My biggest pet peeve is definately those that violate Rule of the Road Number One: Drive right, pass left. If you’re driving the speed limit, you probably have no business in the passing lane.
However, the worst people are the ones that have conversations between cars, one in the left lane and one in the right lane. You wouldn’t think that people would be that dumb, but remember, I live in NJ; not exactly a bastion of great driving.
Lack of turning signal usage drives me into a homicidal rage. I just love it when the big ass, view blocking SUV in front of me decides to turn w/out signaling, so that all I see is that he’s slamming on the brakes for some reason - is there an accident? and obscruction in the road? a nekkid girl to oogle? no the dumbass is just turning into the krispy kreme to fatten himself enough to justify buying the next larger SUV.
Otherwise I agree with what ** Ringo ** said about flow and those who don’t know how to go with it. One other thing I’ve noticed since moving to Houston a few months ago is that local drivers have a tendancy to yeild to themselves with depressing frequency. A number of the busier side streets get their very own lane on the feeders so drivers don’t have to yeild/merge with traffic right away, these lanes are clearly marked with big yellow signs that couldn’t be more obvious if they drew a picture (oh what that is what the signs are, guess they couldn’t be clearer) I just love seeing a line of cars at such point all waiting for no reason. This of course becomes quite dangerous when you’re trying to accelerate to the feeder’s speed limit and unexpectedly see a car stopped in front of you, yeilding to imaginary traffic.
Drivers that brake in heavy traffic with a ten car gap in front of them bother me.
Slow drivers bother me.
Anyone who doesn’t wait their turn bothers me.
BASIC RULE OF DRIVING ETIQUETTE:
If there is a driver behind you, drive the speed limit, at least. Don’t poop around trying to decide if you should turn here or there, park now or later… the ones behind you, waiting for you to make your decisions, may possibly have something important to get done.
SLOW DOWN THE GUY BEHIND YOU AND YOU SLOW DOWN EVERYTHING
People who don’t use their indicators should be forced to lick a busy section of roadway clean.
People who don’t move to the slower lanes whilst driving on a three or more lane high speed roads when they could do easily without having to slow down, should be required to drive electric vehicles with 30 mph top speeds and never be allowed onto high speed roads again.
People who tailgate should be forced to compete in demolition derbys driving in unmodified Citroen CVs.
No. If you’re going slower than him, you’re supposed to move to the right. Hence all the little signs on the freeway that say “Slower Traffic Keep Right”.
If you’re already at the right-most lane, then the other driver’s an asshole.
-lv
thanks to the crappy NZ road system this pet peeve happens to me all to often. most state highways are single lanes either way, with the occasional passing lane only if you are going up hill, so reeeally slow traffic, ie trucks, can be passed.
what bugs me are those drivers in the world who are happy to sit at 60ks with a tail back growing behind him. then when we actually get one of these rare and exotic passing lanes, the moron speeds up to 100k or more, the speed limit is 100, so that almost no one can get passed him.
its not the act of going slow that bothers me, i drive slow… well at the exact speed limit anyway, which over here is comparatively slow, so fine, be slow. its the inappropriate speeding up they gets my back up.
What AHunter3 said.
That being said, however, I wish that people who tailgate me realize that, in order to minimize my being rear-ended by their retarded selves, that I have to drive more slowly than I would if they weren’t on my ass. I mean, yeah, it’s pretty, but admire from a safe distance, 'kay? 
People driving slower than me and when I go to pass them they speed up. Grrr!
There are very few in the first category, so it has to be those slow ones that don’t know they are supposed to be in the right lane.
Hell is slow drivers.
lorinada:
Assuming you’re on a two-lane road and that the faster driver behind you will have to pass you in the oncoming-traffic lane, be alert for upcoming passing zones; pull a bit to the right as you approach them and be prepared to tap the brakes once they’ve pulled out into the other lane, especially if oncoming traffic unexpectedly pops up. If you have someone in front of you, make sure you leave enough room for the passing person to fit in between as need be. If the wannabe-passer is timid and tails you without making a move, roll down your window and wave them around when the going is clear.
