# A few assorted driving mini-rants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 23, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105 "2005-09-23T19:16:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/1 "2005-09-23T19:16:44Z")
Feel free to add your own. **Don’t put your fucking makeup on in the car.** Especially not with three little kids in it. Particularly not on a busy highway at 5 PM. And most importantly, not in 30 mph bumper-to-bumper traffic with people constantly hitting their brakes. **Don’t drive 10 miles below the speed limit**. With no reason. You’re not old. You’re not wearing a hat. There’s no construction, no one ahead of you, and your car looks just fine. Asshole. **And put your goddamn gas cap back on!** How can you forget? You turn from the pump immediately back to your car, and put it back on. Idiot. Grrr. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/2 "2005-09-23T19:27:51Z")
Take those stupid ass spinners off your tires. They look stupid and make me think you are still moving when you are stopped and I hate that! ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/3 "2005-09-23T19:35:01Z")
**Don’t** get ready to turn left, only to realize at the last minute you need to turn right. Off of a 4-lane road. With heavy traffic. Go another block down and work your way to wherever you’re going, instead of nearly killing everbody on the road because **you** are about to miss your turnoff! ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/4 "2005-09-23T19:35:54Z")
Pick a goddamned lane and stay in it, fuckhead. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/5 "2005-09-23T19:53:02Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > **Don’t drive 10 miles below the speed limit**. With no reason. You’re not old. You’re not wearing a hat. There’s no construction, no one ahead of you, and your car looks just fine. Asshole. Ugh, yes. And conversely: **I’m already going 10 mph over the speed limit, so quit tailgating me!** Butthead. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/6 "2005-09-23T19:53:27Z")
The diamond lane (California’s multi-passenger lane) is there to reward carpoolers, high-mileage car drivers and motorcyclists by offering them the option of going faster than the rush-hour clog. Do not get into this lane if you intend to drive slowly. Look in your rear view mirror: see that long line of angry, gesturing carpoolers behind you? Get a clue! Get the hell out of the diamond lane! Buttheads. ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/7 "2005-09-23T20:05:53Z")
See that lane to the right? That’s the merging lane. That is a lane of traffic entering the already clogged interstate. This lane does not exist so you can pass everyone else on the right and get 2 or three cars ahead and then merge back in. If there were fewer vehicles merging there wouldn’t be such a backup. You are exacerbating the problem. Like that’s going to save you loads of time anyway. What’s the big fucking hurry dildobreath? ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/8 "2005-09-23T20:07:30Z")
**Your brake-lights are out.** I swear this must be the year for it. I can’t remember ever running up on someone who had **no** brake-lights between 1992 & 2005. Suddenly, over the summer, I’ve been behind no fewer than 5 cars with abso-friggin-lutely no brake lights. Here I am driving along, maintaining a respectable distance between myself and the car in front of me. Suddenly, and with no warning whatsoever, I’m practically jammed up the drivers ass because he has no damn brake lights!!! ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/9 "2005-09-23T20:23:53Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > Take those stupid ass spinners off your tires. They look stupid and make me think you are still moving when you are stopped and I hate that! [Chris Rock] But they spinnin’ nigga, they spinnin’! [/CR] ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/10 "2005-09-23T20:34:42Z")
A general one that covers a lot of sub-complaints: **Try to remember where you are, where you’re going, and how to get there**. For most of us, about 99% of are daily trips are to and from places we’re familiar with and have been to before. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a shock to you that these two lanes merge, or which exit you’re supposed to take, or that you’re going to need to turn right and should thus be in the right hand lane. And, for those 1% who haven’t travelled this road before… **Read the fucking signs!** If there have been signs for 300 yards saying “this lane exit only”, then you shouldn’t be surprised when it turns out to be an exit lane. Same for which exit you should be taking, or which road takes you to the highway, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/11 "2005-09-23T21:31:37Z")
Here’s the concept of the turn signal: you put on the signal and THEN you turn or change lanes. Once you’re halfway through the intersection, I kinda guessed you were turning, so there was really no reason for you to turn the signal on now. If you must come flying out of a side street to get in front of me, at least have the courtesy to go faster than a three-legged turtle. