The most common driver mistake that you see where you live?

[kphoger]

* Yield (you can keep moving if no conflicts - especially when you're on a ramp with an added lane)
* Merge (see Yield, except even stupider)

Oooh!  Big time peeve!  I use a Texas turnaround pretty much every day to get on Kellogg (seen here).  Even though there is no yield sign, and even though one need not merge into another lane to enter Kellogg (which at least 70% of the cars on the turnaround are doing), some people still come to a complete stop to wait for everybody else to change lanes into their my lane.

* Yield (you can keep moving if no conflicts - especially when you're on a ramp with an added lane)

do added-lane on ramps even have YIELD signs?  I don't think I've explicitly noticed one way or the other.

Some places use them, others don't.

[J N Winkler]

Turning left-to-right or right-to-left - also common everywhere and usually not dangerous, typically only enforced in the Nazi states of Bel Aire and Park City (& al.).

In some states--e.g. Texas--it is de jure legal.  It isn't just in the suburbs that there have been enforcement blitzes; the Wichita Police Department stages them from time to time.  It was precisely this maneuver which gave a police officer probable cause to stop Chris Cherches, who at the time (mid-1990's) was city manager.  Cherches was driving a city-owned car and was reported to have been drinking.  DUI in a city-owned vehicle is grounds for instant termination, but it was eventually decided either that the bust was not good or that prosecution would not proceed for other reasons, so Cherches got to keep his job until several years later, when he was forced to resign as a result of an outcry over his finance director's $35,000 expenses bill (which included a bottle of wine for which the city was charged several hundred dollars).

Using your TWLTL in public Using a TWLTL to stage a left exit turn - very common everywhere, borderline necessary (try getting around Branson without it!), and explicitly permitted by Kansas law ("a vehicle shall not be driven in the lane except when preparing for or making a left turn from or into the roadway...").

I actually hadn't realized it was legal, but I still think it is a bad maneuver because it potentially puts the vehicle attempting to stage the left turn out of a driveway on a collision course with another vehicle moving into the TWLTL to wait for a left turn.  The vehicle in the driveway is not guaranteed to be able to see the vehicle about to move into the TWLTL because the line of vision can easily be occluded by other vehicles which have just passed the driveway.

Cutting someone off by turning into the other lane - doesn't seem to be prohibited by law, other than the aforementioned right-to-right and left-to-left issue (in fact, I know of one heavily trafficked intersection in Illinois that had simultaneous opposing green left- and right-turn arrows, i.e. west-to-north and east-to-north movements), but does have the potential for a wreck.

A person who allows himself to cut off someone else who is in his desired direction of travel but not actually in his target lane gets more gaps in traffic that he is willing to accept.  But it is definitely not consistent with defensive driving.  I won't say I have never done it, but I try to avoid it.

Changing lanes within an intersection - quite innocuous unless someone is waiting for a break in traffic to turn into the unoccupied lane (see Cutting someone off by turning into... above).

In most cases it may be innocuous, but it is de jure illegal and a person can be ticketed for it.  I generally avoid changing lanes within intersections for this reason.  It has the side effect of ensuring that I don't confuse anyone waiting at the intersection whom I cannot see but who can see my turn signal (I always signal lane changes) and misinterpret it to our mutual disadvantage.

[J N Winkler]

Oooh!  Big time peeve!  I use a Texas turnaround pretty much every day to get on Kellogg (seen here).  Even though there is no yield sign, and even though one need not merge into another lane to enter Kellogg (which at least 70% of the cars on the turnaround are doing), some people still come to a complete stop to wait for everybody else to change lanes into their my lane.

