Eric

Fellow Listers,
I have just returned from a road trip to Kent Island MD. and have a few thoughts which I feel I must express. While road trips in a P-car are, for the most part, enjoyable and full of positives, I am going to take this opportunity to focus on some negatives associated with such an endeavor, and on driving Americas' roadways in general. Here is my top ten list of pet peeves associated with Americas' drivers(I personally witnessed all of the following during this weekends' excursion)
10. When you are attempting to merge onto a highway and there is no traffic or cars in the fast lane, and yet, the car in the slow lane refuses to change lanes and let you enter the highway.
9. Conversely, when you are in the slow lane and there is traffic in the fast lane so you can't switch lanes and yet the car merging onto the highway refuses to yield.
8. Sudden braking by cars for no apparent reason other than they are going down a hill or entering a tunnel.(folks, the road doesn't get smaller in a tunnel)
7. Flicking cigarettes out a car window. Not only a fire hazard, but it is littering also--that is why your car is equipped with an ashtray.(I am not against smoking, just throwing them out the window).
6. The fear of passing tractor-trailers. The PA turnpike is undergoing construction(when isn't it?) and for a stretch, rigs have to travel in the left lane so they are not on the shoulder and many cars will refuse to pass them for fear of?? who knows, but what ends up happening is they will not get in the left lane either, so there are twenty cars bunched up behind one which won't get over or pass a truck.Very Annoying.
5. Rubbernecking. Why are people so amazed by the sight of someone changing a tire by the side of the road?
4. Cell-phone distraction. I don't mind if people use a cell-phone(I often do for work), but remember you are still driving a vehicle and should focus on that first and foremost, if you can't do both or are looking for a number, do everyone a favor and PULL OFF THE ROAD.
3. Tailgating. If there is a car in front of me, no matter how close you are on my A$$, I can't drive through the car. I never tailgate someone who has traffic in front of them, or cannot get into the slow lane because of traffic--it is just plain stupid and dangerous.
2. Not using turn signals. Self-explanatory. I mean they are called turn signals for a reason!
1. Loafing in the left lane. If there are no cars in the slow lane, that is where you should be! There is nothing more frustrating than a car which refuses to get over when there is nothing, then when you eventually pass on the right, they look at you like YOUR the idiot.(I followed a bus,A BUS, for 15 miles in the left lane--and yes I was far enough back that he could see me in his mirrors, heck he looked right at me several times, when I finally passed on the right and gave him a "salute" he looked indignant as h*ll.

Anyways, sorry for the long post, and other than these gross acts of bad driving which I witnessed, the trip was very pleasurable, with the P-car performing flawlessly. To Tom H., sorry I didn't get your e-mail in time and I paid for it in traffic delays, and to ribs, Yes that was me in the white 951 on 50, I was going to post to see if that was you. BTW your car looked great, and I'm glad to see/hear that you have it back on the road. Pretty funny passing you like that. Oh well, back to work.

Eric( finished venting my frustrations)

Antonio

Eric,
I agree with all of your comments. I could add a few more about SUV's and their drivers. I tell people that the most dangerous part of participating in track events is the drive to and from the track!

ribs

Thats crazy you saw me. 1 in a million chances always seem to happen to me for the wrong things...I wish I used those odds on the lottery ticket I bought last week (lottery=tax for people bad at math). Your car was nice looking itself, all though it was about 50 feet away passing at a relative 130+ MPH. You saw the side that didn't get painted, too . From now on, I am always going to make sure the right side of my car is the side facing people if I am trying to impress. Did you have fun in kent island? I have a few friends who live over there, but they all say it is lame and they come to this side of the bay. Anyways, back to work for me, too.

----edit----

You should deliver your manifesto of driving habits to the NHTSA and demand that it be memorized word for word by anybody applying for a drivers license in the USA, but esecially women (no offense).

[ 07-03-2001: Message edited by: ribs ]

PSUice944

Speaking of road trips, someone tell me I woudl be nuts to do this:

Road trip from the Pittsburgh area
to Charleston SC
then northeastern AR
then Dallas-FtWorth area
then northwestern AR
then northeastern AR (again)
then HOME

over 3000 miles and 55 hours of driving to visit ALL my relatives with my sister

It won't happen as I would need to fix my AC, quiet my exhaust, plus the multiple small fixes coming this and next week, plus teaching my sister how to drive a stick...

you get the idea...

What a bad idea? Wow that would be so nice of a trip...

I must be nutz

cale

I have only one comment on the PA parkway part. Sometimes that road is a little ridiculously narrow so I can see why people are hesitant to pass a semi that might already be halfway in their lane. I know two weeks ago when I was on there a semi all but drove over me when I was next to him. All said and done there is no excuse for not getting over if someone wants to pass though.

jim968

Actually, if you talked face-to-face with these people, they'd probably _all_ tell you what great, safe, competent drivers they are....)-;. That's almost as scary as the way they drive...

As much as I hate big government, I'd love to see a federal program tied to highway funds... requiring that all drivers watch a 15-min. video on driving safety & courtesy, then pass a quiz on it, _every_ time they renew their license. Basics like using turn signals, safe following distances, DUI, drive right / pass left, slower in the rain, etc.

Just remember, the skill level of an average driver in the US ain't very high, and 50% of all drivers are _below_ average....

