Twenty Annoying Driving Habits Everyone Should Stop

Some drivers need robots to drive them around

I have to admit there are a lot of things about the way people drive (or don't drive) that get under my skin. Maybe it's that I'm just more aware of cars and how people interact with them, or maybe other people just keep their pet peeves to themselves. Regardless, I'm going to vent here and list off twenty annoying driving habits that should be abolished starting now:

20. Hanging cigarettes out of the window. I'll admit I will never understand why people smoke. Smoking smells awful, it's horrible for your health in more ways than most people even realize and it costs a lot of money. I really don't care if other people are smoking, but I HATE it when other drivers hang their cigarette out of their barely cracked window. Get an ashtray and keep your stink in your vehicle! If you don't wan to smell it, do you really think the rest of us do?

19. Tailgating. I've mentioned this one before, but until people stop doing it I'm not going to stop mentioning it. I'm the guy where if someone tailgates me I will slow down to under the speed limit just out of principle and out of fear that if I have to suddenly hit my brakes I don't want to get whiplash. Tailgating other people is the equivalent to pushing in line. Grow up and move beyond grade school, people.

18. Turning the steering wheel by gripping it with your thumb facing toward you and your fingers facing the instrument cluster. I first noticed this before I started driving. My sisters would turn this way all the time, and guess what? They would also regularly lose control after exiting a turn's apex! I've noticed this habit is prominent among women, but it's a dangerous way to grip the steering wheel since you can easily lose your grip. Which leads me to seventeen...

17. Gripping the top or bottom of the steering wheel. I notice women are more likely to grip the top of a steering wheel with white-knuckled fear, although I've seen some men do the same thing. Men are much more likely to lazily grip the bottom of the steering wheel with one hand while the other is hanging out the window. Both can result in the vehicle spinning out of control or flipping. At least use ten and two, or better yet nine and three.

16. Weaving through traffic. Driving a "shaggin' wagon" I have dumbasses in their low-powered econo boxes cut in front of me all the time like we're in an F1 race and nobody told me. These people then proceed to do the same thing to other cars that could easily crush theirs. And guess what? They usually end up stuck at the same red lights as me.

15. Pulling up window-to-window with other cars. I purposely don't pull up window-to-window after I've had about a half a dozen cops tell me how dangerous it can be. I really hate it when other people try to do that to me, and it's even more annoying when I scoot up a few inches and they scoot up too while gawking into my car with a big, dumb grin on their face.

14. Trying to race people who have their kids in the car. I don't care if the other driver is in a Porsche 911 Turbo, if you can see little kids in the backseat DO NOT ENCOURAGE THE OTHER DRIVER TO RACE! Street racing is a bad idea anyway, but don't put little kids at risk because of your stupidity!

13. Flipping out because someone else honks at you. Sometimes we zone out at red lights, sometimes we don't see another car on the road -- we're all human. Car horns are designed to get other drivers' attention, not for venting frustrations. So when someone honks at you, just acknowledge the other car and any mistake you have just made, swallow your pride and move on -- period.

12. Brake checking other drivers. Tailgating is annoying, but brake checking other drivers is perhaps even more dangerous. Not only could the other driver crash into you but you could trigger a big pileup and people could be seriously hurt or killed.

11. Not letting others merge. This one is bad here and in other parts of the country and world. Not letting traffic merge leads to aggressive driving maneuvers (i.e. cutting other cars off) that causes traffic to back up. If we all allow drivers to merge everything will flow smoother and we'll all get to where we're going sooner.

10. Carloads of overly flirty girls/guys. I was young once and I get that when you get a group of teenagers or early twenty-somethings together it can get kinda crazy. But trying to distract other drivers by acting all flirty is kind of annoying. Trust me, you don't want to be the victim of road rage because a spouse/passenger doesn't like your advances on her hubby.

9. Not signaling. This is kind of a chicken or the egg debate. People cut off anyone who signals/people don't signal for fear of getting cut off. Maybe if we all didn't drive like a bunch of overly-competitive jerkwads, use our signals and let people in "our" lane we could all just get to where we're headed? Apparently that thought process is too much for some people.

8. Blaring music. There comes a point when a car's music volume obviously is no longer for enjoyment but instead is meant to just annoy other drivers. If you want to be a douche be prepared for reciprocation from other douches on the road.

7. Speeding down a lane that's ending. This in effect says you are more important than all of the people who transitioned over well in advance, especially if you end up driving on the shoulder for a while.

6. Doing anything but driving. Talking on the phone, webbing, texting, applying makeup, shaving, plucking eyebrows, watching movies: why is it so many people who are driving cars do everything but drive?! Robot cars cannot come soon enough, I tell you...