You would probably be angry at me:  I usually do precisely this thing (coming to a full stop and waiting in a yield-controlled channel lane) when turning right from Windmill Road to Zoo Boulevard.  The channel lane becomes a gained lane on Zoo Boulevard which becomes right-turn-only for I-235 southbound at the next signalized intersection, just over the bridge across the Big Ditch (so not very far away).  I usually slow down or stop when there is traffic coming down Zoo through the Windmill Road light not because I want to aggravate the vehicles following me, but because I want to move left for the left-turn lane at the I-235 northbound ramp, and cannot do this easily if I have to contend with vehicles on Zoo Boulevard moving right for I-235 southbound.

I can keep moving at the yield only when I actually want to turn onto I-235 southbound (which rarely happens) or when the Windmill Road light is red for traffic on Zoo.

[Revive 755]

Where, oh where do I begin?  It's hard to figure out what is the the most common driver mistake around Chicagoland.  Is it red light running, stopping past the stop line, stopping a car length or more behind the stop line, lack of turn signals, changing multiple lanes at once, or making a bolting run from the far lane to make an exit?

I'm surprised making a left turn from a driveway or side street by pulling out and blocking cross traffic from the left isn't on your list.

[kphoger]

Turning left-to-right or right-to-left - also common everywhere and usually not dangerous, typically only enforced in the Nazi states of Bel Aire and Park City (& al.).

In some states--e.g. Texas--it is de jure legal. 

Texas law permits turning left into the right lane (except for a one-way street exception), but prohibits turning right into the left lane (see the appropriate vehicle code here).  I think they did that just to mess with your head.

Changing lanes within an intersection - quite innocuous unless someone is waiting for a break in traffic to turn into the unoccupied lane (see Cutting someone off by turning into... above).

In most cases it may be innocuous, but it is de jure illegal and a person can be ticketed for it.  I generally avoid changing lanes within intersections for this reason.  It has the side effect of ensuring that I don't confuse anyone waiting at the intersection whom I cannot see but who can see my turn signal (I always signal lane changes) and misinterpret it to our mutual disadvantage.

The definition of "intersection" has led me to abandon the dream of never changing lanes within an intersection.  Travelling at 45 mph, for example, it is quite difficult to time a lane change such that there is no minor cross street at any point during the maneuver–unless I make a very abrupt lane change, which I try to avoid (I change lanes more gradually than most drivers).  At what point an intersection becomes "major" enough to warrant me not changing lanes is ambiguous:  I rarely change lanes within a signalized intersection, for example, but it isn't unheard of; minor side streets don't factor one bit into my decision.

Oooh!  Big time peeve!  I use a Texas turnaround pretty much every day to get on Kellogg (seen here).  Even though there is no yield sign, and even though one need not merge into another lane to enter Kellogg (which at least 70% of the cars on the turnaround are doing), some people still come to a complete stop to wait for everybody else to change lanes into their my lane.

You would probably be angry at me:  I usually do precisely this thing (coming to a full stop and waiting in a yield-controlled channel lane) when turning right from Windmill Road to Zoo Boulevard.  The channel lane becomes a gained lane on Zoo Boulevard which becomes right-turn-only for I-235 southbound at the next signalized intersection, just over the bridge across the Big Ditch (so not very far away).  I usually slow down or stop when there is traffic coming down Zoo through the Windmill Road light not because I want to aggravate the vehicles following me, but because I want to move left for the left-turn lane at the I-235 northbound ramp, and cannot do this easily if I have to contend with vehicles on Zoo Boulevard moving right for I-235 southbound.

I can keep moving at the yield only when I actually want to turn onto I-235 southbound (which rarely happens) or when the Windmill Road light is red for traffic on Zoo.

I've noticed that many drivers–yourself included, I guess–mistakenly think the gained lane becomes a right turn-only lane for SB I-235.  In fact, it is an option lane for SB I-235 (easily see the two-headed arrow here), and only becomes an "only" lane for NB I-235.  You can very well just stay in the rightmost lane the whole way, which I've done several times.  That isn't to say there aren't a lot of cars in the rightmost lane, and that you mightn't be better off merging left and then right again, but that's another matter.  So, yes, you would annoy me–though I wouldn't exactly call it anger.