Jim, figuring that this explains a lot of things....

deni durrell

per pet peeve #1: i've heard in most countries in europe one is forbidden to drive in the left lane (left of two lanes) unless passing. period. first time i drove on the autoroute in spain, i was quite irritated- why can't i drive in the left lane? then i was told why and it made all the sense in the world. eric - i hear your gripes. in one state, kansas or oklahoma (or some state with a lot of straight highways) there is this thing where the right-most lanes end and a new left lane appears every five miles.. hmm.

as we are all driving enthusiasts, i figure that it is normal for us to vent on these things. it's good to see where our attitudes lie. right on!

btw: wouldn't it be nice to treat ourselves at least once a year to a trip to germany to taste real driving ? (believe it when you do it)

jim968: of course they would - in our eyes they're just uneducated and have ZERO driving etiquette.

Matt O.

Amen to every single point and then some. Last week I got back from a road trip to Orlando, Florida to visit friends and family (and the girlfriend) and came back up to NC. You are so so so right about each point. How many times did I turn on my lights and flash them? Countless. Growing up in Germany for 8 years of my life I guess I had it easy when it comes to knowing how to drive on a highway. Yes, GET OUT OF THE LEFT LANE unless you are passing. How many times I passed people on the right because even after several flashes they REFUSED to get over when there was no one else around, then give me the look from h3LL when I pass them on the right? Countless.

Another thing that REALLY gets to me but you just gotta deal with:

I don't like to tail gate, ESPECIALLY going 75/85 down a highway. Geeze, I at least give 3 or 4 seconds in normal driving just to be safe. But I guess that's an open invitation for someone on your right to jump in front of you and slow down????? So then you slow down because you can't pass them on the right for whatever reason and someone ELSE gets in front of you. Out come the Autobahn-bred high beams light sabers.

PS
One thing I love to do. On the way back up there was this Lexus (Toyota Camry) from New York that was driving like a *****, cutting me off at each chance. I leave the cruise on and hate it when I have to take it off cause of some moron. But anyway, he ends up behind me and is literally so close I can't see his headlights. I calmly SLAM on the brakes just for a split second and that wakes him up. HAHAHA. Then I preceeded to leave him in my dust.

[ 07-04-2001: Message edited by: Matt Olde ]

cale

Matt, the break check is on of the best ways EVER I've discovered to get rid of a tailgater. When there are passengers they all the get count down, and anyone riding in my car knows what it means and if they aren't buckled up they better be. My last car was a rather large British made SUV. Nothing got a drivers attention faster than seeing my brake lights and big spare tire on the back going a whole lot less faster than they were.
Nothing quite beat the time some middle aged guy and his wife were whipping all over the place in their BMW and started tailgating me as I passed a semi, whatever, they got the brake check, and once I finally got around the semi I saw her just hitting him and hitting him and basically throwing a fit, was pretty funny.

rpm's S2

You would think that the thing I would miss most about the autobahn would be the speed - and I do miss it.
But what I find myself missing the most is the skill of German drivers on the highway and autobahn. While there are exceptions - tailgating, passing on the right, and failures to merge properly were the exception, rather than the rule as they are in the US.
German drivers are courteous and skilled. They are aware of the cars around them and act accordingly. In the US I have relearned the art of assuming that fellow drivers will choose the stupid over the smart - I am rarely dissapointed.
One caveat on tailgating - if you are loafing on the authobahn in the left lane big mean cars with angry drivers moving at high speeds will tailgate - and no one will blame them for it

Eric

I guess that is my biggest complaint with the majority of US drivers--the lack of ettiquite(sp.?) and courtesy. People exercise certain manners everywhere else in public(banks, restaurants, etc) so why don't they when they are driving? The problem with complaining about these morons and their lack of skill is that THEY will never realize the mistakes they are making driving in such a buffoonish manner because they are not enthusiasts. I remember reading in Road&Track sometime ago a similar listing of gripes with bad drivers, but most of the people who would read the article were not the guilty parties. Much like my posting here. None of the idiots I mentioned would ever visit this site, because if you are visiting this site, then you are an enthusiast, and more than likely are not commiting such idiotic driving errors(I feel like I'm back in college logic class).
Anyways, to ribs :I can see why your buddies from Kent often go elsewhere to have a good time. If you are not fishing or boating--there is NOTHING to do there.To Matt: supposedly PA has a similar law banning left lane loafing, however I seriously doubt it is being enforced. I watched loafers pass sitting PA trooper cars without incident. I guess the troopers were waiting for "real" offenders, like speeders.To Anthony: I agree that alot of SUV drivers are guilty of poor driving, but I can't lump them together as a whole that all SUV drivers are poor drivers. My parents have driven "SUVs" since 1968. That was WAAAY before they were adopted by "soccer moms" and the country club set as status symbols--we had them becuse we had a large family and needed four-wheel drive. Heck-back then they were often referred to as "trucks". My mom still drives an SUV today, as do both my sisters, but I will tell you that their driving skills are well-honed to SUVs as all our lives that is what we were around(My sister took her driving test in an 83 Suburban, my other sister in an 89 Grand Wagoneer, and I took mine in an 86 Grand Wagoneer). Although perhaps they are exceptions to the rule--I have seen MANY, MANY people who should not be behind the wheel of a GEO, let alone an Excursion. So, while I agree there are a majority of bad drivers in SUVs, I can't lump the group together as a whole.

Sorry for the length--back to work,
Eric(my other car is a truck)