Idiot Drivers you run into on the road...

[oldE]

People on their phones: Check
People who can't seem to maintain a constant speed while they're in front of you:Check
People who don't seem to understand there might be traffic in the lane into which they are attempting to merge:Check

Best
Les

[ramonesfreak]

My wife just got rear ended in her 1 week old car. A doctor flew out of a side street and drove right into the back of her. First words out of his mouth were “it technically wasn’t my fault you know”. I wish I had been there.

That’s the second time in a year someone right by her office rear ended her.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by oldE

People who don't seem to understand there might be traffic in the lane into which they are attempting to merge:Check

Best
Les

LOL! Here in the Houston area, lane changing is weird for a lot of folks. They will put on a signal, and whether you're next to them, or getting ready to pass them or whatever, if they put their signal on and start to move over slowly, the expectation is that you'll let them in no matter what. When I want to change lanes, I look for someplace that I can fit and I go there. I may speed up or slow down or wait a while. But that's not how it works around here, at least not for a lot of folks. I think they figure, "I'll put my signal on and move over slowly and everyone else will slow down or move over to let me in."

[masraum]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

My wife just got rear ended in her 1 week old car. A doctor flew out of a side street and drove right into the back of her. First words out of his mouth were “it technically wasn’t my fault you know”. I wish I had been there.

That’s the second time in a year someone right by her office rear ended her.

I'm not saying this is the case for you and your wife. But I knew a couple once, and they had been rear-ended something like 10 times in 3 or 4 years. I've still never been rear-ended. In their case, I always wondered "what in the hell are you guys doing?"

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by rcooled

In my opinion, merging is, by far, the least-developed driving skill. I often see cars meandering down an on-ramp around 40MPH, then try pushing their way into 65-70MPH freeway traffic, making cars in the right-hand lane slow down to let them in. The other lanes then seem to slow down in sympathy. This is why there's often backed-up traffic around highway on-ramps. Why are people so afraid to step on the gas and match their speed to the traffic flow?

Construction zones cause the same problem. Everyone has to slow down to see what's happening, even though all lanes are clear and construction is well out of the way.

And when there is a lane closure for construction or an accident, why do we need to creep by the incident at 12MPH. OK, we're all in a single lane now, let's get moving!

Ditto...on the on ramp, as I'm starting down, I look for a truck I can fall in behind, matching his speed. Then watch mirrors for a safe gap in order to move left & pass. One of my car buying criteria is a car having enough power to do this. Anything capable of a 14 seconds 1/4 mile time is more than adequate for this.

[Bugsinrugs]

Right before I retired at the end of a hard day I stopped at a signal on my way back to my warehouse and fell asleep. Yes, I deserved the blasting horns. Happened twice.😳

[Zeke]

I think horns should be like push to pass. Honk too many times and it goes silent.

The last guy that honked me was when I was in a parking lot. My seatbelt wasn't completely clipped in. So I stopped for a second to fix that and here comes douche nozzle.

That's OK. Here in the hood he might get his head blown off if he does this to the wrong (right?) person.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

One big thing is idiots that just can't go a few seconds without staring at their phone at the left turn red light, or any red light. When I get stuck waiting for another light cycle because some fool prefers to stare at their phone and not drive. Hang up the phone and DRIVE!

You can tell when people are texting and driving because they drive slow. Then they speed up once finished, and slow down again when answering.

WhereI live, you see the beat up surfmobiles and don't stay behind them. Not because parts fall off, they do once in a while, but when they see the ocean, they always slow down to check out the surf.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by VINMAN

Drivers that refuse to put their lights on in the rain. Most of the time its someone in a silver or grey vehicle.

.

I don't know about you guys, but there seems to be more people here not running their lights at night. We used to have those old sodium vapor streetlights that would have a 180 degree arc. Now we changed them to LED and all they do is shine straight down, so between lights, it is really dark. I have no idea how people can drive without headlights at night. I flash them and nothing. Still driving with lights off.

Another thing here is drivers rarely use their turn signals.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by David Inc.

This reminds me--one time I had to slide to a halt to not kill a cyclist running a red light. He laughed and flipped me off, his friends waiting at the light made apologetic faces to me.

I'm tooling along in the empty right lane and the light well ahead turns green. The car on left and van in the middle doesn't move for some reason. Must have fallen asleep.
The normal big-city thing to do would be to just gun it through. You snooze you lose right?

I slow to a stop beside the van. Glad I did. Some college kid pops out casually taking his time walking his bike across three lanes against the light not even looking. He gets in front of my truck and we lock eyes. He stops for a second as if to have a stare down protest and I lose my temper first time in a long while. I inch forward, toot my horn, yell "C'mon let's GO" out the window. He finally gets across and gives me the finger.

Hopefully that scared a little common sense into the man child and keeps him from becoming someone's future hood ornament. Some other drivers in this world wouldn't have slowed down.

[A930Rocket]

Ditto on the merging. I see people in the on-ramp lane and they can neither accelerate or slow down, to get in front of a car, that can’t move to the left due to traffic, to let them in. I’ve seen them actually stop on the on-ramp or continue on the breakdown lane trying to merge .

It’s not that hard, speed up or slow down to merge.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

We used to have those old sodium vapor streetlights that would have a 180 degree arc. Now we changed them to LED and all they do is shine straight down, so between lights, it is really dark.

