I hate driving

[Rine]

I guess it's okay to stick my moron driver sightings in this forum. It's long because I have to vent. I hate driving. Hatehatehate.

The first story comes from a few weeks ago. Okay, this is the setup. I was at the gas station that is directly across from my neighorhood, across a four lane highway. The gas station has an exit on the highway. All I have to do to get into my neighborhood is go directly across two lanes of traffic and get into the turning lane. I'm in the exit, with no turning signal on, as I'm going to go straight. Guy pulls up beside me and I can tell by the angle of the car that he's going to make a right onto the highway. Okay.

So, the right lane is clear of traffic, but the left is not. If you wanted to, you could slip into the right lane and go, but that's just slightly illegal. I never do that since I don't have right of way. If I was making a turn, I would make sure that both lanes are clear to turn. You never know when people are going to decide to change lanes and not use a signal. (my sister was in a car accident when she decided to turn into traffic and someone changed lanes at the same time.)

Well, moron behind me starts to honk because he wants me to turn into traffic. He honks and honks and honks, but I can't go yet. He revs his engine, waves his hand out the window, gives me the one finger salute, etc.. Finally--at this point I'm shaking so hard in anger--I put my car in park, get out and tell him to shut the hell up because I was going STRAIGHT. He then gets quiet and red and rolls the window up and is quiet from thereforth. We had only been sitting there for about two minutes and I was able to safely cross a minute after my rant to him.

-

Okay, now our turning lane has been closed, so I use the next one up at our sister neighborhood exit/entrance and I'm forced to make a U-turn. Also, the people of the other neighborhood can no longer make left turns from their part of the neighborhood. There's even a sign that says "No left turns!!" and the lane is shaped in such a way that if you attempt to make a leftie, you have to go over a concrete island. FOUR times I've nearly been hit because the MORONS that live in that part of the neighborhood drive across to try and make a left. Once I had to jerk my car back into traffic because someone suddenly did that and nearly took off the front end of my car.

So, I have to make a U-turn to get into my neighborhood now. You can either make a U turn or make a left into the neighborhood street that's there. People who are making a right from that street onto the highway consistenly fail to yield to people attempting to make U turns. I don't know why they don't see that they are at a STOP sign and therefore must YIELD to ALL traffic. Stop means STOP for a reason! ARGH. Nearly got in one accident when I made a U turn and someone who wasn't paying attention made a right. Now I just sit there and glare at people making rights. Some have waved me to go, some don't.

Last time I went on that street, I noticed that someone had put a sign directly below the stop sign that said "YIELD to all traffic, morons. That's what this stop sign means!" Made me very happy.

[marty]

I HATE it when people don't use turn signals. I hate it when they don't use them when they're turning, I hate it when they don't use them changing lanes, it's my biggest pet peeve driving because I think it's one of the easiest ways to get into an accident. Really, how hard is it to flick your wrist? It's one of the easiest things to do while driving but a lot of people just don't. Ugh!

The biggest problem in my town is people going way too fast on these mountain roads. It's usually tourists who own extra multi-million dollar homes up here, my fiance has a lot of fun driving his box truck around to do pick-ups for his work. He comes home everyday telling me stories of "the BMW that swerved into my lane because they were going too fast and almost went off the mountain," or crap like that. That usually results in them slamming on the brakes in the middle of a curve where the people behind them can't see them when they come to these sudden stops. And when a BMW meets a box truck, we know who wins...luckily, this hasn't happened yet.

[blas]

I feel for you. I hate driving, too. Even a clear perfect night with dry roads and ideal conditions, I always feel at risk of an accident.

Whether it be the multitude of drunk drivers out on the roads, the people I work with who think they must do 90 to get to work, or just the damn slow people who think that the freeway is the OLD highway where the speed limit is 50. I kid you not, don't ever come to this part of Wisconsin if you hate slow people on freeways. People will go 50-55 in perfect conditions....it's irritating.

[the lawsmeister]

I HATE it when people don't use turn signals. I hate it when they don't use them when they're turning, I hate it when they don't use them changing lanes, it's my biggest pet peeve driving because I think it's one of the easiest ways to get into an accident.

Amen to that.
The ones that really annoy me are the people who hit the indicator as they're already turning. Its like they think its helpful to indicate that you're turning once you're already half way round the corner. They're called indicators/signals for a reason, they're supposed to indicate/signal your intention to turn BEFORE you actually turn.

Morons.

[chops]

When I lived in Virginia, I noticed that turn signals were largely optional. Even in Massachusetts, most people would signal their turns...just not their lane changes.

Back in Vermont, we tend to be better than most on the East Coast about signal usage, though I'm starting to notice more people not bothering than I once did.

When I visited Colorado several months ago, I was shocked to find that almost everybody used their signals. I mean...wow.