5. Getting preachy with your bumper. This is not really a driving habit, but it's still annoying. I really don't care what your political social views are when I'm stuck behind you in traffic. Preachy bumper stickers just tell me you're self righteous and self important.

4. Speeding through neighborhoods. I live on what should be a quiet street, except for the steady stream of commuters who use it for their shortcut during morning and evening rush hour. The increased traffic is annoying, but when people turn my 25 mph street into a 40 + mph zone it's downright dangerous. And these shortcutters often blow through stop signs because they're going way too fast for little residential roads. Speeding through neighborhoods is extremely rude, no matter the reason.

3. Revving your engine over and over. As I sit here writing this one of my neighbors is doing just this. It's a regular habit of his since he has a big throaty V8 I would love to shove down his throat. And no, he's not working on his car. Apparently people want to throw or rod or they want to be noticed for being annoying.

2. Not waiting for pedestrians in a crosswalk. I have almost been hit by people who don't think they need to stop for a parent and kids crossing in a crosswalk. Let me tell you one dork in particular I just about went over and dented his fender because he kept inching forward toward my kids after barely stopping in time. Doing that doesn't make you tough, it makes you a dick.

1. Driving super slow. Unless someone is tailgating you (see number nineteen) it's annoying and dangerous to be driving well under the speed limit. I know some nervous drivers think driving way slow is how they stay safe, but it gums up traffic and can cause an accident. If you're that nervous about driving get a bus pass or call a taxi.

The Ten Most Annoying (And Dangerous) Driving Practices

Photo credit: Bud Adams, stock.xchng

Everyone who drives around a city for any period of time knows there are other drivers who do things that are damn annoying. I'm sure we can all list off our driving pet peeves, especially after a long rush hour commute. The problem is that some of these annoying habits are actually pretty dangerous, for the person doing them as well as any occupants in their car and in other cars around them. These are the ten most annoying driving habits (according to yours truly) that everyone should work hard to avoid.



10. Not using your turn signal. I know sometimes people forget to hit their signal, but all in all I've noticed some drivers habitually signal while others rarely or never do. Around where I live signaling is actually consciously avoided by many, even though it is a ticket-worthy traffic offense. I've asked people why they don't signal and  they have explained to me that signaling means others will close up a gap in an adjacent lane so they can't get over. I've had that happen to me, but not signaling can mean other cars think they're going to go for that gap, rushing into the gap at the same time as you. Also, I really can't stand when someone suddenly slams on their brakes and then makes a turn into a driveway or intersecting road. Signaling lets me know that person is going to be applying the brakes, allowing me to do the same before they make their turn.

9. Not allowing others to transition lanes or merge. This is a major habit around here and one that drives me absolutely nuts! When I drive in the South I'm always amazed how courteous everyone is when it comes to lane transitions and merging, sometimes even literally waving me in once I put my turn signal on. I've seen traffic study after traffic study that shows cutting others off, refusing to let  in cars from a lane that's ending, etc. actually makes traffic stack up. Stop being a jerk and let people in your lane so the traffic flows smoother for everyone! On the same note don't be that jerk who hops out of one lane that is clogged up, goes into the adjacent lane that's ending shortly up the road, and purposely drive all the way to the end so you can muscle your way further ahead in the line. It's called courtesy and respect, people; if you want to be treated with it you need to give it out.

8. Driving slow in passing lanes. I've noticed this seems to be more popular in rural areas or suburbs. The left lanes on a freeway or highway are generally for passing. This means if you aren't going faster than the traffic in the other lanes, move over and make way for those who are! I've heard some people explain that they travel slower in the left lane because they want to keep others from breaking the speed limit. That practice is incredibly self-righteous and misguided. The police are there to enforce the speed limits, not you. I've also heard from people that they were taught the left lanes are made for anyone who's going to be on the freeway for a long time, which is just plain ridiculous. Turtle drivers, move it to the right!

2012 Jaguar XKR-S. Photo courtesy Jaguar USA

7. Speeding around in the snow. I've already talked about this one before in another blog post, but it's worth bringing up again. I've noticed there are three types of vehicles I see speeding around during or after a huge snowstorm: 4x4s, all-wheel-drive vehicles and economy cars. I get that there are quite a few morons who think their four-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive will help them not spin or slide out of control on a snowy road, but let me tell you that your tires are much bigger determining factors on whether you'll lose control on slick roads than how many wheels receive power from the transmission. I can also tell you from experience that all-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive vehicles behave much better in snow if you go at a moderate speed. Why so many people in economy cars speed around in the snow baffles me. The only thing I can think of is economy cars are popular with younger drivers who haven't realized they're mortal and that driving with the accelerator constantly mashed to the floor is not the way to drive.

