Frustrating and dangerous habits frequently encountered on the road. All of these habits can easily be corrected once attention has been drawn to them.
Tailgating
Forget ‘annoying’, this habit is downright dangerous. Some drivers, frustrated by others on the road, tailgate as a form of intimidation. Many of those people would not do it in a queue at the checkout, but inside the perceived safety of their own vehicles, they happily encroach on other drivers’ personal space. But this isn’t just a matter of personal space. It’s about staying safe. If you tailgate aggressively you need to sort your own priorities out and get up earlier. However, some people tailgate not out of aggression, but simply out of habit. Without meaning to, they follow more closely than is safe. Even if you think you have great reflexes, you can’t trust the driver in front not to slam on the brakes with little notice. The driver in front may have seen something you haven’t. Or they may be one of those drivers who tends to flash their brakes for no reason whatsoever. This is annoying for you. But sometimes these people are telling you something.
Sliding into someone else’s following distance
For drivers who are in the habit of maintaining a safe following distance between themselves and the cars ahead, it is very annoying to have a stream of overtaking cars slot into that space, forcing them again and again to slip back. This is a minor irritation and will always happen. Slipping back is not a biggie. But the annoying thing is that the cars slotting in ahead don’t actually get any further ahead in a long queue of traffic. They are overtaking for no reason, other than to get one car space ahead. The fact that it happens again and again makes it annoying. At the supermarket it would be called queue jumping. What makes it okay in a car?
Indicating late, or not at all
Check your directions before you navigate to a new destination. Perhaps make use of a GPS. If you’re unsure of the road it is difficult to know where to turn before reaching the spot, and, since we all need to find new places now and again, the occasional late indication is accepted by courteous road sharers. But some drivers are in the habit of braking before they turn on their indicator, surprising drivers behind them who may have to brake quite heavily themselves. In many cases, it’s not because the late indicator is unsure of the route; it is simply bad habit. Some drivers are not good at multi-tasking and forget to indicate at all if they’re talking to another passenger or listening to the radio. If multi-tasking in general isn’t your forte, bear in mind that you may be forgetting the indicator. Ditto if your hearing is not what it used to be – if you no longer hear the clicking of the indicator, finding it’s on when you thought it was off, you may have fallen out of the habit of indicating automatically.
Failing to pull over when you’re travelling slowly
Everyone, at some point, will find themselves holding up traffic. This may be because of a trailer, a campervan, a carsick dog or a recently punctured tyre. Some drivers travel more slowly in order to enjoy the view. Tolerance is required for drivers travelling more slowly than the flow – everyone has a right to travel slowly. But no driver has the right to hold others up for long periods at a time. If you know you’re driving more slowly than the speed limit, you need to pull over to let others pass. Some drivers seem to think it’s their right to hold up traffic and happily let it bank up in an infinite stream behind them. It’s not okay to waste others’ time. If you’re obviously not in a hurry, it won’t hurt you to pull over at each opportunity and let others past.
Fluctuating in
When travelling on single lane highways it is worth keeping an eye on your speedometer until you get into the habit of maintaining a constant speed. If someone is travelling behind you, unable to pass, it is very frustrating for them if you fluctuate between 80 and 120 kilometers per hour. Some drivers are more prone to speed fluctuation when talking to passengers, answering a phone, or changing music. If the driver behind you happens to be making use of their cruise control function, they will be very aware of your speed, having to reset their own speed each time you force them to brake. Most annoying of all is when such a driver hits an overtaking lane, allowing the driver behind a rare opportunity to overtake, but makes it difficult for them to do so because they speed up themselves, suddenly aware that they’ve been driving very slowly!
Driving on your brakes
‘Driving on your brakes’ means over-reliance on the brake pedal, rather than the engine, to slow you down. Drivers who step heavily on the pedal usually do so late. This unnerves your own passengers because they cannot be sure you’re going to stop, until of course, you do, at the last possible moment. If you’re one of those drivers who hates nervous passengers, it’s worth considering why they might be nervous. When you drive like this, you’re causing extra wear on your brake pads, which may one day give out on you, plunging you into a crash situation. Aside from your tense passengers, the drivers of oncoming cars will also be unnerved, wondering if you’re actually going to give way. If you drive a manual transmission, and you know you’re going to stop, make use of the gears to slow down. Give yourself plenty of time. If you drive an automatic transmission, try taking your foot off the accelerator and gliding a little before planting your foot on the brake. As a bonus, you’ll spend less on fuel.
Watching the car, ignoring the driver
In many countries, windscreen tinting is forbidden or closely regulated. This is because drivers need to see each other. Indicator and brake lights give other drivers only limited information about your intentions; when driving in busy, congested conditions, much use is also made of facial expressions, lip-reading and hand gestures. Keep an eye on the driver, not just on the car. It is frustrating to wave someone in, or thank someone with a smile, only to have them looking at your car instead of at you. A wave of thanks is likely to be appreciated, however, and we should make more use the gesture.
Forcing other drivers to slow down
When pulling out into a stream of traffic, be aware of the speed limit on that road, and make an effort to get up to that speed as quickly as possible. Don’t force drivers to slow down for you. In congested conditions, tolerant drivers will likely allow you some leeway, and may even slow down to let you in, but if you have forced someone to brake, and that someone looks in their rear-view mirror and sees not a single other car behind, they will be annoyed. You could have waited for that lone car to pass before forcing the driver to slow down.
Slowing down for speed cameras
If you need to slam on the brakes because of a speed camera, you were driving too fast anyway. Equally annoying is the habit of over-compensating because you know your speed is being monitored. If you’re driving in an 80km zone, there’s no need to pass a camera at 60km. You’re not going to be fined for travelling at the speed limit. Driving too slowly is as annoying as driving too fast.
The race mentality
In life we are encouraged to compete. In school, in sports, in computer games and in the workplace, we are cultured into believing life is a race. In fact, people follow their own unique paths in life, and the road metaphor becomes reality when you’re in your car. There is absolutely no need to race another car who has stopped with you at the lights. When two lanes merge into one, it becomes obvious which drivers succumb to the race mentality. Some treat merging as a game, albeit a dangerous one, and jockey themselves into position by forcing other drivers to drop back. The rule is simple: the car whose bonnet is ahead gets the front position. When cars in both lanes have been stopped at the lights, why not give priority to the car who arrived there earlier? If you weren’t paying attention to who arrived earlier, drop back. The length of one or two cars won’t save you any time. But it may save you one or two scrapes and dents over the course of your driving career.
