10 Things I Hate While Driving…Part II

After my first hub on the top 10 things I hate while driving, I received a lot of responses to that hub. The responses made me see that I’m barely scratching the surface here and there are lots of things out there that are really hateful when it comes to driving. Thus, I decided to add on to it.

Okay, what’s the scenario for this 2^nd part? Basically, I’m expanding it just a little bit. It’s no longer limited to a two-way highway but can take into account super-highways, freeways, expressways, etc. or those that have more than two lanes on each side. Using this bit of scenario, my list would probably expand to a very alarming rate (I can just bet). But then again, let’s limit this to the next 10, shall we? Or otherwise I will never be finished about the things that we can hate while driving.

So, without much further ado, here are the 2^nd 10 Things I Hate While Driving:=

Stopping at the middle of the road…or the street…or a very busy thoroughfare…Notice that when you are near a school zone, you observe parents stopping their cars in the middle of the road (or near the middle, certainly not on the side) to drop off their children. Makes me want to knock on their windows and ask them “what the *#(&@(#$(#@ were you thinking?” Or how about here, where the bus or the jeepney or any other passenger vehicle stops in the middle of the road to drop off its passenger? If you’re behind one of these passenger vehicles, you’ll really be wary of them. Half of the time (or more), your foot would definitely be on top of your brakes.

Zigzagging drivers a.k.a. the lane-shoppers…who can’t seem to make up their minds which lane they will stick to. Or those drivers who want to go the fastest way possible by always shopping around for the open or fastest lane. Or as one hubber commented (and the most dangerous of these zigzagging drivers), a driver who switches to the opposite lane to avoid a long line of cars in his lane only to find out at the end of the line that the reason for the long line-up is because there are several pedestrians crossing the street!

Race car drivers…who thinks they own the road and who will stop at nothing to get to their destination at the fastest possible time. Need I say more?

Cutting through drivers… these are really, really dangerous – drivers who suddenly cut you off your lane because they happened to get stuck behind a slow vehicle or the vehicle in front of them suddenly stopped forcing them to turn to your lane. To top it all, they don’t even give a signal! It’s like you’re falling in line just to see somebody in front of you suddenly cut through the line! Whatever happened to courtesy on the road?

Slowpokes staying at the left lane of the road…this is for my country and those that are using a left-hand drive car. The left lane is supposed to be the fast lane, right? So how come there are slow cars in this lane?

Moonwalkers to the max…let me tell you about that one time we had a really close call. We were driving on a two-way road and a lady just got down from a passenger vehicle on the opposite lane (to picture it better, we’re on the right; she’s on the left side). She looked to the left for the incoming traffic from the opposite lane (good habit). I really though that once she steps on our side of the lane, she will look to her right and see us (we were like a kilometer away from her). To our surprise, she kept looking to her left even when she was already on our side of the lane! Plus, she still kept on doing the same thing even when we were already honking our horn. At the last minute, my husband gave a long angry beep and swerved to the left to avoid her. That was the only time she looked at our side and run for the safety of the sidewalk. If she didn’t do that, if we were a second too late in reacting or if there was an incoming traffic on the opposite side, we could have hit her or we could have hit another vehicle or both. And do you know what her reaction was? Nothing. As in not a darn thing. She did not even look back or look at us or even stop to take a deep breath for the near missed call. Good thing my husband did not let me get down the car. I would have given her a piece of my mind and even slapped her senseless for the danger she put all of us in.

Right-turn / Left-turn Blockers…Okay, you’re turning right. You even gave the signal that you’re turning right. Suddenly a vehicle blocks your way and you thought “okay, we’re both turning right.” Wrong! The vehicle is actually going straight down the road but the driver just wants to get ahead of the pack and thought that by positioning himself at the right side, he can do so, not knowing (or not caring) that he’s blocking the legitimate right – turners. Gggggrrrrr!!!

Butt stickers…these are the drivers who want the driver of the vehicle in front to speed up and stick close to the rear of that vehicle to pressure the other driver to do what they want. I’ve got news for you buddy – wait your turn!

Side stickers…okay, you’re stopping for a red light and you’re very well within your own lane. You look at the side and you see to your horror that the vehicle on your left side is mere inches away from you! Jeeezzzz, what are you, a magnet? You just hope and pray they will not rub on you the wrong way.

‘Slow down’ signs – after a blind curve!...around here, we often see schools located beside the highway or a short distance from the highway. Of course, to ensure the safety of the children, they put ‘slow down’ signs before and after the front of the school. And what do you know? Those signs are positioned right after the blind spot! Okay, I know you should slow down when you are in a curve like this but for goodness’ sake, don’t put that sign just in front of that curve! Accidents do happen you know, even to the most careful drivers.

So those are the next ten. Someone commented in my other hub that “half of the fun of driving is complaining about other drivers”. I don’t know about the fun but we do complain – a lot. Swearing and shouting have become quite a past time for us whenever we go out for a long drive. Really, driving can play havoc to your health and peace of mind. But then again, these situations can’t be helped. You just need to be alert 100% of the time and be a good defensive driver. In the long run, you will need all of your wits to survive on the road.