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15-05-2014, 02:04pm
Quote:People who make you sit at red lights
OK, we said no particular order, but this one has to be close to the top of the list. You are sitting at your least favourite intersection with a queue as long as the city's most popular night spot on a Saturday night, waiting for a too-short glimpse of a green light to get through to the next mini-traffic jam.
You are finally in firing range of the intersection when the driver of the car in front of you, who is talking, texting, tweeting or whatever, does not notice the green light until you tap the horn (which, incidentally, is illegal - you are only allowed to use your horn if you need to warn other road users you are approaching or to scare animals off the road).
He or she accelerates and just makes it through on an orange light, leaving you to wait another few minutes for the next green light.
The lack of consideration for other road users is bad enough, but the fact that they are not tapping the steering wheel with you while you wait for another sequence of lights is enough to inspire some serious red mist.
Right-lane hogs
Anyone who has driven in Europe will know how disciplined drivers are with staying out of the fast lane. On multi-lane roads there is a very clear increase in speed from the right lane (the slow lane when driving on the right side of the road) and the faster lanes.
In Australia, it's every person for themselves and respect for other road users is often secondary.
Anyone who has driven on the Sydney to Newcastle Freeway or the Geelong Freeway west of Melbourne will know there are times when the slow lane is actually the quickest, and on any multi-lane freeway in the country, you will spot someone wedded to life in the fast lane - slowly.
Granted, on many main roads there is no requirement to stay left if you are not overtaking - the rule only kicks in once the limit is over 80km/h - but, equally, you don't have to travel far to find someone oblivious to their rear-vision mirror and intent on holding up traffic.
Those who can't merge
It shouldn't be that tricky, but the art of feeding two lanes into one manages to stump so many Australians.
Many seem to begin planning for this otherwise basic manoeuvre about 11 metres before the lanes merge, before realising that there could be a car in the lane next to them and instantly hitting the brake pedal as a quick fix.
The reality is, the easiest way to merge is to pinpoint an option or two and get your car as close as possible to the speed of the traffic with which you are merging.
Which brings me to the issue of those who decide they don't want to let anyone in, because that extra five metres of road will really make the difference on the half-hour trip to work. It is particularly noticeable in Melbourne, where so many attempts to share lanes can be greeted with a car unnecessarily trying to block your way - stupid stuff.
Lights, or a lack thereof
Ever followed a car with a tail light out? Or two? It can be frustrating if you happen to be looking at the wrong one when all the traffic ahead begins to slow.
It is all but impossible when all the tail lights have failed. Fortunately, it is a rare sight in NSW, where mandatory annual checks for older vehicles means it is rare for every tail light to fail.
In other states, however, it can be all too common, and dangerous.
Sure, formula one drivers don't have the luxury of tail lights, but they also know that the driver in front will be hitting the brakes hard at almost exactly the same place they are, lap after lap.
Besides, everyday road users have become accustomed to taking tail lights as a very good hint that the car in front is slowing.
Just as frustrating are drivers who have decided not to use their headlights. Years ago I was driving in a suburban street at night when a car indicated it was slowing to pick someone up. I indicated to go around it and, as I did, I was suddenly confronted with a car coming towards me, without lights. We avoided each other - just.
It is also worth taking aim at those who think parking lights are OK for driving. It is pretty simple - parking lights are called that for a reason. If the light levels are low enough to make you consider using lights, then go the whole way and turn on your headlights. It is even more important in the rain, when rain or fog-covered windows can making seeing other vehicles even more difficult.
Drivers who don't look ahead
Anticipation is a large part of driving. By looking as far as possible down the road, you will be better prepared for imminent stops or changing traffic conditions, all the while relying heavily on your peripheral vision to keep you informed as to what is going on closer to your car's bonnet.
Not that you would know it, judging by how some drivers lunge from the accelerator to the brake, then hit the brake again. Although their eyes are seemingly glued on the car directly in front of them, there are plenty of late reactions and, if you wait long enough, a rear-ender is almost guaranteed.
