Another pet peeves thread: Tips for road ragers

And finally, this will offend peole on here, but I have a list of three counties, where if I see a license plate from there, I just give them lots and lots of room... Cerro Gordo, Carroll and Boone. More often than not, these vehicles deserve some kind of Idiot Award. Pottawattamie sometimes makes the list too...

When we were younger, my brother and I used to joke about Polk County pull-outs. Now I realize it's not a joke. It's how they all think they're supposed to drive.

No offense to any small town Iowans out there but if your plates don't have Linn, Polk, Story, Black Hawk, Johnson or Scott county written on it then I assume you're a horrible driver... Try driving through Benton, Tama and Marshall county every time you want to make a trip to Ames. I lose my freaking mind every time.

As for people chilling out in the left lane, I normally try to make them realize what they are doing wrong. I will come up close to them (but still within safe distance), wait there a while and see if they realized what they are doing wrong and move over to the right lane. If this doesn't work, I wait for a break in traffic in the right lane with enough room to pass on the right, I then make the move and pass them as fast as possible (to make the statement) and just give them a :mad: face. Then I look in my rear to see if they move over to the right lane after that or not. Normally they don't, which means they probably oblivious to the rules of the highway/interstate. Who can blame them, Driver's Ed certainly doesn't teach people highway courtesy, I learned from my dad. I think the main problem is that we are handing out license's way too easily anymore. Driver's Ed is a joke and will give a nervous, moody, oblivious girl who lacks any common sense that also has a texting problem a license and they will give an overly aggressive male driver a license. If the course was more rigorous and they actually taught you useful driving tips, I think a lot of these problems would be solved.

My pet peeve... people who DON'T MOVE OVER to the left lane when you are merging on the highway/interstate when the left lane is completely safe and open...
 
Being related to state patrolman, I am reminded often that people in the left lane don't need to get over unless they are going below the speed limit.

Also, he really enjoys pulling over road ragers......
 
Being related to state patrolman, I am reminded often that people in the left lane don't need to get over unless they are going below the speed limit.

Also, he really enjoys pulling over road ragers......


That's why it's called courtesy, you don't HAVE to but it's better for the flow of traffic if you do move over. Just because you have your cruise on at 72mph doesn't mean someone behind you doesn't have theirs set at 75mph.

I glad your relative at least enjoys his job. He effing better because his salary is paid for by us.
 
That's why it's called courtesy, you don't HAVE to but it's better for the flow of traffic if you do move over. Just because you have your cruise on at 72mph doesn't mean someone behind you doesn't have theirs set at 75mph.

I glad your relative at least enjoys his job. He effing better because his salary is paid for by us.


Yes, he very much enjoys protecting citizens, making the roads safer, and giving tickets to deserving morons on the road who have the patience/maturity of a 2-yr-old.
 
If you're going to road rage, at least learn the rules of the road first. For instance, it is actually the law that you must yield to oncoming traffic when turning left, in case you didn't know.

And you probably should not flip people the bird and shout profanity out your window when you're driving a company vehicle with your phone number on it. That's just bad business.


I called the owner of the business who's employee was driving dangerously and reported him......I told the owner he should be aware of what his employee was doing with his company vehicle. That it was his company's name on the truck, and his possible insurance claim if his driver caused an accident, and he could do what he wanted with the info. the next week I saw this same idiot driver again on the road, but no longer driving a company vehicle.
 
That's why it's called courtesy, you don't HAVE to but it's better for the flow of traffic if you do move over. Just because you have your cruise on at 72mph doesn't mean someone behind you doesn't have theirs set at 75mph.

I glad your relative at least enjoys his job. He effing better because his salary is paid for by us.

Maybe we should rename the left lane the MORON lane, for those who,by their innate self appointed rights, own it....Try exhibiting some of that so called courtesy yourself for a change and drive the speed limit....not pushing everyone else off the road who is not speeding like yourself.......YOU'RE GONNA GET A RUDE WAKEUP WITH THE NEW HIGHER SPEEDING FINES COME JULY 1

SEE THE FOLLOWING NEW STUDY ON SPEEDING
Drive Less, Live Longer

AND YOU'RE WELCOME
 
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People that drive too slow are idiots and people that drive too fast are maniacs....

....R.I.P. George Carlin
 
The left lane issue bothers me more than anything.

I also don't like when people ride my tail when I'm on the motorcycle. This usually only happens when I'm stuck in traffic.

Incorrect side mirror setup is another one that most people fail.

My father would probably roll over in his grave if he heard this but I'd like to see a law that wouldn't allow semi's to be in the far left lane if there are 3 or more lanes.
They have this in Florida, that does make it nice.
 
People that drive too slow are idiots and people that drive too fast are maniacs....

....R.I.P. George Carlin

That's the exact position I find myself in middle age. Those young whipper snappers are driving like bats outta hell and the older folks are obstacles in the road just itching for an accident.

The only peace I get is that I must be driving perfectly to be such a happy medium between such extremes. 73 on I-80 and 69 on I-80/35 seems to be that happy medium.