[Brandon]

Where, oh where do I begin?  It's hard to figure out what is the the most common driver mistake around Chicagoland.  Is it red light running, stopping past the stop line, stopping a car length or more behind the stop line, lack of turn signals, changing multiple lanes at once, or making a bolting run from the far lane to make an exit?

I'm surprised making a left turn from a driveway or side street by pulling out and blocking cross traffic from the left isn't on your list.

Aw fuck, how the hell could I forget that asshole move.  That only happens about 10 times a day at the Speedway about a mile and a half away on US-30.

Changing lanes within an intersection - quite innocuous unless someone is waiting for a break in traffic to turn into the unoccupied lane (see Cutting someone off by turning into... above).

In most cases it may be innocuous, but it is de jure illegal and a person can be ticketed for it.  I generally avoid changing lanes within intersections for this reason.  It has the side effect of ensuring that I don't confuse anyone waiting at the intersection whom I cannot see but who can see my turn signal (I always signal lane changes) and misinterpret it to our mutual disadvantage.

Since when was this illegal on a multilane street?  On a two-lane, yes, but I've never seen where it is illegal when you have multiple lanes in your direction.  You wait for traffic to clear all lanes before moving out into traffic, otherwise the accident is your fault.

[NE2]

do added-lane on ramps even have YIELD signs?  I don't think I've explicitly noticed one way or the other.

There's this - not an onramp to a freeway, but a new lane begins on the surface road: https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.386115,-81.506474&spn=0.008608,0.016512&gl=us&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=28.386216,-81.506458&panoid=sGWa_-s1afOvIee4G4d9_w&cbp=12,209.47,,0,0.23
Per placement, it might be intended to mean yield to peds, but it might also mean that you're not supposed to go if traffic is entering from the intersection because they might cut you off to turn right into the 7-Eleven.

[NE2]

Changing lanes within an intersection - quite innocuous unless someone is waiting for a break in traffic to turn into the unoccupied lane (see Cutting someone off by turning into... above).

In most cases it may be innocuous, but it is de jure illegal and a person can be ticketed for it.

Not in Florida (but the FHP could probably ticket you for it anyway; they lie about the legality of crossing a single solid white line).

[realjd]

Where to start here in Florida? We get people from all over the world moving and visiting here and they all bring their bad habits. My pet peeves:

* Assuming I'm turning left into the left lane and turning right on red into my intended path. Yes, I know NY has a left-to-left law but we don't and you have FL plates. Learn the local laws!

* Stopping for a school bus on the other side of a divide road with a median. Again, we're not in NY. Learn the local laws!

* Emergency flashers on in the rain or in fog. Flashers are for stopped cars ONLY and driving with them on is a significant safety hazard. FHP will ticket for it. But do turn in your headlights. Cars with hazards on but not headlights = double fail.

* Driving below the speed limit. I understand that NY would have signed the road at 30 but here in FL it's 45. Stop blocking traffic.

* Pulling out and blocking an entire direction of traffic to make a left turn. WTF? Go back to Long Island.

* Merging into the freeway at 35 mph. This isn't just the old folks from up north. Extra fail if they have to stop at the end of the merge lane because they can't find a gap big enough to squeeze in while going half the speed of traffic.

*Disclaimer* I know not all NYers are bad drivers, but y'all have figured out how to export your angriest and most senile elderly population to my fine state and they constantly annoy me. And I'm including NJ under the "NY" umbrella because I can.

[xcellntbuy]

Move to south Florida and will see every possible traffic rule and law broken multiple times in some horrific fashion almost every day.

[agentsteel53]

* Emergency flashers on in the rain or in fog. Flashers are for stopped cars ONLY and driving with them on is a significant safety hazard. FHP will ticket for it. But do turn in your headlights. Cars with hazards on but not headlights = double fail.

this must be different than in California, because here trucks use their flashers - in good weather and bad - when they're chugging up a hill doing 25 in a 65.

