The Top Ten Most Irritating Driving Habits
Most drivers are safe and courteous, but a small minority choose to flout the rules of the road and to be as irritating as possible. These are the top ten most irritating driving habits…
Misuse of the Horn
What could be more irritating on the road than a driver misusing their car’s horn? A car’s horn exists to alert other road-users to the driver’s presence in an emergency situation. It isn’t there to scold people, or to catch your friend’s attention as you pass them on the street.
Failing to Indicate
Our indicators are our only real way of expressing our intentions to other road-users. If we fail to use them, or use them too late, we can force other road-users to take sudden action. This is frustrating at best and dangerous at worst. Indicate consistently and in good time.
Lane Hogging
Multiple lanes exist to allow for faster vehicles to overtake slower ones. But when someone chooses to ‘hog’ a lane, they’re preventing the free flow of traffic. The worst culprits are so-called ‘middle-lane’ hoggers on motorways. If you’re not overtaking, you should always be on the inside lane!
Inconsiderate Parking
Parking infrastructure in the UK isn’t great. There’s often not enough of it, or it’s simply antiquated. To make matters worse, the ever increasing size of our cars has made parking a bit of challenge. So, it’s exceptionally irritating and inconsiderate when some drivers park across parking spot lines (or too closely to a line). Some drivers even make use of spaces reserved for families with young children or the disabled. It’s not on.
Driving too Slowly
Speeding is always a big no-no. But some drivers can be just as dangerous by driving too slowly. Speed limits aren’t a target, but they do inform us in terms of the sorts of speeds we should be driving at. Driving at 55 on a 60 is acceptable, driving at 35 on a 60 absolutely isn’t.
Playing Music too Loudly
We’re sure most readers will agree that drivers who play excessively loud music are extremely irritating. It’s unnecessary and obnoxious. You may love a particular track, but there’s no need to share it will everyone stuck in a rush-hour gridlock.
Wannabe Racers
You’ve just pulled up at a red light and, to your side, another drivers makes eye-contact. They begin revving their vehicle, inviting you (implicitly or explicitly) to race. Needless acceleration and speeding are obviously as pointless as they are dangerous. But racing complete strangers trying to commute to work is never a good look.
Slow at Traffic Lights
You’ve been waiting for what feels like an age at a red traffic light, sweltering in the summer heat. Finally, the light switches to green and you prepare yourself to get moving. Except you can’t, because the car ahead of you isn’t. A moment goes by, then another. Finally, the car moves. You scramble to react and…No, you’re at a red light again. How irritating.
Road Rage
All drivers make mistakes, none of us are perfect. Sometimes, drivers react in a forgiving and understanding way. At other times, you might as well have slapped them in the face. They’ll throw expletives at you, go red in the face and perhaps even drive erratically around you vehicle. This can be exceptionally intimidating, but it’s always irritating.
Tailgating
Tailgating is the ‘art’ of driving as closely to the vehicle in front of you as possible. In most cases, it’s done to pressure another driver into speeding up or switching lanes. Sometimes, it’s simply a product of a driver not concentrating. It goes without saying, it’s incredibly dangerous. It’s also intimidating. Don’t do it.
