Ragin' Road Rage on the Road

[zombie boy 2000]

So the other day, the wifey and I are getting our frozen custard fix at one of those outside establishments, when we sit down on the curb to partake. As we were right by the drive-thru, I couldn't help but notice a lady getting a triple-scoop cone for her and her daughter in the passenger seat -- the kind you only see in cartoons or billboards.

While she is handling this behemoth, she's talking away on her cell. She may have even used her chin to get the car in gear. I don't know. What I do know is that she pulled right into traffic (very busy traffic), all whilst yammering away on her cell and slurping away on her triple scoop monstrosity.
I didn't see a third arm, but I did see that she had a 10-year old daughter in the passenger seat. If I were a cop, I would have pulled her over IMMEDIATELY. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

So with this aside, I'm wondering what really chaps the collective hide of the Polk community when it comes to other drivers. What is it that gets your blood boiling when getting from point A to point B in your jalopey?

Another thing for me would be in busy and congested traffic when drivers will go Mach 8 to go through a yellow light, but conversely go at a snail's pace through a fresh green light knowing there are nearly 197 cars behind them that will probably have to sit through the same light 86 times before gaining passage to the next bottleneck.

[krabby5]

I love it when people go as far as they can in a lane that they know ends in 100 feet...then when you don't feel like letting their sorry a$$es in, they flip you off.

I also hate it when people flick their cigs out the window while driving..

[Strong Bad]

Tuesday I'm heading down the highway to work. In the lane next to me coming up is a white pickup/construction type truck with welding gear in the back along with the large bottles of welding gases (Oxygen, Acetyline, etc...). I notice in his large rear view mirror that he has his head leaning all the way to the side holding his cell phone on his shoulder. Sure enough as I get near to being beside him, he starts drifting into my lane (while head is still cocked to the side holding cell phone) and gets VERY close to side swiping me. I pound on my horn and dude flies back into his lane.

I gave him that evil Darth Vader "I want to force choke your dumbass" look as I go bye him along with a few WTF's.

Get a damn Bluetooth device for you ear if ya want to talk on the cell phone!

John

[jflail2]

You hit the nail on the head for me: GET OFF YOUR CELL PHONE!!!!!!!!

I can't stand a driver blabbing away with no cares as to what is going on around them.

My second peeve would be people not using their blinkers. I can't read your mind...

[Fireman32]

All drivers piss me off...I live in Jersey.

[WilliamM2]

What is it that gets your blood boiling when getting from point A to point B in your jalopey?

People who pull right out in front of me, even though there is no one behind me, and then drive 25 or 30 in a 55 zone.

I get annoyed with anyone who disrupts the flow of traffic, like those that come to almost a complete stop, BEFORE pulling into the turn lane. Do they know what a turn lane is for?

[engtaz]

Come to Florida. enough said

[m00npie]

2 things really piss me off...

1.) The left hand lane is for passing.... for some reason, some folks in Maryland don't seem to get this. I see people all the time merging onto 270, 495 & 95 cutting people off just to get to the left lane to drive slow. AAAAAHHHH!

2.) Everyone on the road at the start of the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn to the Suffolk County line on the Southern State. Most dangerous 35 miles I have ever seen especially in the summer months when the Cidiots (City Idiots from Manhatten) migrate to the Hampton’s on the weekend.

[m00npie]

Oh and one more but not really related to drivers...

Jersey no left turns and those stupid jug handles.

[zombie boy 2000]

I'd like to add a semi going 45mph passing another semi clocking in at 43mph.... on a two-lane stretch of INTERSTATE.

[PhantomOG]

Saw it on a bumpter sticker:

"Forget world peace.... visualize using your blinkers."

[Gaara]

Alot of things tick me off while driving, but the biggest is people going out of traffic only to veer back in a few car lengths later. This happens all the time on may way back from college in Springfield. There is a 2 lane bridge and the left lane goes on while the right goes to a rotary so it is always backed up. People will be in the right lane and pull into the left to get up a few car lengths and then swing back into the right. I once saw a Ferrari drive on the grass because no one would let her in after she tried to muscle her way in.

For those who live in or around the hartford area, going on 91 the exit to get to asylum or 84 this happens alot to. There is a stretch of around 1/2-3/4 of a mile that is exit only yet everytime I go to work there is someone who has to wait till the last second and go over the yellow and just miss hitting the barrels. I can honestly say I have numerous times blocked people and hoped they hit the median...because I hate them.

[bobman1235]

I could write a book.

Cell phones are an obvious one.

People who don't put on their headlights when it's raining. Yes, you should do this. Especially on the highway. It's arguably harder to see someone through the haze that comes up from a wet highway than it is to see them in the middle of the night. You NEED to have your headlights on in the rain.

High beams piss me off. They're almost never necessary, and people leave them on all the time, and it's rude and distracting. How do you not notice the big blue light on your dashboard?

People in small cars who think they're driving a big rig or something, when they swing far left to take an easy right hand turn. Not necessary,and you're causing traffic.

People who follow ridiculously close to the guy in front of them in traffic. You're obviously not going to make the guy go faster - there's nowhere for him to go. And all you're doing is risking another accident and WORSE traffic by being impatient.

That's all for now. Although I live ona pretty busy "city" street, so my biggest pet peeve is idiots with their subwoofers blaring at jet afterburner levels at 2AM. I hope you all get hearing loss at 25, if you live that long.