I've used the flashers myself when I had a flat tire and was crawling to the next exit, and also in the fog when I'm going 10 in a 65 (oh that was a fun one, over Siskiyou Pass).

I think flashers as "driver going abnormally slow" is a fairly good universal rule.

[kphoger]

Changing lanes within an intersection - quite innocuous unless someone is waiting for a break in traffic to turn into the unoccupied lane (see Cutting someone off by turning into... above).

In most cases it may be innocuous, but it is de jure illegal and a person can be ticketed for it.  I generally avoid changing lanes within intersections for this reason.  It has the side effect of ensuring that I don't confuse anyone waiting at the intersection whom I cannot see but who can see my turn signal (I always signal lane changes) and misinterpret it to our mutual disadvantage.

Since when was this illegal on a multilane street?  On a two-lane, yes, but I've never seen where it is illegal when you have multiple lanes in your direction.  You wait for traffic to clear all lanes before moving out into traffic, otherwise the accident is your fault.

Wait.... Are you saying you didn't think it was illegal, but you assumed any accident resulting from doing so would be your fault?  I guess both of those can be true, but it seemed strange to read it.

For what it's worth, I can similarly find no vehicle code in Kansas law which prohibits changing lanes within an intersection–even though I was told in driver's ed that it's prohibited.  J N Winkler, can you provide a code reference?

* rain or in fog ...  do turn [on] your headlights.

Oh, how could I have missed that one!  Grrr.....

* Emergency flashers on in the rain or in fog. Flashers are for stopped cars ONLY and driving with them on is a significant safety hazard. FHP will ticket for it. But do turn in your headlights. Cars with hazards on but not headlights = double fail.

this must be different than in California, because here trucks use their flashers - in good weather and bad - when they're chugging up a hill doing 25 in a 65.

I've used the flashers myself when I had a flat tire and was crawling to the next exit, and also in the fog when I'm going 10 in a 65 (oh that was a fun one, over Siskiyou Pass).

I think flashers as "driver going abnormally slow" is a fairly good universal rule.

Agreed.  I've used flashers when going abnormally slow.  My cutoff is probably around 15 mph under the legal maximum.  In those situations, I only turned them on when traffic was approaching from behind, and turned them off when no one was behind me.  I greatly appreciate it when slow-moving vehicles use their hazards.

However, when I first read realjd's post, I didn't assume the cars in question were driving abnormally slowly.  I just thought maybe drivers in Florida had a habit of flipping them on whenever the weather was icky.  Makes more sense now, though.

[J N Winkler]

The definition of "intersection" has led me to abandon the dream of never changing lanes within an intersection.  Travelling at 45 mph, for example, it is quite difficult to time a lane change such that there is no minor cross street at any point during the maneuver–unless I make a very abrupt lane change, which I try to avoid (I change lanes more gradually than most drivers).

I don't have this problem, largely because the streets I drive on that are zoned for 45 MPH do not have cross streets at typical city-block density.  At 35 or 40 MPH I can usually execute a lane change without difficulty in the length of a typical short city block.  I consider my lane changes to be neither gradual nor abrupt--I just try to maintain consistency in signalling them well in advance.  Cutting the amount of this advance notice to accommodate tight intersection spacing is the one concession I make.

The requirement to avoid changing lane within intersections is actually more of a problem for me on 70 MPH expressways, such as K-254 between Bel Aire and El Dorado.  There are two scenarios that come up from time to time:  (a) I am in the right lane and want to pass a slower vehicle but have to pull into pole position and drop my speed until I clear a section-line intersection so I can move to the left lane and begin my overtaking maneuver, or (b) I am in the left lane, having just overtaken a vehicle in the right lane, and I would like to move right so I can let the vehicle following me execute its own overtaking maneuver, but a section-line intersection is coming up and I have to clear it before I can move right.

Even if there were no law against changing lane within intersections, I would not want to engage my turn signal upstream of an intersection unless I were actually making a turn there, because misinterpretations and misjudgments very quickly become fatal at 70 MPH.

