Road rage is bad. Some of us get it much worse than others, but we all have specific things that annoy the hell out of us when we’re driving. There’s the usual stuff: drivers who don’t use blinkers when turning, drivers who tail too close or drivers who brake-check.
Oh, and don’t forget the driver on the phone who forces us to wait even after the light has turned! There’s also less usual stuff, like pickup drivers who don’t secure their cargo or drivers in obnoxiously loud cars who love to rev up and make a damn ruckus, even when they’re going 30 miles an hour.
I can’t stand slow turners and slicers. The slicers are left-hand turners who get close to you at intersections. And slow turners are drivers who are apparently balancing an egg on a spoon because they have to shed every last bit of speed before they can turn. Meanwhile, the rest of us have to wait behind them.
But, probably, my greatest pet peeve is when drivers insist on exiting a parking lot against traffic.
Let me explain.
A lot of gas stations and convenience stores, ditto cafes and pharmacies, are built on street corners. That means the entrance and exit to these locations is usually a very short distance from a stop light. As traffic piles up during busy times of the day, it makes exiting the parking lot harder. Drivers who exit with traffic can slip out easily.
It’s just a matter of signaling with a friendly wave and asking drivers who are lined up for the light if you can cut in; it’s not too bad for everybody involved. You slot into the lane and scoot when the light turns. No time wasted.
But, there’s a particular kind of driver who insists on turning against traffic, not with it, so that in order for them to exit the parking lot they have to either cut through two lanes and a median, holding up everybody who’s waiting for the light, OR they have to wait for the traffic to clear, holding up everybody who’s waiting to leave the lot. It’s the worst.
Just. Go. Around.
Look, it’s fine to go against traffic when there’s a chance or when there isn’t traffic at all. Sure. Why not? But when the roads are full and we’re all trying to get on with it, please just go with the flow.
OK, you’ve heard mine, so now it’s your turn. What’s your driving pet peeve?