Road-related pet peeves

[jeffandnicole]

Another that came to mind is drivers who cruise in the fast lanes either at or below the speed limit.  If I pass you on the right, who is in the wrong lane?  Move on over!

I get a lot of that where I live, as Orange County has a lot of tourists driving rental cars about, especially close to the theme parks.  There is many a time I come up on a minivan in the far left lane doing 50. 

A related pet peeve: People driving way slower than normal because they're lost.  Driving 45 mph on a highway trying to look for the next exit to make that u-turn isn't going to get you to that exit any faster, and there aren't going to be any other options anyway. 

Seriously, there's no reason not to turn on your headlights when driving, any time of day, in any weather.  Make it a habit: start the engine, turn on the headlights; turn off the engine, turn off the headlights.

Sorry, not going to happen. The more I use them, the faster they're going to burn out. If my headlights weren't such a PITA to change, I'd have no problem agreeing with you. Until I change cars or the law changes, I'm only going to use my headlights when necessary (dusk/night or inclement weather); I'm not going to run my headlights when it's bright and sunny out.

If your headlights are burning out more often than once every several years, then maybe there's other, more serious issues with your car.

You know, what I could do to be jerkish to drivers is drive the Chicago way and...

A pet peeve among people talking about roads:  People that think something only happens in their region or state.  Guy in my carpool recently started up this "Another Day, another accident on Jersey roads" complaint.  Because accidents only happen in New Jersey. 

People usually justify their opinion because of some ridiculous sample, such as they took a weekend trip to a small town in a rural part of another state, and there was no congestion when they got there at 11am on a Saturday. 

[slorydn1]

Seriously, there's no reason not to turn on your headlights when driving, any time of day, in any weather.  Make it a habit: start the engine, turn on the headlights; turn off the engine, turn off the headlights.

Sorry, not going to happen. The more I use them, the faster they're going to burn out. If my headlights weren't such a PITA to change, I'd have no problem agreeing with you. Until I change cars or the law changes, I'm only going to use my headlights when necessary (dusk/night or inclement weather); I'm not going to run my headlights when it's bright and sunny out.

^This^

It's not a simple $5-10 swap out anymore. Most new cars are going to HID projector headlights and it costs about $80.00 for one new projector lamp bulb (on my Mustang at least).

My lights come on automatically at dusk, and when I turn my wipers on. The rest of the time they are off.

[DaBigE]

Seriously, there's no reason not to turn on your headlights when driving, any time of day, in any weather.  Make it a habit: start the engine, turn on the headlights; turn off the engine, turn off the headlights.

Sorry, not going to happen. The more I use them, the faster they're going to burn out. If my headlights weren't such a PITA to change, I'd have no problem agreeing with you. Until I change cars or the law changes, I'm only going to use my headlights when necessary (dusk/night or inclement weather); I'm not going to run my headlights when it's bright and sunny out.

If your headlights are burning out more often than once every several years, then maybe there's other, more serious issues with your car.

Never said they were. Simple fact that the more you use something, the faster it's prone to wear out. Why use something if you don't need to? If you hit me in broad daylight, you have bigger problems than my headlights not being on.

NHTSA Study on DRL Effectiveness

Back on the topic:
-Parking lot designs, especially ones where someone made an attempt to use MUTCD-compliant signage/markings, but screw-up the implementation
-Improper installation of square-tube posts (the ground sleeve is not supposed to stick up a foot or more out of the ground    )
-People who think the R4-7 Keep Right sign is interchangeable with the W12-1 Double Arrow sign
-Places that don't have a proper sign offset from the face of curb when they have plenty of space to install the sign properly.
-Flashing red approaches that aren't sync'd up and end up looking like railroad crossings from a distance.

[empirestate]

Another that came to mind is drivers who cruise in the fast lanes either at or below the speed limit.  If I pass you on the right, who is in the wrong lane?  Move on over!

Oh, that reminds me of another: Referring to the passing lane as the "fast lane". It gives the impression that the left lane is the appropriate choice as long as one is going "fast", rather than only when one is passing another vehicle..

We in this group know better, of course, but the general public is not always so enlightened.


iPhone

[Big John]

Another that came to mind is drivers who cruise in the fast lanes either at or below the speed limit.  If I pass you on the right, who is in the wrong lane?  Move on over!

Oh, that reminds me of another: Referring to the passing lane as the "fast lane". It gives the impression that the left lane is the appropriate choice as long as one is going "fast", rather than only when one is passing another vehicle..

We in this group know better, of course, but the general public is not always so enlightened.