I've noticed that many drivers–yourself included, I guess–mistakenly think the gained lane becomes a right turn-only lane for SB I-235.  In fact, it is an option lane for SB I-235 (easily see the two-headed arrow here), and only becomes an "only" lane for NB I-235.  You can very well just stay in the rightmost lane the whole way, which I've done several times.  That isn't to say there aren't a lot of cars in the rightmost lane, and that you mightn't be better off merging left and then right again, but that's another matter.  So, yes, you would annoy me–though I wouldn't exactly call it anger.

I take your correction, but in the usual scenario I intend to turn left at the ramp for northbound I-235, i.e., not into that ramp but rather into Westdale Drive.  There is usually enough congestion in the I-235 interchange area (largely because the ramp lights are rarely green at the same time, so traffic on Zoo rarely achieves smooth flow through both signals) that if I have not made the far left lane by the southbound I-235 ramp, I have no hope of getting into the left-turn bay at the northbound ramp.  The issue here is really one of gap acceptance--I insist on a much wider gap for this sequence of lane changes than you or I would be prepared to accept for a different itinerary.  (This is not to say that I wouldn't still annoy you if you also wanted to turn onto Westdale, since I coast up to stoplights to limit powertrain and brake wear.)

[realjd]

this must be different than in California, because here trucks use their flashers - in good weather and bad - when they're chugging up a hill doing 25 in a 65.

I've used the flashers myself when I had a flat tire and was crawling to the next exit, and also in the fog when I'm going 10 in a 65 (oh that was a fun one, over Siskiyou Pass).

I think flashers as "driver going abnormally slow" is a fairly good universal rule.

Agreed.  I've used flashers when going abnormally slow.  My cutoff is probably around 15 mph under the legal maximum.  In those situations, I only turned them on when traffic was approaching from behind, and turned them off when no one was behind me.  I greatly appreciate it when slow-moving vehicles use their hazards.

However, when I first read realjd's post, I didn't assume the cars in question were driving abnormally slowly.  I just thought maybe drivers in Florida had a habit of flipping them on whenever the weather was icky.  Makes more sense now, though.

I did mean when the weather is icky, particularly in hard rain and fog. If someone is going abnormally slow in good conditions, I agree hazard lights should be on since the vehicle is indeed a hazard. But in reduced visibility conditions when everyone is going slow? Hazard lights mean stopped, not "look at me these lights are bright!!!1". They can send the wrong message in critical cases when the lights are the only message, and they cause significant glare, particularly rearward. It's a problem everywhere but more so here because it rains so often.

Sources:
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/10682051/troopers-address-hazard-light-dangers
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2006-07-16/news/0607150206_1_sunpass-florida-s-turnpike-enterprise-windshields
http://www.lakecountyfl.gov/documents/employee_services/safety_program/driving_in_the_rain.pdf

Also, California:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/honk-356806-stickers-vehicles.html

[lepidopteran]

Vehicles tailgating you in the right lane, sometimes above the speed limit, because they want to get off the highway soon.

Vehicles tailgating you to go faster, when there's obviously a red light ahead (accusations of "hypermiling", anyone?), and even if there are 3+ cars ahead of you waiting at the signal, in which case the added speed wouldn't help even if the light did turn green right away.

It's not the best highway design to put a freeway merge in the left lane.  But when it does happen, and one is unable or unwilling to break the speed limit for whatever reason, there's this trap: you merge in on the left, and immediately signal to get over to the right lane, where you "belong".  But no one will let you over; no sooner does one car pass on the right, that the guy behind you changes lanes and passes you on the right as well.  (Mad that you're blocking the left lane, but won't let you do anything about it either.)  Repeat the cycle for a mile or two.  Meanwhile, you're constantly focusing on your mirrors, not the road ahead of you as you should be.

[realjd]

Vehicles tailgating you in the right lane, sometimes above the speed limit, because they want to get off the highway soon.

