What are your biggest driving pet peeves?

[DrivingCrazy]

inspired by the fact I encountered one of mine this morning! What are your biggest pet peeves on the road?

not necessarily something that is breaking the Highway Code etc, but just something irritating! Or something you’d change about the current system!

here’s a few of mine:

Lorries overtaking on a duel carriageway that is uphill, resulting in a huge queue that feels like it lasts ages!

Cyclists on back roads who don’t duck into the passing places to let cars go past

People who drive at 10mph under the speed limit in a 50, but carry on at that speed in a 30!

People who wander aimlessly around a car park with no sense of danger and don’t look for cars moving around

Dogs on long leads right next to the pavement - gives me anxiety that it will run right out into the road

Slightly different tangent but another one is that over 70s should have to sit a very basic driving test each year (not like the one a new driver sits, a much more simple ‘are you safe on main roads’ type test) and it should not be based on a self assessment

Looking forward to hearing what other people hate on the road! Just a bit of fun on a miserable Monday morning :)

People who don't merge in turn

People who don't give way to the right at roundabouts

People who don't indicate

Pedestrians in carparks who don't seem to be aware of cars

Vans that flash you to pull out at a junction when they have right of way, to then hope that the driver on the side of the road you're joining is going to magically screech to a halt and let you in....

There seems to be a lot of people annoyed by the lack of indicating, but honestly, I couldn't care less if people indicate or not, I'm not pulling out in front of them anyway because so many of them either don't turn off at all or go the opposite way to where they're indicting (that one particularly on roundabouts). It's like an epidemic, I'm sure it didn't used to be so bad. So, I guess I hate people who don't know how to use their indicators, rather than not using them at all.

Also, people who don't know how to merge correctly.

People whole deliberately drive in the wrong lane to avoid the queue to turn left or right, then try to cut in to the correct lane at the last moment. As a result the queue hardly moves for the people in the correct lane as out of the space made by the 6 or 7 cars who make it through the green lights, 5 of the spaces are taken up by cars who have pushed in.

And the people who keep letting them in. Stop doing it, they’ll soon learn!

On my mostly rural communte to work - in no particular order:

Tail-gating on a single track road that has all but disintigrated into one big pothole and then reving and overtaking agressively at the first opportunity. I know the road, and I just save your tyres and suspension.

People driving 4x4s on country roads who won't go within two metres of the side of the road, much less off-road!

People who overtake when I've slowed for horse and rider.

Drivers who don't put lights on in poor visibility - your grey car coming out of fog or rain NEEDS help to be seen.

People who don't indicate. That is pretty much it.

Well, apart from car parks that have ordinary-sized spaces filled with bloody great big cars so you can barely open your door once you've parked.

Turning on fog lights at the slightest hint of mist and then forgetting to turn them off again.

Just did school pick up round trip and am reminded of one more major pet peeve: drivers not giving acknowledgement of some sort (eg wave or lights) when you were courteous enough to let them in when you didn’t have to.

Incredibly bad manners and also happens all too often down here. Happened twice on the drive from which I’ve just returned.

People parking on pavements is my biggest one, followed by people not indicating or giving way to pedestrians at side roads (and even worse, not stopping to let you cross, but then going around the corner as slowly as they can so you can't cross behind them, either - or just dawdling generally when you want to cross the road. come out onto a road as a driver or you are waiting behind a parked car).

People tailgating when you are daring to do the speed limit. People driving at way below the speed limit. Can people just drive properly!

Lorries overtaking each other when they are both doing 59mph.

Drivers who think they have more right to be on the road than cyclists do "cos road tax". Road tax has not existed since the 1930s and VED is an emissions tax, and goes into the general pot*

*the reference to pot does not include potholes.

People driving 4x4s on country roads who won't go within two metres of the side of the road, much less off-road Yes, if you live in a Devon village and need to use high-hedged lanes, please remember that your car will get scratched. If this bothers you, get rid of your lease car and buy an old banger.

People who leave huge gaps in front of them while sitting in slow moving traffic. There’s a bit of road I use where the lane filters off to 3 lanes going straight on and one that goes left. People crawl along with huge gaps and it holds up everyone who wants to go in the left lane.

Oh and people who can’t reverse. It’s fucking embarrassing if you are too scared to drive backwards 100m to allow something else past and I will judge you for it.

Oh god, another one. Pedestrians who ignore the traffic lights and just cross over whenever they like. So when you finally get a green light you pull away and then some clown wonders into the road. In the city I work in there are 1000000 traffic lights, all of which seem to allow 2 cars through before turning red again. These pedestrians infuriate me.

I've thought of another one - people beeping all the time. Just stop. It is SO annoying.

For example a van pulled across a bus in London today. No he shouldn't have done it. But also no, the bus was nowhere near and wouldn't have hit the van anyway. But the driver felt the need to beep anyway. It really wasn't necessary. If you have time to beep you have time to brake.

The exception is when someone starts reversing into you!

And on the other side of the coin I am infuriated by traffic lights that won't turn to green for pedestrians for about a minute, even though they've not just been on green. That's why pedestrians cross on red, because they've waited and waited and waited for a green man.

I totally get that if the cars have just been stopped you have to wait your turn. But the number of crossings that won't change even though they haven't been on red for cars is ridiculous.

Yes why do people do that? I can understand trying to flatten out the fits and starts a bit but you don't need to leave 10 cars' worth of space!

We had heavy fog here yesterday and I couldn't believe how many cars didn't have their lights on, or just piddling little side lights.

Why don’t people indicate anymore?!!

Middle/outside lane hoggers
the 40mph everywhere drivers
people who go realllllllllly slowly round corners/when turning off
people who slow down before the slip road
people who don't speed up enough on the slip road
people (cars) doing 45/50 on the dual carriageway in clear, dry weather

People running on the road. Especially without any sort of high viz

Women driving 4x4s when they have absolutely no idea how big their car is
Women drivers in general

People who haven't grasped that merge in turn doesn't mean barrelling up on the outside and then trying to force your way into line of traffic that's going much slower than you are.

People who drive well under the speed limit when the road conditions don't warrant it and refuse to pull in to let everyone behind them pass.

People who don't indicate when they're coming off a roundabout

People who drive massive 4x4s in urban areas - there's a special place in hell for them

People who don't secure their dogs - ditto

Most of these are men of course

Everyone around here seems to be driving a sodding van! We live in an old, rural town. The roads are barely big enough for cars, let alone vans. I try to avoid going out where possible because they cause so much chaos.

I for one will be very pleased when Teslas finally acquire a reverse gear 😆

Twice in the past few months I’ve had some enormous heavy lorry driving so close, right up my small-car arse, on a busy motorway - the last time in very heavy rain, too. The previous time it was on s slip road leading from one m-way to another.

Both times I’ve made a point of noting the name of the company, googling them on arrival, and emailing them. Both times I’ve been able to give the more or less exact time and location, and I’ve been agreeably surprised to receive replies the same day, saying they take such complaints very seriously and will pursue the matter.
I hope that’s true, but TBH twice now, it’s more than I’ve expected.

Middle lane hoggers on the motorway