This song helped perpetrate that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tcXblWojdM

[1995hoo]

I almost always use my headlights when I'm on a two-lane road because they make it easier for oncoming traffic to see my car when deciding whether it's safe to pass. This sort of thing is a major reason why Canada mandated DRLs, and indeed I picked up the habit of using headlights on two-lane roads from seeing Canadians do it in the 1980s prior to the advent of DRLs. It's pretty much a reflex for me by now–turn onto a two-lane road, turn on the headlights.

[kphoger]

Lane stripes that don't line up across an intersection.

The wrong shield blank used for a route marker. Seriously, if these people can't figure out which shield blank to use, who can?

Calling an old alignment or a business route by simply the number; e.g. 71 in Springdale, AR, instead of 71-Business (in common parlance) and Highway 50 in O'Fallon, IL, instead of Old Hwy 50 (officially).

'Obey Warning Signs' signs in Texas. Literally impossible to obey, yet I still worry I'll get a ticket.

Missouri's tendency to call something '## Highway' instead of 'Highway ##'.

That shoulders aren't to be driven on here. Seriously, Mexican-style passing is so much superior, it's such an annoyance to arrive back in the States and get stuck behind some slowpoke.

[DaBigE]

Lane stripes that don't line up across an intersection.

That, and lines that look like they were applied by someone who was drunk.

[PurdueBill]

Lane stripes that don't line up across an intersection.

That, and lines that look like they were applied by someone who was drunk.

Sorry, I was eating a Milky Way and I have no regerts.

[Buffaboy]

One more: "Highways are more dangerous than at-grade streets and need to be downgraded in cities."

[silverback1065]

One more: "Highways are more dangerous than at-grade streets and need to be downgraded in cities."

wait?! people actually think this? omg

[PaulRAnderson]

Seriously, there's no reason not to turn on your headlights when driving, any time of day, in any weather.  Make it a habit: start the engine, turn on the headlights; turn off the engine, turn off the headlights.

I find headlights on during the daytime distracting.  Daytime running lights are a little better.

Paul

[silverback1065]

I don't see any point in having headlights on during the day, they serve no purpose, if you can't see someone during broad daylight, maybe you should go see your eye doctor.

[vtk]

Okay, so I've heard at least one reason not to use headlights all the time.

I still believe there are situations, possibly even in daytime / fair weather, where a car with headlights on is more visible than a car with headlights off, and the driver of that car is not in a position to be aware of it.

Therefore it is my personal policy to always drive with headlights on.  It is also my employer's policy to always drive company vehicles with headlights on, and I presume it's for the same reason.

In Ohio the law requires using headlights in rain or snow, as well as a half-hour before sunset until a half hour after sunrise.  (Yes, [citation needed].)  When people don't use their headlights on a sunny day, I probably don't even notice it; when people don't use their headlights when Ohio law requires it, I can get rather annoyed.

[DaBigE]

In Ohio the law requires using headlights in rain or snow, as well as a half-hour before sunset until a half hour after sunrise.

Wisconsin's sunset/sunrise law is similar, IIRC.

when people don't use their headlights when Ohio law requires it, I can get rather annoyed.

Me too, although I'd replace "Ohio law" with "common sense". Case-in-point, my morning commute yesterday was shrouded in fairly dense fog. About three blocks from my office, I encountered a white Dodge minivan heading the opposite direction without any lights on.

[1995hoo]

I think there needs to be a distinction between "what the law requires" and "what common sense requires." Just because the law may not require you to turn on your headlights does not mean it's OK for you to fail to do so if conditions require otherwise. A good example is when the late-afternoon sun is close to the horizon, blindingly bright, and you're on an east-west highway in either direction. The sun can sometimes make it damn hard to see other vehicles, especially if the sun glare is bad enough to require sunglasses but the other cars on the road are in shadow. It's really annoying when some people don't turn on their lights in that situation. I always look in my mirrors and if I have any trouble seeing a car behind me, I turn on my lights; I also turn them on if I have any trouble seeing a car coming the other way if I'm on a road with no median. Generally-speaking, I err on the side of turning them on.

(The foregoing situation is also one where it may be improper to maintain the posted speed limit if visibility is bad, and in my mind, the problem of the invisible cars just provides another reason to consider slowing down.)

What I really don't understand is the people who drive with just their parking lights. It serves no purpose whatsoever. I can only conclude that there are a lot of people out there who think headlights exist for one purpose only–to help you see the road ahead. It never occurs to them that headlights are also important for helping other people see you.

[jwolfer]

Seriously, there's no reason not to turn on your headlights when driving, any time of day, in any weather.  Make it a habit: start the engine, turn on the headlights; turn off the engine, turn off the headlights.

I find headlights on during the daytime distracting.  Daytime running lights are a little better.