That reminds me of another one here in FL. Not only do people try to merge onto the freeway at 40, they think they have to exit at that speed also. People will often move to the right lane and start driving really slow in preparation for the ever so slight right deflection into the actual deceleration lane. And then they'll floor it trying to race the light at the end of the ramp.

Another unrelated one: people who accelerate very... slowly... but have a high top speed, particularly on suburban arterials with widely spaced stop lights.

[kphoger]

The definition of "intersection" has led me to abandon the dream of never changing lanes within an intersection.  Travelling at 45 mph, for example, it is quite difficult to time a lane change such that there is no minor cross street at any point during the maneuver–unless I make a very abrupt lane change, which I try to avoid (I change lanes more gradually than most drivers).

I don't have this problem, largely because the streets I drive on that are zoned for 45 MPH do not have cross streets at typical city-block density.  At 35 or 40 MPH I can usually execute a lane change without difficulty in the length of a typical short city block.  I consider my lane changes to be neither gradual nor abrupt--I just try to maintain consistency in signalling them well in advance.  Cutting the amount of this advance notice to accommodate tight intersection spacing is the one concession I make.

The requirement to avoid changing lane within intersections is actually more of a problem for me on 70 MPH expressways, such as K-254 between Bel Aire and El Dorado.  There are two scenarios that come up from time to time:  (a) I am in the right lane and want to pass a slower vehicle but have to pull into pole position and drop my speed until I clear a section-line intersection so I can move to the left lane and begin my overtaking maneuver, or (b) I am in the left lane, having just overtaken a vehicle in the right lane, and I would like to move right so I can let the vehicle following me execute its own overtaking maneuver, but a section-line intersection is coming up and I have to clear it before I can move right.

Even if there were no law against changing lane within intersections, I would not want to engage my turn signal upstream of an intersection unless I were actually making a turn there, because misinterpretations and misjudgments very quickly become fatal at 70 MPH.

We definitely have different driving habits!  I can't imagine driving such that I would drop my speed and wait to pass a truck just because I was approaching some gravel cross road, or that I would "hog" the left lane with someone wanting to pass me for the same reason.  Also, the roads I drive 45 mph on generally aren't signed for 45.  A good example would be Ridge Road between Maple and Central:  nine intersections within one mile, and I'm typically driving somewhere around 45—48 mph (40 zone).  Ain't no way I'm going to try and time my lane changes to fit neatly within those intersections.



How about these fairly universal ones:

Stopping within the crosswalk at a stop sign or stoplight.

Parking in a driveway with your car blocking the sidewalk.

And I don't know how it is elsewhere but, around here, when it snows, people think they no longer have to use their turn signals, look in their mirrors, or basically watch out for anybody else on the road.  Wouldn't it make sense to be more careful in inclement weather?

[kkt]

Most common violation -- still driving slightly over posted speed limits, though talking and texting on cellphones are coming up fast.

[kphoger]

Another unrelated one: people who accelerate very... slowly... but have a high top speed, particularly on suburban arterials with widely spaced stop lights.

I do this one, to some extent.  Save a bundle on gasoline.

I had a roommate who did nothing but suburban driving in Chicagoland, yet he got more than 10 mpg better than his car's rating.  He did it by accelerating slowly, driving in a high gear (5th gear in a 35 zone was common for him), and immediately putting it in neutral when the next light turned red.  I used to experiment with acceleration and top speed on arterials with widely spaced stoplights in DuPage County, and found that neither one had very much effect at all on my overall trip time.  In fact, I would frequently pass drivers who had passed me minutes earlier.  I'd say accelerating quickly does the most good on urban roads with closely spaced stoplights, and the least good the farther apart the signals are.

[realjd]

Another unrelated one: people who accelerate very... slowly... but have a high top speed, particularly on suburban arterials with widely spaced stop lights.

I do this one, to some extent.  Save a bundle on gasoline.