Obviously if you’re on a road with 4 lanes, get to the right; or, if the road is full of idiots and people going no faster than you are are clotting up the left-hand lane, adjust your pace until there are no cars to your immediate left and so that it is possible for the passing person to get around you and then change lanes to get around the idiot in the left lane by pulling in front of you.
Be conscious of the circumstances under which you may be blocking visibility, and minimize them or compensate for them by pulling right when appropriate.
If the person behind you is a total treestump with no apparent concept of how to go around you other than tailgating you – won’t pass even when you go out of your way to make it possible – then wait until there is no oncoming traffic, the road is straight, and there is a decent gap behind the tailgater; signal left, pull into the left lane, decelerate, and pass the idiot backwards, pulling in behind it and letting it move on at its chosen rate of speed.
I hate it when people make lane selection mistakes (“Oh - I’m supposed to be in the other lane!”) and then try to correct their choice by stopping traffic in their current lane to attempt to squeeze into the correct lane.
When I first moved to Atlanta several years ago, I often chose the incorrect lane as I was learning the city. Rather than inconvenience others with my blunders, I decided that the best thing to do in this situation is to drive a little farther down the road, turn around, and then come back. If more people adopted this driving attitude, Atlanta would be a nicer place to live. After all, it is won of the few cities I’ve heard of that actually has dedicated “U-Turn Only” lanes on some roads.
Um, no actually. It’s your duty to follow the rules. If someone wants to go faster (and break the law), that’s their lookout, not mine.
If they still feel the need to pass unsafely, now it’s my duty to write them a hefty fine for that and the speeding (Unmarked units can be great.)
But seriously, it’s never your job to make sure someone can “safely” break a law. If someone passes me illegally like that, I most certainly will not go out of my way to make sure they have enough room to merge back in. I’ll just make sure they have enough room to stop after I hit the lights.
Oops - forgot to address the OP.
I find slow drivers exponentially more irritating.
AHunter3 restores my faith in humanity. AMEN.
SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT. That says it all. You want to keep yourself safe and keep the ‘asshole’ behind you from weaving dangerously through heavy traffic or tailgating dangerously? Move over and let them by. Period. It’s not up to you to decide for that other person if they are going too fast - that’s what the highway patrol is for. Keep yourself safe and alive instead of rightous and dead.
It ain’t called a passing lane for nothing, so if you’re not passing, you shouldn’t be in it.
If you are passing and there’s somebody behind you who wants get by… MOVE OVER (see explanation above).
I’ve read in several threads people saying something to the effect of, “It’s called the PASSING lane for a reason!” referring to the left-most lane on a freeway.
Is it actually called that in some official capacity? In greater Los AngelesI rarely hear that term…
OK, I haven’t been driving for a while (I’m still going driving with my Driver’s Ed teacher to get my license), but right now I dislike the people who tailgate me when I’m driving at, or even above, the speed limit. It happens all the time especially on country roads–and in some cases I’d speed up or pull over to let them pass, or something, but the teacher’s right there and I can’t. (Besides, if they’re speeding already, why should I adjust to them? Let them maybe actually not speed for once!)
The worst tailgater I’ve had yet was out on a country road. I was going 10 miles over the speed limit–any more, and my teacher would object. I was in the right-hand lane. This guy in a blue truck was tailgating me and had been for a while, and all of a sudden he tried to pass in a no-passing zone and very clumsily moved back over to the right lane, and honked AFTER he passed me. C’mon, dude.
I ride my bike to school–at least till I get my license–and there seem to be some people who, for some reason, will wave you on as if you can pass them, but then try to pull out when you’re right in front of their car. Seriously, people! Get a brain! Don’t wave me on if you’re just gonna pull out!