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/12 "2005-09-23T21:37:49Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > Take those stupid ass spinners off your tires. They look stupid and make me think you are still moving when you are stopped and I hate that! And if you simply _must_ have spinners on your bomb, at least wait until you can afford a full set. One spinner and one bare hub looks ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Runestar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@Runestar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runestar)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/13 "2005-09-23T21:42:58Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Here’s the concept of the turn signal: you put on the signal and THEN you turn or change lanes. > > Once you’re halfway through the intersection, I kinda guessed you were turning, so there was really no reason for you to turn the signal on now. And while you’re at it - try using the turn signal **before** you apply the brakes to slow down for your turn. The whole purpose of the #@$% signal is to let you indicate your intentions to the other drivers in advance of the turn. Flipping on the signal after you’ve come to a complete stop in the middle of the block isn’t helpful. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/14 "2005-09-23T21:48:49Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > **Don’t drive 10 miles below the speed limit**. With no reason. You’re not old. You’re not wearing a hat. There’s no construction, no one ahead of you, and your car looks just fine. Asshole. It is the speed _limit_ the fastest one is allowed by law [theoretically] to drive. It is NOT the mandated speed, although by law if you drive a certain speed below the maximum limit therea re times when the DoT for the area/state has mandated a minimum at which you can drive without warning flashers, and in many areas there are limited access roadways that ban certain slower vehicles. If I opt to drive 55 vice 65, deal with it and pass when it is safe/legally allowed to pass. Don’t tailgate me, it just makes me want to check my brake function. I can alway claim I saw something in the road, and in many states as the tailgater _you_ are at fault. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/15 "2005-09-23T21:53:36Z")
I still have the right to think you are an asshole of the first degree. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/16 "2005-09-23T22:17:11Z")
Rental Car Related: Why do you have to try so hard to make me spend more money on the car? I ended up paying almost double the quote I got when I reserved the car (over the internet) due to the upgraded vehicle and the insurance- although I did refuse the prepay for fuel option. I’d never rented a car before, which meant that I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting into, and I didn’t know enough about some of the options to be sure what choice was the correct one. Would it have killed you to tell me how to adjust the seat and pedals? The Chevy Malibu I ended up with has motorized pedals that can be adjusted closer to the driver. They are kind of neat, but I had a terrible time figuring out how to adjust the seat so I could drive without feeling like I was driving on tiptoe. (OK, I could have gone back in and asked for help, but I just didn’t want to. Besides, in conversing with my parents, both more experienced than I with rental cars, neither of them has ever encountered a car with motorized pedals and therefore they would have been as bad off as I. Well, OK, they’ve got a couple inches on me, but you get the picture). ---
**Author:** ![Kiminy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/17 "2005-09-23T23:25:01Z")
A route that I frequently take requires that I travel for a few miles on a windy, two-lane road with a speed limit of 35mph, and there are no passing zones. Then I switch to a five-lane (two in both directions, with a center left-turn lane) which has a posted 45mph speed limit. Inevitably, when I’m doing 40 on the windy two-lane road (and a little slower through the construction zone with a 90-degree curve that has a posted 25mph speed limit), I get some idiot behind me who wants to do 45 (or better), and who thinks I don’t need to see his headlights. (My reaction to this is to slow down to the speed limit.) Then when I get to the five-lane road, I get stuck behind TWO idiots who insist on going 35mph–one in each lane. While I don’t argue with their right to go more slowly, and I do NOT tailgate them, it really irks me that they have to take up both lanes, so there is no way for me to pass them at the posted speed limit. It also happens when I go the other direction. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/18 "2005-09-23T23:59:09Z")
And when you are the first car stopped at a traffic light that is destined to turn green for all of 20 seconds, at the head of a line of 25 cars, some of which are driven by people hoping to get to work on time, PAY ATTENTION TO THE DAMN LIGHT. Do not get engrossed in a cellphone call, put on makeup, read the paper or just zone out with your mouth open, while the light changes, the few remaining moments of green tick away and a grand total of three cars eventually make it though the light after applying their horns to awake you from your daze. Peawit. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/19 "2005-09-24T00:05:13Z")
> [@](#): > > It is the speed _limit_ th Yea yea yea. Did you ever think that that speed limit was set with the assumption that people will excede it by x mph? Did you ever hear of enforcement tollerences? This makes that limit immoral, and your driving habits worthy of a place near, but not in, the hottest part of hell. Save your soul and pull over and allow the pass. ---
**Author:** ![AHarris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@AHarris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHarris)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105/20 "2005-09-24T00:58:03Z")
**Don’t honk at me if I don’t turn right while at a red light.** Despite the fact that it is legal, there is no law (to the best of my knowledge) saying that I am required to do so. There are lots of reasons not to make the turn at this time, and if you honk at me, you are adding another one to the list. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-assorted-driving-mini-rants/323105.md?page=2)