Paul

In my parents Suzuki the DRLs are the same as low beam  headlights

[OCGuy81]

Who here has that one friend or family member that insists on reading EVERY. DAMN. BILLBOARD and sign while on a road trip?

I love her, but that's my mom when we're driving long distances.

I think this could qualify as a road related peeve.

[1995hoo]

Something I thought of today that I count as a road-related pet peeve because the only time it's an issue is when I'm driving:

Gas stations that only display the price for the lowest-octane grade of gas, or for that grade and diesel. Display all three grades, dammit! Unless I know a given station usually charges less than the others nearby, or unless I'm stopped at a red light and I have time to look at the GasBuddy app, I'll pick a station that shows the price for 93 octane over one that doesn't simply because I know prior to pulling in what price I'll see.

[OCGuy81]

Something I thought of today that I count as a road-related pet peeve because the only time it's an issue is when I'm driving:

Gas stations that only display the price for the lowest-octane grade of gas, or for that grade and diesel. Display all three grades, dammit! Unless I know a given station usually charges less than the others nearby, or unless I'm stopped at a red light and I have time to look at the GasBuddy app, I'll pick a station that shows the price for 93 octane over one that doesn't simply because I know prior to pulling in what price I'll see.

That's a pretty good one!

I'd also add gas stations that advertise the cash price on their signs, but show the credit prices on a small little display when you pull in (usually about 10 cents higher).

[1995hoo]

Something I thought of today that I count as a road-related pet peeve because the only time it's an issue is when I'm driving:

Gas stations that only display the price for the lowest-octane grade of gas, or for that grade and diesel. Display all three grades, dammit! Unless I know a given station usually charges less than the others nearby, or unless I'm stopped at a red light and I have time to look at the GasBuddy app, I'll pick a station that shows the price for 93 octane over one that doesn't simply because I know prior to pulling in what price I'll see.

That's a pretty good one!

I'd also add gas stations that advertise the cash price on their signs, but show the credit prices on a small little display when you pull in (usually about 10 cents higher).

Thankfully, most stations around here charge the same price for cash or credit. It always annoys me when we drive south that stations in South Carolina usually charge more.

Yesterday I passed a station that was charging $2.099 for 87 octane and $2.999 for 93 octane. That struck me as a bit of an excessive difference. I remember when the difference between grades was typically 10¢. I wonder why it tends to be so much wider of a gap these days.

[Big John]

Who here has that one friend or family member that insists on reading EVERY. DAMN. BILLBOARD and sign while on a road trip?

I love her, but that's my mom when we're driving long distances.

I think this could qualify as a road related peeve.

[OCGuy81]

Who here has that one friend or family member that insists on reading EVERY. DAMN. BILLBOARD and sign while on a road trip?

I love her, but that's my mom when we're driving long distances.

I think this could qualify as a road related peeve.

LMAO! I don't think I'd seen that particular episode, but it's dead on.

[kphoger]

What I really don't understand is the people who drive with just their parking lights. It serves no purpose whatsoever. I can only conclude that there are a lot of people out there who think headlights exist for one purpose only–to help you see the road ahead. It never occurs to them that headlights are also important for helping other people see you.

While this is not a practice I engage in outside of parking lots (and then so as to not blind other people walking, in front of me at the drive-through, etc), I always assumed people did it precisely so others could see them. It's usually done at dawn out dusk, so I've always thought the drivers thought it was bright enough to see well without headlights but dark enough to help others see them.

I do sometimes use a combination of parking lights and fog lights (not sure how common it is for a car to provide this combination). I do this in parking lots without adequate overhead lighting, particularly dim parking garages, and also in misty or foggy conditions.

[1995hoo]

Who here has that one friend or family member that insists on reading EVERY. DAMN. BILLBOARD and sign while on a road trip?

I love her, but that's my mom when we're driving long distances.

I think this could qualify as a road related peeve.

I've probably mentioned this before, but when my brother and I were kids, we'd go to New York for a week every summer to visit our grandparents. They lived in Bay Ridge and every day we drove to Breezy Point, via the Belt Parkway, to go to the beach; usually our two cousins were with us as well. To my parents' long-lasting chagrin, our grandfather got us started reading all the road signs exactly as they're written–e.g., "Ocean Pkwy" sounded like "Ocean Pickway" and "Shell Rd" sounded like "Shell Rid." For years, all of us screamed out all the road signs twice a day as we made that drive. Looking back, I'm sure my parents wanted to smack us silly.

(Many years later, after we had outgrown that silliness, we were up there riding with my grandfather again for one of the final times before he died, and as we were driving along he suddenly said "Coney Is Ave!" The look my mother shot him was venomous.)