Those are aweful. My city also tried adding 3ft highly-reflective spring posts right next to and in the vehicle lanes which mirror almost all the headlight beam back as a blinding dazzle. Between the two of those a driver couldn't see anyone walking in the crosswalk. So much worse. Did they even do a test case for viability? BTW Those posts didn't last long. After a month or two of getting mowed down at least five times a day, and damaging many cars, they tore out naturally and never got replaced.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

I’ve seen them actually stop on the on-ramp or continue on the breakdown lane trying to merge.

It’s not that hard, speed up or slow down to merge.

Yep.

Years ago, I was in the second row at a stop light. After the light maybe 100-150yds up the road, the 2 lanes turn into one lane. The left lane continues and the right lane must merge. Immediately after the merge the road is 2 lanes (one each way) with a deep ditch on either side of the road. The car at the light in the left lane is a gray haired old guy, I'm guessing in his 60s. The car next to him is a soccer mom, probably in her 30s/40s in a minivan. The light goes and they are both off and get to the merge spot. Technically, since her lane is the one that is supposed to merge into his lane, I think she should have slowed down and got in behind him since she couldn't get in front of him. Instead he ended up half in the oncoming lane straddling the double yellow, and she ended up half on and half off the side of the road. It was a surprising distance before she finally slowed down and got in behind him.

I was flabbergasted, and followed them thinking "you two numbnuts should know better by now."

[Dixie]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

I just held my position for a solid minute inching along as all waiting traffic merged as I drifted right to hold my space.

Serious question, why didn't you just let her in? Did you think she'd evaporate if you blocked her?

[look 171]

Btich secession. Good. I need to get this off my chest. Last Wednesday, 5pm, rush hour traffic and I was dead stopped on the fwy on ramp just waiting for traffic to clear due to red light. Yes, we have red lights at on ramps. Young guy rear ends me in my Cayman S doing about 10mph. I get out and ask if he was on his phone. He said yes, but it isn't his fault because I should be moving. I said, how the hell am I suppose to move when there are 7-8 cars in front of me waiting for the light to turn green for each car. Still, he claims he doesn't care and not his fault. How fooking stupid are these people? Only a slightly scratched up bumper and muffler tips are bent. I see people in my mirrors who are laughing by themselves looking down while moving at a slower pace in the fwy. What the fk is so important to be looking at some tictok siht? One thing I must say is they don't do that crap in Places like Thailand or jamb packed cities like some of them in S America. Not time to react since there are a billion of people about to ram their bumper up your azz if you don't pay attention. What else?

Oh, the idiots who just stop in the middle of the road in heavy traffic when they see a firetruck. They just sit there knowing the firetruck has no place to go but DO NOT KNOW how to move over.

[stealthn]

Years ago driving my wife’s car, stopped at a light behind a van. For no reason he put it in reverse and backed into us! I was livid and ready to beat the crap out of him, my wife made me take a walk to calm down, when I finally did I asked him what the hell?! He said he wanted tips change lanes…at a stop light with us behind him and me smashing the horn when I saw him coming…
He said he didn’t want to go through insurance so I got a quote and sent it to him, he balked at the cost and said we could “go to his guy”, I said F-that we do it the way I want or I call his insurance company. He reluctantly agreed and we got it fixed. He was a lawyer…

[Jeff Higgins]

"Ever notice how everyone driving faster than you is a maniac, and everyone driving slower than you is an idiot?"

George Carlin

[look 171]

Originally Posted by stealthn

Years ago driving my wife’s car, stopped at a light behind a van. For no reason he put it in reverse and backed into us! I was livid and ready to beat the crap out of him, my wife made me take a walk to calm down, when I finally did I asked him what the hell?! He said he wanted tips change lanes…at a stop light with us behind him and me smashing the horn when I saw him coming…
He said he didn’t want to go through insurance so I got a quote and sent it to him, he balked at the cost and said we could “go to his guy”, I said F-that we do it the way I want or I call his insurance company. He reluctantly agreed and we got it fixed. He was a lawyer…

That's exactly what he said after my second contact with him through text. His exact words were, "I will pay to buff out scratches and don't go through insurance". I made the claim yesterday and submitted photos to his insurance. Heard back from them today and he admitted it without any drama. What a piece of work some of these people.

[mpeastend]

Here in NYC and surroundings, traffic has gotten noticeably worse. I find myself scrutinizing cars that want to change lanes or merge in F/O me because once there, they drive way below the speed limit or in stop and go traffic, leave huge gaps that drivers from the next lane start jumping into. I sit there seething until I can move around this, now barely mobile, roadblock. Usually Uber or Lyft (special hatred for them), minivans, elderly, cars with stickers like new driver, etc. I find myself not letting them in like the OP. The times I've relented/been nice, I usually get screwed 50% of the time.

As rcooled posted, merging well below highway speed is not only disruptive to smooth flow, but dangerous. I remember when entrance ramps were referred to as acceleration ramps. Most US drivers could not cut it on the Autobahn...they'd wind up as a dark stain somewhere.

Seriously considering getting one of those air powered train horns. Would love to hit some late mergers with a 120 dB blast. I drive a large dually 3500HD and get cut off by cars way more than if I was in a small vehicle. That is surprising, figured they'd see a big truck and give me a wider berth. Nope.

[look 171]

They sure drive powerful enough cars that can get up to speed in 3 seconds but they chose not to because it may hurt their cars. Those people drive me nuts especially in moderate traffic where its flowing at 75 mph. I understand their dislike of accelerating around corners to get up to speed but the fwy straightens out and for the 1/4 mile they are doing 45-50 while everyone is jam up everyone's butts. Yeah, they are dangerous and should not be driving. Yep, the big gaps drive me nuts while everyone takes advantage and cut in.