Driving me crazy.
I really hate Minnesota drivers. Really, I do.
Technically, I’m also a Minnesota driver, but I mostly avoid the typical driving quirks you find in and around the Twin Cities. I have an ever-growing list of things that annoy me about the drivers around here, such as:
1. Being timid - if you are going to change lanes, just DO it. Don’t linger between lanes while you wait for inspiration.
2. Inconsistent speeds - this one is especially bad on our highways. Speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down. Pick a speed and stick with it.
3. Learn to merge - Merging is not yielding; it’s merging. You’re supposed to flow into and, y’know, merge into traffic. Coming to a complete stop when you’re supposed to merge is dangerous and stupid.
4. 4-way stops are not tea parties - Everyone wants to let someone else go first, bringing everyone to a halt. Once some brave soul establishes a little order, then folks do okay, as long as no one makes a left turn. Chaos ensues if that happens.
5. Unnatural fear of the horn - I use my horn. I use it to let people know they are drifting into my lane, or to chastise them for cutting me off. I am the only driver I know who uses the horn as it’s intended. When I drive out East, people use their horns, and it warms my cold little heart. People around here think you’re the antichrist if you use your horn. They get a horrified look on their face. How dare I call attention to their attempted lane-change into my car! That’s just not nice.
The list goes on. Perhaps I need to make this a weekly installment of the stupid driver behavior I’ve witnessed.
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Woo, lawdy, testify! The merging thing in particular drives me nuts. Also, the concept of the passing lane. PLEASE, people, do not get in the left lane on the highway and cruise at 55.
I think my project for the week will be to use my horn more.
The merging thing is the one that has always bugged me. I’m constantly yelling, “It’s the pedal on the right!” at these cars that are going to slow when the come off the ramp. It’s definitely like they’re coming to a yield sign. They get to the bottom of the ramp and, for the first time, look to their left, while taking their foot off of the gas. And, while being in the lane they merge into is irritating, so is being behind them, where you’ve entirely lost your own momentum for merging by the time they finally unblock the ramp.
Incidentally, my other car pet peeve is the so-called “blind spot”. For regular cars, pickups and SUV’s with an unblocked back window, the blind spot *doesn’t exist* unless your mirrors aren’t adjusted properly.
In the side mirrors, you shouldn’t be able to see your own car at all. You should be able to watch a car come up behind you in the main rear view mirror, start seeing it in the side mirror before it disappears in the rear view and start physically seeing the car on your side before it disappears from the side mirrors. In other words, when properly adjusted, the blind spot is actually covered completely and you don’t even need to look over your shoulder to know that the lane is clear.
I’ve helped a lot of people adjust them and they’re all amazed at the fact that they can actually see what’s going on behind them easily afterward.
Yes, girl, preach on!! I use my horn an awful lot. I think people in this state are getting worse at driving on an exponential rate. They were bad last year, but not nearly as bad as they are this year. Get it the frick together people!!
And yes, you should write about an offender a week. Even write down his license plate number. Maybe people will start to get it…
I had a bad merging experience just today. I was getting onto southbound Hwy 100 from Minnetonka Blvd, and there was a chick cruising at about 50 mph in the right lane. The left lane was completely clear. She never got over. By the time I got to the bottom of the ramp, I was doing 50, and she never sped up or slowed down, and I didn’t have enough lane left to get in front of her, so I ended up having to slam on my brakes, pissing off the person getting on the highway behind me.
Stupid merging.
I read that somewhere a few years back about the sideview mirrors. Makes a big difference.
As someone who has almost gotten killed (while merging and changing lanes, as well as doing anything else) by people who drive like maniacs, I can understand why people are timid: most drivers do not allow people to change lanes, nor do they allow them to merge.
Lanes that are both for merging and exiting are a prime example. Instead of, say, going a little slower and getting behind someone who needs to speed up to merge, a lot of people speed up and whip around someone who needs to merge. If those people would speed up, they’d hit whatever moron is trying to get around them.
From my standpoint, as someone who tries to drive courteously yet with enough aggression to save herself from being run over, people need to have a little more common sense. No, it’s not smart to dally and slow down traffic because you’re afraid to merge, but it’s also stupid to drive with no regard for your fellow travelers.
I’d rather have people exercising more caution than necessary than none at all.