I had a roommate who did nothing but suburban driving in Chicagoland, yet he got more than 10 mpg better than his car's rating.  He did it by accelerating slowly, driving in a high gear (5th gear in a 35 zone was common for him), and immediately putting it in neutral when the next light turned red.  I used to experiment with acceleration and top speed on arterials with widely spaced stoplights in DuPage County, and found that neither one had very much effect at all on my overall trip time.  In fact, I would frequently pass drivers who had passed me minutes earlier.  I'd say accelerating quickly does the most good on urban roads with closely spaced stoplights, and the least good the farther apart the signals are.

I didn't say slow acceleration didn't make sense from a practical standpoint, only that it was a pet peeve of mine I'm sure folks like you get just as annoyed at people like me who race away when the light turns green only to top out at around 5 over the limit. We'll just keep passing each other over and over again for miles!

[allniter89]

Around here it's riding in the left lane for no reason. It seems most of these drivers are females in SUVs, I know because I turn to flip them off as I pass on the right! I think their problem is they dont know how to drive something that big and they dont know how to use their mirrors correctly to see that its safe to change lanes.
Just as bad is two vehicles riding side by side doing the same speed for miles and miles. Speed up, slow down, drive into the median I dont care get outta my way!
Not a mistake but just uncool is passing a long line of stopped traffic that you know is waiting to turn right and then forcing your way in at the last minute. I will NOT let you in front of me, if it comes to a collision so be it.
People driving without lights in the rain or at sunset. In my truck anytime I was on a road with cross traffic my headlights were on, I wanted people to see me from as far away as possible, 80,000 lbs coming atcha.

[oscar]

Changing lanes within an intersection - quite innocuous unless someone is waiting for a break in traffic to turn into the unoccupied lane (see Cutting someone off by turning into... above).

I don't know about the legalities, but I don't do that because when I did it during my driver's test in California in the early '70s, that was the only thing the examiner dinged me on (not enough to flunk the test, though).

[theline]

A common mistake made on Indiana surface streets that I haven't seen elsewhere is to drift to the left before making a right turn. The driver gets in the turn lane, or near the curb in the absence of a turn lane, and drifts well to the left before turning. It looks almost like the driver has to "wind up" the steering wheel. This can be a hazard to those continuing straight through.

Another practice in South Bend that is so common that it can hardly be considered an "error" is entering intersections on yellow or "pink" lights. Stopping for yellow lights here is so rare that you're asking to be rear-ended if you do. I'm often amazed when I think I was really pushing it entering an intersection late on a yellow, that turned red before I cleared the intersection. I glance back in the mirror and see that two cars have followed me through!

I can only figure that the practice of running pink lights has developed from the frequent icy winter (and fall and spring) road conditions, which make slamming on the brakes ill-advised. And the fact that the local authorities seem to have little interest in enforcing "minor" infractions.

[Kacie Jane]

Stopping within the crosswalk at a stop sign or stoplight.

I will admit that I do this pretty frequently, but due to design issues.  If I stop behind the actual stop line at some intersections, I have absolutely no hope of seeing beyond the parked cars to the actual travel lane.

[wphiii]

the most common driver mistake around Chicagoland.

Turning left after the light turned red seven seconds ago.

To be fair, at least around here, a lot of times it's the people coming from the opposite direction that cause this to happen. The person trying to turn left has pulled out into the intersection, as he/she should, and then has no choice but to wait to finish making the turn until the jerks coming from the other direction decide to stop running the light.

We also have something we call "the Pittsburgh left" - and I am hesitant to take full credit for this maneuver as a region, but I honestly have not seen it so widely practiced anywhere else that I have ever been - wherein a car waiting to make a left turn at a red light floors it as soon as the light changes and makes the turn in front of the oncoming traffic. Not really a "mistake," per se, as it's a conscious decision, but still totally improper.

Another one that really irritates me is when people don't signal before attempting to parallel park when there's clearly other traffic right behind them.