 6894 Registered: 2-2003  |
The left hand turners drive me up the wall. I always get beeped at if I am first in line at a light turning left and don't jump the gun... | ||
| CLK Supporter Username: Clkelley Post Number: 2380 Registered: 6-2002 |
OK - this rant (with a question) has been rattling around in my head for a long time, and is sort of relevant to this thread. There are a few stop lights in West Orange (e.g. Rte. 10 & Prospect) where, when the light turns green, the light STAYS RED for opposing traffic for some time. I.e., it is an "advanced green," and you can and should make your left-hand turn. However, there is no sign to alert the unsuspecting motorist of this. I remember years ago, learning this the hard way - I had my left blinker on, and when the light turned green I sat there as I thought I should. And I got beeped at, the bird flipped at me, people turning red in the face, etc etc. It took me a few times going that way before I figured out how this light works, and I've since discovered a few others, all in West Orange. What is more dangerous, is that the light isn't an indefinite "advanced green." After a bit of time the light turns green for the opposing traffic, too - so if you come up on that signal and the light is green, you really have no idea if it's safe to turn left or not. So - WTF is up with these? Why aren't there signs? Does the existence of these kinds of intersections contribute to left-turn signal jumping, i.e. make it seem expected? Do these bother anybody else? In Canada, they had blinking green lights which meant "go forward or turn left." I really think those are a great idea. | ||
| Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 3785 Registered: 5-2004  |
What I hate is when there is a line of cars in the left lane trying to pass a set of cars. Then some ••• flies up on your rear and flashes you to move out of the way. He wants everyone int he lane to move over so he can go past, not even considering that everyone else in the lane would like to go past as well, but is waiting their turn. Also, people who, as soon as you put your blinker on, close ranks to prevent you from coming into their lane. This seems to be a NJ thing. "It doesn't matter how fast I'm going, as long as I'm in front of you." | ||
| Ima Perplecks Citizen Username: Victor Post Number: 73 Registered: 6-2005 |
Just yesterday I was on 78 and couldn't believe how many huge trucks were on the road. I'm going very fast in the slow lane and the stupid truck is riding my tail, and I have a very small tail. | ||
| Tuxedo Citizen Username: Tuxedo Post Number: 104 Registered: 7-2004 |
MJC-I agree with you wholeheartedly. I was walking my kid across the street at a four way intersection in my hood and a guy was on his cell phone as I proceeded to walk through the intersection. He pulled out without letting me walk past. I've decided to keep rocks, water balloons and tennis balls in my stroller if anyone does this to me again. The whole traffic situation in S.O. is out of control. There's no enforcement anywhere. Occasionally, you'll see a cop with a radar gun, but that's few and far between. It's my big pet peeve. STOP signs are there for a reason! STOP, don't ROLL through!!! | ||
| TomD Citizen Username: Tomd Post Number: 620 Registered: 5-2005  |
How about exiting 78 here at 50B:  Getting off the exit to turn on on to Vauxhall Rd, everyone splits into two lanes, but as soon as you turn on to Vauxhall Rd, the right lane is right tuen only.  A lot of people get in the right lane on the exit (becuase perhaps they can move up a whole car length or two) knowing that they have to cut off someone in the left lane as soon as they turn on to Vauxhall Rd otherwise they have to turn down Hilton. Unless the exit is backing up on to 78, why not just get in the left lane? | ||
| Dos_centavos Citizen Username: Dos_centavos Post Number: 21 Registered: 11-2005 |
LOL…. I’m not talking about the people who are tapping their brakes because I’m tailgating, I talking about the people who tap their brakes and I see it happening as I am coming up behind them. Although I will admit….if you are in the far left hand lane and NOT passing anyone…, just riding in that lane with no other cars around, I will tailgate you for a while in the hopes that you will get over but end up passing you on the right. Traffic here in SO/MW is something else….there’s no need to honk your horn at me when I’m the 5th person in line behind the light. Oh…just thought of another one….because I am a considerate driver…..people who don’t give me the “Thank You” wave when I let you in front of me, slow down to let you make a turn, etc…..that’s all I ask | ||
| argon_smythe Citizen Username: Argon_smythe Post Number: 909 Registered: 5-2001 |
As someone who usually turns RIGHT at that next intersection on Vauxhall Rd after the exit, and therefore legitimately goes to the right lane on the ramp, those people TomD is talking about drive me particularly crazy. Then again, the top of the ramp is completely unmarked for two lanes, and the practice of splitting into two lanes at the top is just kind of a local custom (the uninitiated and unfamiliar often sit there right in the middle of the ramp, to the consternation of the locals around them). | ||
| tom Citizen Username: Tom Post Number: 5625 Registered: 5-2001 |
It's a very long light, people don't want to get stuck for another cycle. | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 15437 Registered: 1-2003  |
All lanes on the highway, except for the right-most one, are for passing, not just the left one. If you have room to the right of you, you should move over, at least if someone is behind you. This is courtesy, and it's the law, though it is rarely practiced and never enforced. | ||
| Chris Prenovost Citizen Username: Chris_prenovost Post Number: 1052 Registered: 7-2003 |
Common thread to this thread? ENFORCEMENT. IF the police actually enforced 1) Lane use on highways, and especially my pet peeve, 2) Cell phone use while driving. . . Most of our road problems would vanish. | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 15438 Registered: 1-2003 |
That's not enough. We would need training. American driver training is a joke. Is it better in Canada? As tom pointed out in another thread recently, political forces decide what questions appear on the written test, leaving little room for questions about good driving. Since classes teach to the test, the classes spend little time on how to drive well. And the people would not take kindly to a challenging driving test which could revoke driving privileges from many drivers. | ||
| cicely moncrieff Citizen Username: Cicely_m Post Number: 88 Registered: 1-2005  |
Actually, I did get pulled over and cited for driving down the middle, not the right, lane. I admit to having been totally and completely baffled. |
