If you've been following Em-i-lis for a while, you know that there a quite a few characteristics of other drivers that propel me to the edge. For you newer readers, here is a summation of the ones I've previously noted, followed by the newest peeving action:
--drivers who, upon seeing long lines of traffic, race up the shoulder and cut in: a) you aren’t fooling anyone, and b) I think this behavior is evidence of an underlying character flaw;
--when one driver, B, pulls up behind another, A, at a red light or stop sign but fully brakes ten feet behind A such that B is blocking the entrance to a driveway or new lane that emerges for right turns. You, C, are then stuck waiting behind lazy B instead of being able to turn in or turn right;
--when you’re on a two-lane highway (two lanes in each direction) and the car ahead of you in each lane is driving not only slowly but also at the exact pace of their next-lane counterpart such that you are stuck behind both, fuming at Mr. Left Lane who should be snailing it with Mr. Right Lane over on his side;
--when the driver in front of you (or your husband) does not have a stop sign at an intersection but fully stops anyway. To me this seems to be just asking to get walloped from behind, and in fact, I have hit my DH from behind for just this reason;
--when the driver in front of you fully stops at the pedestrian cross walk even though there are no pedestrians in sight for miles. See sentence 2 in previous bullet point for rationale here. I am all about pedestrians having the right-of-way WHEN there are pedestrians around;
--turn your blinker off if you already made your turn or do not intend to do so. Conversely, turn your blinker ON if you’re going to turn. Driver’s Ed 101 people;
--excessively large cars; if you need a springboard to get into your car and specialized mirrors to see around and behind you, your vehicle is absurd;
--bad drivers who become even worse drivers in -gasp- rain. Just don’t drive, people.
--the dumb dumb jerky driver I encountered one morning while driving Jack to camp. Both boys were in the car, and I’m always more careful when they are, especially when I didn’t get to finish my quad latte before we left. I need every bit, friends. Anyway, this a-hole in a silver, MD-plate SUV was up my butt for about a mile; every time he tried to pass me, he was thwarted, so when I saw him start to gesticulate angrily, I wasn’t real surprised. I was, however, peeved. I mean, unless you are bleeding profusely or your wife is having a baby in the car or something along those lines of severity, calm the eff down and back off of my tail. He finally did manage to speed past me, and do you know where I saw him head? To the damn Giant (supermarket). Really? You’re in that much of a hurry to get to the Giant? Calm down, sir.
--**and finally: when people, looking for street parking, drive up to a space that is definitely large enough to accommodate two cars but choose instead to park smack dab in the middle so that no one else can share the wealth. Uncool people.
Wow, this list has gotten quite lengthy but I'm standing firmly behind the feeling that all these irritations are justified and shared by many.