[Demiurge]

You are walking through a forest when you come upon a strange house. It is dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

[zombie boy 2000]

I loved the Zork books, but never played the games. No computer for this poor young lad.

[Jstas]

Inattentive and inconsiderate drivers. I could go down a list of boneheaded things I've seen on the roads but they all amount to inconsiderate/inattentive driving.


As far as the worst road in the area? It's a toss up. You have Rt-130 in NJ and I76 in PA. Rt-130 is a 4-6 lane road the cuts through Camden and it's surrounding areas. It's not always divided and even though the speed limit is 35 MPH in some of the more congested spots, people still scream up and down that road at 50-65 MPH. There are traffic lights up and down the entire length and if you think jughandles are bad, try a circle on for size and then complain to me about a jughandle.

I76 otherwise known as the Surekill Expressway. It's still the fastest way through Philly...at 2am. Otherwise it's bumper to bumper traffic, usually stop and go but mostly traveling at about 65-70 MPH. Cars are rarely spaced more than half a car length apart. It's two lanes in either direction but most of the road is built on the side of shale cliffs over the Schuylkill River. There are concrete walls on both sides. Add to that the fact that the entrance and exit ramps are insanely short and traffic moving on and off of the expressway is taking an unnecessary risk by just entering or exiting the highway. Then you get to the end where the King of Prussia Mall is and you'd rather kick yourself in the head a few times than deal with the I76/Rt202/Rt422/PA Turnpike interchange. It's an ugly spaghetti mess of roads that is downright impossible to successfully navigate for those who are not from the area.

I've had the "luxury" of driving those roads quite often and I'm always surprised that I got through unscathed. I drove I-76 every day to get to school when I was in college. I drove Rt-130 quite often because it was part of my coverage area when I was running on an ambulance squad. I cleaned quite few people up off that road.

[Ricardo]

I love it when people go as far as they can in a lane that they know ends in 100 feet...then when you don't feel like letting their sorry a$$es in, they flip you off.

I'm one of those :D

Maybe you won't let me in, but the next one will. If it ends in 1/2 mile, you can go in that lane for that 1/2 mile, right?

[Serendipity]

2.) Everyone on the road at the start of the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn to the Suffolk County line on the Southern State. Most dangerous 35 miles I have ever seen especially in the summer months when the Cidiots (City Idiots from Manhatten) migrate to the Hampton’s on the weekend.

Agreed. Belt Parkway (especially the Brooklyn part) is probably the most dangerous place to drive in NYC.

[zombie boy 2000]

I have to say our Spaghetti junction during rush hour is a bit of an anomaly. Those commuting back across the river to Indiana will stay in the left lane for nearly an hour, while those of us heading back into the city to our homes whiz past them in no time flat.
Every once in a while, a hoosier will break this unwritten truce and swing into the right lane to try to pick up a few car lengths -- and the ensuing attempt for him/her to get back in the Indiana lane will bring everything to a stop. But this is actually rarer than you would think. Pretty courteous of the lot of 'em, if you ask me.

[polkatese]

This has become a major issue around SoCal, Soccer moms driving around on an Expeditions and Excursions, kids in the back, one hand on the steering wheel, the other hand on cell yaking away, and making a U-Turn in major intersections.

I am waiting for gas to hit $10/gallon so that we can rid of these monster moms off the street.

[krabby5]

I'm one of those :D

Maybe you won't let me in, but the next one will. If it ends in 1/2 mile, you can go in that lane for that 1/2 mile, right?

so you save 2 minutes to piss off hundreds?

yer part of the reason that it gets backed up in the first place..

[Ron-P]

All drivers piss me off...I live in Jersey.

Edit...

All drivers piss me off...

That's better.

[bobman1235]

so you save 2 minutes to piss off hundreds?

yer part of the reason that it gets backed up in the first place..

Correct. Absolute dick move.

There's an off-ramp on my way to work that is famous for people doing this, despite the fact that it REALLY messes wtih traffic. Every once in a blue moon a cop sits there and bags everyone who tries to sneak in. The cop is there rarely enough that people don't worry about him, and it just warms the cockles of my heart to see inconsiderate selfish pricks get pulled over.

[VR3]

I have a few pet peeves

1) Going slower than the speed limit
2) Going 20 mph in the rain... >_>
3) Going slower than the speed limit in the rain
4) No turn signals
5) Braking for 50 feet, getting in a turn lane -- THEN turning on your turn signal...
6) Braking down hill - w-t-f

[wingnut4772]

Tailgaiting, Speeding, Cutting people off (usually all done together)
Kids not in Kid seats or seatbelts.
Littering.

I chase them down like a madwoman and laugh maniacally as I give them their tickets! Mwah Hah ha ha!:D

[zombie boy 2000]

so you save 2 minutes to piss off hundreds?

yer part of the reason that it gets backed up in the first place..

I think Ricardo was being tongue in cheek here... Just gotta know his humor:D

[Serendipity]

6) Braking down hill - w-t-f

eh? Aren't you supposed to brake down hill to slow down? Unless I'm missing something here...

[bobman1235]

3) Going slower than the speed limit in the rain

So... you think people should speed in the rain?

Don't they teach you kids things about hydroplaning and hazardous road conditions anymore?

[Ricardo]

I think Ricardo was being tongue in cheek here... Just gotta know his humor:D

No I wasn't.

[zombie boy 2000]

No I wasn't.

Well... rock on' in that lane. Try to ignore the angry scowls of bobman and krabby:D