[InsanityInc]

*Sigh* try driving a rig. You *know* some idiot is going to take an exit right in front of you from as far left as they can, or race in front of you and lock up their brakes, sit in your blind spot, not let you over, or some other bit of insanity that is going to force you to choose between running them over, hitting the innocent drivers around you, or hitting large, solid, immovable objects.

[powerboy]

I hate

1. People who do not use turn signals
2. Speeding up, when I am just about to move into the next lane
3. People who just sit at Green Lights
4. People who just sits at Stop Signs and does not go when they have the chance
5. People who thinks that it cool to rev their engine and move up onto my ass, when I am waiting to go.
6. People who gets onto my ass, when I am going the speed limit on the freeway/highway. I will slow my ass down.

[Seshat]

I hate people who don't realise they're in control of a deadly weapon.

Thinking like that means you take more care. Or at least, I do.

[PepperElf]

When I lived in Virginia, I noticed that turn signals were largely optional

gawd that's about right... even the cops didn't use them. i grew up knowing what the lever was used for and always used mine.

thing i hated tho.... having a left-turn-green arrow... trying to make my turn, and some other car decides to make a right-on-red, without really thinking that ...yes you do have to wait for traffic first... i've honked at a couple before.

worst one tho... where i use to live... my apartment complex was on a small road that was almost its own exit from a highway. However it DOES have a stop light and a stop LINE across the lane, which means ... yes you do have to stop when the light turns red. you can do right-on-red but... there's two other lanes that could have right of way first.

i hated that intersection because of the drivers who never stopped - some never even slowed down. made me smile when i saw a cop pull one of the idiots over

[IT Grunt]

I despise driving myself, because it seems that in recent years, the moron to good driver ratio is getting worse.

I had one from the business trip I was on. I'm at an intersection that has two lanes to turn left. Turn left puts you on a divided highway, that also has two lanes. If you're in the left, then you stay in the left, and in the right, you stay in the right. Simple, no? Not to this moron. He's in the lane that stays left, I'm in the lane that stays right. I turn, with my signal flashing to indicate that I'm turning left, because the lane I was in also went straight ahead. So we start our turn. What's this guy do? /Crosses lanes/, and nearly smashes into me. I had to drive off the road to avoid him.

[Dark-Star]

Add me to the hating-drivers category. Maybe it's because I've got memories of intentionally playing a lot of racing games like a maniac...maybe it's due to the proliferation of morons and idiots on the road (it IS getting worse)...

or perhaps it's this little voice in my head that keeps telling me, "Don't Screw Up! You could be dead or mangled in 10 seconds!" I cannot drive without hearing that voice. Ever.

On the plus side, I will never ever EVER do things like talk on a cell phone or use a laptop computer (recent confirmed Darwin Award on that!) or anything else distracting while I'm driving. I see so many people driving with one hand or with NO HANDS - they steer with their knees - and it terrifies me. There is such a thing as scared straight!

[protege]

Here's one for you: What about the idiots who don't turn their lights on in rainy weather...and then can't understand why they're constantly getting nearly hit?

I almost hit someone like that earlier this week. This fool was in a silver Miata, passing people like they were standing still, weaving in and out of lanes...yet couldn't figure things out. I nearly clipped him when trying to get into the left lane. Because it was raining hard, most people had their lights on. The van in front of me was slowing down, I put my signal on to pass on the left. Before I started moving over, I looked behind me; didn't see anyone, then started going over. No sooner do I get about halfway, the dumbass in the Miata came out of nowhere. He blew the horn, flipped me off, etc....and *I'm* the prick?!? Needless to say, it gave me great joy when he locked his brakes up on one of the ramps, and spun around...right in front of a police car

[rerant]

In exactly three weks I will be 23 and I don't even have my G1 (permit). My friends make fun of me for it, saying I'm too old not to have a driver's license, but in all honesty the thought of driving scares the hell out of me.
Too many people are too dangerous to be on the road, be it because of erractic, careless driving, sheer stupidity, or just the basic inability to operate a car.
For as much as I may trust myself behind the wheel I don't trust other people.
Hell, I don't even like riding shotgun because I can see everything.
I'd rather be in the back distracting myself with the sights out the window.

[ArenaBoy]

Idiot driving is a reason as to why I'd like subways in every city. I don't like driving and I live in the home of the automobile. People here drive in the winter like it's 70 out.

[Saydrah]

When I lived in Virginia, I noticed that turn signals were largely optional. Even in Massachusetts, most people would signal their turns...just not their lane changes.

Back in Vermont, we tend to be better than most on the East Coast about signal usage, though I'm starting to notice more people not bothering than I once did.

When I visited Colorado several months ago, I was shocked to find that almost everybody used their signals. I mean...wow.

Really? We're MORE turn signal-using than the rest of the country?

See I thought my state was BAD about that....