---

But to my pet peeve.... What the heck is with mile marker #131 (Merle Hay) Westbound that makes traffic bunch up like a herd of dairy cows slowly meandering to the milking barn? Does the sign that says "Merle Hay" make people enter some slow-motion universe at the river?

Why do people that whiz by me at the East mixmaster going 75+ suddenly settle for going 66 in the right lane after the river? Why is the middle lane going past #131 the slow lane at times, and the "slower lane" at others?

C'mon people - embrace the vibrance of the Merle Hay Exit. We gave Johnston a lane of its own a few years ago. It is for people going to Johnston, not for people going 61 mph to drift into then swerve left once they realize they want to go to Des Moines. If you want to go to DSM / Urbandale exit PROPERLY. If you want to go to Johnston MAINTAIN SPEED until you are off of the interstate.

The DOT friend I have just shakes his head when I describe the Merle Hay cluster$%^& that occurs every day at every hour. They have spent millions of dollars and cleared tons of right-of-way to improve the exiting system and drivers still plod through it like they are plowing prairie grass with an sturdy ox... then swoop into left turning lanes when they realize they really don't want to visit the burgeoning village of Johnston and would rather go down Merle Hay Southbound instead.

It's a head scratcher.... every damn day.
 
Doesn't happen too terribly often, but when there's an accident on say I-35 between Ames and Des Moines and one lane is blocked. Most of the people who have a clue will make an effort right away to get in the proper lane. Then you have the *** hats who zip past everyone and expect someone to let them in. To our chagrin, someone usually does. I never do.

Another minor one is when people have no etiquette when it comes to leaving sporting and other such events.
 
I've driven a lot for business and its always funny when someone else thinks they know the rules of the road...but DON'T! Well funny isn't quite the word!

Yesterday I was clipping along I-80 at about 72 or so. Came up on this red car tailgating a truck, which was in the left lane struggling with a hill. So we all slow down to under 60. The truck finally gets over. The red car putts past the truck and gets over. I resume my cruise and my car is accelerating back to 72. The guy in the red car is accelerating with me and comes up on another truck and freaks out at me that I trapped him in the right lane...then proceeds to follow me for about 5 miles waving his hands.

I chuckled....when we both took the Grinnell exit. He suddenly slowed way down to stay away from me at the first stoplight. He was probably just having a bad day.
 
7. People who honk at you because you don't take a right turn on red when there is a no turn on red sign posted.

I get this all the freaking time at the Lincoln Way & Welch Ave intersection. It's a high traffic location and the cars parked along LW (along the south side) can make it hard to see cars coming anyway.
 
It is the arrogance of the ignorant driver that ignites my anger. Listen, I've cut people off, almost caused accidents, failed to see that red light, etc etc.... But when I know I screwed up, I try to send a signal to my victim that I understand that I was the cause of any uneasiness. If you make eye contact and give a sheepish shrug, or even mouth "My Bad", people tend not to ride your butt for 7 miles with their brights on.

A pedestrians crossing the street: At least make an effort! I have no problem waiting for you. But when I see you starting your trip into the street and your clock is under 5, I expect you to step it up a little.
 
My other favorite is when you're clipping along just fine (right lane, mind you) and a person comes to pass you at about 1 mph faster than you. You come up on somebody else, get pinched, have to slow down and reset cruise. Not the end of the world. But just get around me. You can goose the accelerator a bit.

It is not your God given right or law of the road that traffic yeilds to you when you merge onto the interstate from an on ramp.
Or that you can swerve over in the other lane when that person does not yeild.

That said if you are in the slow lane and you can get over you should, otherwise you are a complete jack***

My two biggest peeves exactly.

And also why do cars with things hanging from their rearview mirror, always seem to be the tailgaters and most reckless drivers? It isn't about age either. I have noticed this for years.
 
Holy crap, it is like you were reading my mind with those two.

My other big one is someone who passes you on the interstate and then two minutes later you are passing them, then they pass you again, and so on, and so on. It's called cruise control, try it.

thats my least favorite, i wanna run them off the road when people do that
 
there is a double right turn intersection that goes to three lanes. the right lane MUST take the right most lane, and the left lane of the double right turn MUST take the middle lane. I always take the left lane going into the right turn so I can honk at the right most lane that tries to butt into the middle lane- this happens soooo often that people dont stay in their lanes making a double turn at an intersection- That is a huge peeve of mine.

the DOT actually put a solid lane marker in the turn to keep the right lane all the way right through the turn, but it wore off because people continued to rub it off with their illegal turns.

I like to think that people complained about a Blue Jetta that was always honking at them and nearly sideswiping them, when they were in fact, in the wrong. It's too bad I couldn't see their faces when they saw the newly painted line and said "oh, I have to take the right lane, not the middle... damn!"
 
Randomly numbered speed zones.

While visiting a friend in New Mexico, I was pulled over for going 25 in an 18 mph zone. Why the hell does an 18 mph zone exist, was 15 too slow but 20 way too damn fast?

Also, people that pass on the interstate only to take the immediate exit.