It is frustrating to watch and even more frustrating if you are the one caught directly behind the bumper watcher.
Roundabout rules
Roundabouts can be great for keeping traffic flowing at busy intersections, allowing cars to keep moving, while giving cars from each direction equal right of way, but you don't have to spend long at a roundabout to realise that many drivers don't have a clue how to use them.
Some seem to think it is mandatory to stop, even though there are clearly no cars coming. Others don't bother to look at the approaching traffic until they have come to a grinding halt, having missed the gap that was there.
Perhaps the most misunderstood rule of a roundabout, however, is that you must give way to traffic on your right, something that often results in streams of cars piling into a roundabout at top speed on the assumption that they have right of way. Er, wrong.
According to Australia's national road rules at roundabouts, motorists must give way to traffic already in the roundabout.
That means that one of those cars approaching at top speed from the right would actually be in the wrong if an impact occurred and they were not the first one into the roundabout.
Drivers who don't indicate
Those flashing orange lights on each end and side of your car can be a wonderful way to let those around you know what you are planning to do, but some drivers seem to prefer the yet-to-be-perfected art of mental telepathy to inform fellow motorists what they are up to.
So instead of pushing that small stalk up or down with one finger, they would rather start turning the wheel and hope that will indicate what they are up to. It usually works, but it can also be an enormous irritant for those around them.
Not that we are picking on some drivers, but those in Western Australia seem less keen on wasting a few electronic flashes of their little orange lights than drivers in other states.
Those who don't creep out when turning right
Why do some drivers like red lights? One of the giveaways is when turning right in busy traffic and some drivers decide they are not likely to get a gap, so they stay at the stop line in the intersection awaiting another red light, and another, and another.
The next thing you know, Santa has packed the sleigh and the people behind the patient driver are getting increasingly annoyed.
It seems few people are aware that the law stipulates drivers should move out into the intersection and await a gap.
''If the lights change to yellow or red while you are in the middle of the intersection, you are allowed to turn right.''
Come on, people, it's not that difficult.
People who swing right to turn left
We have all seen it plenty of times - the driver who decides they need another half-lane to their right before swinging into a driveway or side street.
Oblivious to the stream of cars already in that lane, they seem worried about sticking to just a single lane, so instead head for a wide berth to ensure they get the exact line they have envisaged.
This same breed can also be responsible for taking up two lanes when turning at a T-intersection. They somehow think that stop sign ahead is there only for them, not the cars behind. So instead of leaving room for a car on the left or right, they prop their four-wheeler bang in the middle to ensure that they will be the only one turning at any particular time.
People who speed up when you try to overtake them
It is not only dangerous and stupid, but illegal, yet it doesn't stop people from deciding that your wish to travel a little bit faster should not be granted.
It is particularly annoying given the intense focus on speeding and the risk of being fined should you step over the limit, something made worse by the differences in speedometer readings between cars (it can legally be up to 10 per cent).
Passing a car travelling at, say, 90km/h can take half a kilometre or more if you don't want to risk your licence. So those who decide to speed up make it more difficult or dangerous for all involved.
Even more frustrating are those who dawdle along a single-lane country road, then speed up when an overtaking lane is available.
Pedalling hard
They're an easy target but some deserve it.
For the most part, bike riders are extremely patient towards motorists (as someone who does a bit of weekend cycling I think I'm in a reasonable position to comment), and car drivers are respectful of cyclists.
But each has their star underperformers, who are typically the ones who give those doing the right thing a bad name.
For car drivers it's the people who harass or pass dangerously close.
For bike riders it's the ones who think the road rules apply to everyone but them.
It's a shame because there's often so much anger between some motorists and some riders, something that's a recipe for injuries or death.
BATFINK (aka Tony)
GOD gave us a mind to use.........
Suzuki gives us a reason to loose it!!!!
GOD gave us a mind to use.........
Suzuki gives us a reason to loose it!!!!
