Hooray! You spent all that money and did all that studying for your license…only to hit the road and realize it’s basically Thunderdome. From drivers who go way too fast to rubbernecking motorists, here are the most annoying things people do on the road.
1. Texting While Driving
Distracted driving is one of the most dangerous behaviors on the road—drivers’ attention is split, it’s illegal, and all it takes is a couple of seconds for severe accidents. There’s no text more important than driving safely.
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2. Speeding
Keeping up with traffic is one thing, but significant speeding is dangerous and unnecessary. Whether it’s whizzing down a suburban street or racing along the highway, speeding puts everyone at risk.
3. Aggressive Driving
Weaving through traffic, road rage, or intentionally cutting off drivers all constitutes aggressive driving. Those behaviors often cause more accidents or, at the very least, only exacerbate conflict on the road. It’s best to keep a cool head and defuse stressful situations.
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4. Tailgating
Okay, so the guy in front cut you off—that’s no reason to tailgate. Tailgating easily leads to rear-end collisions; that kind of aggressive driving is distracting, which means you’ll be less likely to stop in time.
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5. Not Using Signals
Despite this being a basic driving school lesson, plenty of drivers opt for the mind-reading route instead. Not using a signal leaves other drivers in the lurch and can easily cause accidents thanks to unexpected turns.
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6. Running Red Lights
Traffic signals are in place for a reason. Failure to abide by them endangers everyone’s lives, including yours, so stop at red lights and stop signs. Among other things, running red lights can cause T-bone collisions or put pedestrians’ lives at risk.
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7. Improper Merging
A fun game for drivers is hoping the person beside them knows how to merge. Alas, many motorists enter highways or change lanes without looking or signaling, which is a great way to cause accidents.
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8. Driving Too Slowly
Driving significantly below the limit is actually as dangerous as speeding. Slow drivers interrupt traffic, can cause rear-end collisions, and often encourage other motorists to try overtaking.
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9. Loud Vehicles
Blasting music or obnoxiously loud mufflers can be a nuisance on the road. We’re not talking about classic cars’ mufflers either—we’re talking about those installed mufflers on 2011 Kias that sound like a fireworks show.
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10. Excessive Lane Changes
We’ve all places to be, which is exactly why excessive lane changing is annoying. Chances are, those drivers who weave in and out of traffic won’t make a dent in their travel time and all they’re doing is putting others at risk. (Though, it is satisfying when they speed by only to get trapped at a red light.)
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11. Rubbernecking
Accidents catch anyone’s attention but try not to slow down completely. There’s a difference between slowing down for law enforcement and slowing down to scout the area. The latter only annoys everyone else because traffic gets delayed even further.
12. Ignoring the Weather
Sometimes we can’t help but be on the road, weather be darned. However, if you can’t avoid the road in severe weather you should at least know how to drive in it. Poor or aggressive driving is even worse when the roads are slick.
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13. Leaving Signals On
Just as annoying as no turn signal is the eternal one. Forgetting to flip off signals is another guessing game for drivers, all of whom now anticipate the turn that never comes. Because of this, it’s also dangerous.
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14. Hogging the Left Lane
Left lanes are for passing, and it’s the worst when drivers just kind of coast there. Failure to pass blocks traffic and forces others to weave through lanes, which is not only annoying but can potentially cause accidents.
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15. Not Moving at Green Lights
For the love of god, green means go. A one-second delay, okay, but don’t sit at the light distracted—now every driver is peeved, and the entire flow of traffic has been disrupted. It’s even worse when people miss an advanced green.
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16. Ignoring Stop Signs
Blowing through stop signs is just as dangerous as blowing through a red light. Even if you don’t think anyone is coming, it only takes a split second to change their life for the worse. “Rolling stops” don’t count either.
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17. Improper Use of High Beams
Traveling through mountainous roads is one thing, but improper high beam use blinds drivers. Following too closely with high beams blasting is unnecessary and easily causes accidents—they’re also not great in severe weather either, particularly snowy conditions.
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18. Sudden Braking
Unless you want a rear-end collision, refrain from sudden stops. It’s dangerous, first and foremost, but abrupt braking is also annoying if traffic was otherwise moving smoothly.
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19. Driving with Pets
There’s no harm in bringing your furball along, but make sure they’re safely secured. Even if they’re small, driving with pets in your lap is dangerous for everyone. With Fido right there, you’re more distracted, and any collision could seriously injure them.
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20. Stopping to Talk
Drivers love it when motorists block traffic to chit chat. It’s definitely not annoying and people love having to wait for someone else’s conversation to finish. (This was a joke—stop doing this.)