6. Not clearing snow, ice or frost from your car. After every snow storm I see morons driving around with a vehicle that looks like it is made entirely of snow, like they made a snowmanmobile or something ridiculous like that. In reality these people were too damn lazy to brush the snow off their car. I also regularly see people driving around with ice or frost covering their windows, except for a small clear patch at the bottom of the windshield. You can't really see where you're going like that, so scrape the stuff off your car before you drive off or wait for the defroster to clear up the windows. With snow, you need to brush off all you can from your vehicle before you start driving. Snow on your hood will fly up against the windshield, making it hard for you to see where you're going. Snow on your roof will fly onto the windshield of the car behind you. Stop being lazy, buy a little five dollar brush and scraper and clear off your car before you kill someone!

5. Driving in other cars' blind spots. This is the worst when you are driving a larger vehicle, like a van, SUV or truck. Every vehicle has blind spots -- anyone who doesn't think so needs to learn a thing or two about driving. As a general rule of thumb if you can see the the other driver's face in their side mirror then they can see you. Even better, just avoid driving near the back corners of vehicles in parallel lanes. Some newer cars from companies like Volvo and Mercedes-Benz come with a blind spot indicator system that lets drivers know if something is in the vehicle's blind spot, but it's best to just avoid blind spots and stay where you can easily be seen.

4. Cutting off large trucks. I've driven a wide variety of vehicles, and the hardest ones to drive are the big trucks. I haven't driven a semi truck, but I have driven the largest delivery-style trucks I can without getting a commercial drivers license. These trucks have massive blind spots, don't handle well at all and must be driven with extreme caution. One thing that I've noticed about quite a few other drivers on the road (especially ones in compact cars) is that they don't get these huge trucks can't stop on a dime. People seriously don't understand Newton's Laws because when a truck that's hauling around a few tons of equipment, merchandise, furniture or whatever tries to stop it takes that truck a long time to completely halt its forward progress. The worst is when you are approaching a red light and you start breaking extra early (as you should) and little cars take your slowing down as an invitation to pull in front of you. The problem is that you aren't planning on stopping a good ten or so feet sooner, and slamming on the brakes can cause you to lose control of the truck, meaning you might not be able to stop in time. It's a dangerous thing to cut off another vehicle, especially when that vehicle weighs at least a good ten times more than yours and has a solid steel front bumper. Treat large trucks with respect and give them plenty of space on the road.

3. Honking at a car after it honks at you. Everyone makes mistakes on the road -- we're all human. Sometimes you need to beep your horn if a car doesn't see yours and you are trying to avoid a crash. What I just hate is when I hit my horn not out of anger but to avoid an accident, and then the other driver lays on theirs because they're angry at me. What the hell do they have to be angry about? If you're just helping avoid a car accident they should be grateful, maybe embarrassed that they screwed up, but still grateful. Instead these people choose to honk back like that'll teach you to let them know you were there. I've seen these situations turn into a honking war and then a shouting match that can spiral out of control from there. If someone honks at you, analyze why they may be honking, make any needed corrections to your driving and move on. Swallow that pride and just don't honk back like a class-A jerk, even if you think the other driver is overreacting.

2. Tailgating cars in front of you. This is one of the most annoying driving habits. When I have a car driving behind me and I cannot see its headlights in my mirrors I know that person is driving way too close. I guess some people think hunkering up to the rear bumper on your car will make you drive as fast as they want, but I actually slow down to make a point. It's even more annoying when you have multiple lanes of traffic going in your direction and there are no other cars around, yet someone still comes up from behind and tailgates you. Perhaps these people think they have lightning fast reflexes and their car has monster brake calipers and rotors, but I would love for them to explain that theory to the cops and their insurance company after they eat another car's tailpipe.

Some brainless person invented a steering wheel mount for iPads!

1.Texting, talking and webbing. this ranks as my biggest pet peeve: other drivers who use their phone or tablet device while they are driving a vehicle! Studies have shown that texting while driving is just as dangerous as driving drunk, yet people who would never get behind the wheel after having a few drinks regularly type away while speeding down the road! I can't tell you how many times I've almost been hit by someone who suddenly swerves on the road or does some other erratic maneuver, only to see that person holding a phone or tablet. Enough is enough, people! If you can't be inconvenienced by actually driving your car, leave it at home and hop the train or bus, where you can text your social butterfly heart out until your fingers become bloody little stumps!