Ireland's drivers: their worst habit

528i

I demand a 'pick your nose & flick snots out the window' option !
I want to see how much it annoys other people

Raytown Rocks

My biggest hate are people in a straight/right turn lane stopped at traffic lights, no indicators on. I drive up behind presuming they are going straight.
Lights turn GREENfor the traffic to move and then and only then do they indicate that they are turning RIGHT.
I absolutely detest this, drives me mad :mad: :mad: :mad:

ambro25

I just don't like driving here

Dades

BrianD3 wrote:

I don't know about this - by your defintion I am a "creeper" as I tend to leave a good gap between myself and the car in front if I'm in a long line of heavy traffic. The queue of traffic is not going anywhere quickly so what's the point in driving jerkily and up the arse of the car in front all the time.

The point is so that the sod behind you doesn't have to join your slow creep up the road. Give me drive forward and stop any day. This comes of my experience of driving to work on the Rock Road, when I am either (1) trying to eat a yogurt (2) trying to read a magazine (3) changing a tape, or (4) all of the above. If the creeper in front never physically stops all three of those activities become hazardous.

mackerski

The Atheist wrote:

The point is so that the sod behind you doesn't have to join your slow creep up the road.

And the reason you can't wait until the creeper gets where he's going before executing your own smart manoeuvre would be what?

I'll out myself as a creeper here too. Clutch-pedal-riding doesn't really enter into it for me, 'cos I haven't got one.

Dermot

AMurphy

Crossley wrote:

Yes, but fogs, unlike dipped headlamps, shine on both sides of the road. When the road surface is wet (which is more often than not) the glare is reflected towards the oncoming driver. ....

Can be somewhat of a problem on shiny/smooth wet blacktop.
regular HID mains have the some problem as far as I can determine.
An in ROI, where is there a smooth/shiny road surface on a non-divided road.... more like chip infested washboards which offer little reflection.

Dades

mackerski wrote:

And the reason you can't wait until the creeper gets where he's going before executing your own smart manoeuvre would be what?

If you don't fill the gap - lane jumpers will. It's basic traffic physics.

Besides creepers never actually get anywhere... they just... creep...

Jesus1222

All of the above.

Balfa

The Atheist wrote:

If the creeper in front never physically stops all three of those activities become hazardous.

Don't worry... when you discover how long your brake pads, clutch plate and tank of fuel last while being forced to creep by a creeper, you'll thank him

I generally tend to creep, but it's definitely a tradeoff thing. If i've just gone through a traffic light or something, i'll close the gap to make sure as many people as possible can fit through behind me. But if it's on the I-45 to houston, and there are roadworks, and everything's real slow for miles and miles, i'll just creep along at a steady speed. Far more useful than floor it, brake, floor it, brake.

It's interesting to note in my mirrors that my creeping carries back only for about 4 cars behind. The people behind that are still floor it, brake people.There's just too much difference in speed, and lack of awareness and ability to judge distance and speed of others for creepers to really do the world any good

And if the lights turn amber 150 metres in front of me, i will take my foot of the accelerator and coast there. And I won't even slow you down by doing so :P (unless you want to turn before the lights, sorry)

Balfa

As for what I chose, i REALLY hate fog lamps, and the little boy racers who use them in normal weather. But i chose the general ignorance thing.

My biggest peeve is people who park illegally and then put on their hazard lights, as if that makes up for it or something. In fact, hazard lights in general annoy me. i've only ever seen them used correctly once in Ireland.

Let me point out to the idiots who turn them on while parked among other vehichles that all we see when driving in the street is the outside hazard lights. And what's one hazard light? An indicator! And what's an indicator for? Indicating your intention to pull out. AAAArfghhghghg, such IDIOTS. Believe it or not, there are people who respect indicators, and if i see someone indicating to pull out, i'd let them, but then when they don't move, i drive up a little further and see there's no one in the car. And so i become desensitised to people actually indicating to pull out and the whole system fails.

I'd use my hazard lights if my car suddenly cut out on I-35 and heavy traffic stopped me coasting out of the middle lane. Apart from really unique circumstances, that's about it.


That time i saw them used properly in ireland? There was a left fork in the road ahead, and the guy i was following put on his hazard lights, he then started to take the left fork, and stopped suddenly in front of his house which was in the middle of the fork. If he had of indicated left, you'd assume he was just taking the left fork and continuing. It was confusing at first, but a confused Balfa is a Balfa that's slowing down and preparing for the unexpected, so well done to him.

edit: oh, i use them to thank people for facilitating my overtaking of them, too

Dades

Balfa wrote:

And if the lights turn amber 150 metres in front of me, i will take my foot of the accelerator and coast there. And I won't even slow you down by doing so :P (unless you want to turn before the lights, sorry)

Noooooooo that's the worst type!

Whatever about traffic at least when a set of lights stops you drive up to the car in front and stop. If you coooooooooooooooooooast up then everybody has to do the same ALL the way back.

Cars don't kill people. Tire irons kill people.

Balfa

The Atheist wrote:

Noooooooo that's the worst type!

Whatever about traffic at least when a set of lights stops you drive up to the car in front and stop. If you coooooooooooooooooooast up then everybody has to do the same ALL the way back.

Cars don't kill people. Tire irons kill people.

A) It doesn't slow you down. Were you in a hurry to wait at the stoplight?

I usually time it so i'm rolling at 20mph when the light turns green again, so you actually save time by not having to start from zero again.

C) I drive in dallas, where almost all streets have three lanes in each direction, so if you're REALLY in a hurry to wait at the stoplight, you can always just change lanes, accelerate around me and come to a screeching halt a the lights. Just remember i'll be flying past you at 20mph just as they turn green. Don't forget to wave at me

vector

Failure to use signals completely, or in good time

This "Taxi mode" of driving is grand for the drivers of those cars, they can float around casually, dirving in fourth/fifth gear without a worry in the world. but for other drivers that have deadlines it wastes so much time while you try to guess what another car is going to do and hold back, hold back, hold back... oh hes turning left, oh no he isin't... ah now he is

Balfa

vector wrote:

Failure to use signals completely, or in good time

heh, yeah, what's with waiting until you're halfway into the next lane to indicate?

Back when i did be walking around dublin, i had a policy whereby if someone was indicating to turn into a street or alley i was about to cross, i'd either stop and let them in, or speed up and walk briskly across so they wouldn't be held up turning in behind me. If someone indicated too late (after i had made up my mind to cross), i would ignore them and cross at my own pace. If somone didn't indicate at all, i'd take the opportunity to stop and tie my lace in the middle of the street with them stuck partway into it, until they did eventually put their indicator on :P Okay, not quite that bad, but i'd slow down and sometimes stop and glare and point and shake fist and stuff.

Winning Hand

Roundabout use.

Sneaky abuse of lanes to beat traffic- one that gets on my tit is people who stay in the right lane going towards the kinsale road roundabout from rochestown/tunnel, beat the huge line of traffic in the middle lane going straight and then sly straight once the light goes green.

Not moving over for faster traffic.

'Car of the year' drivers, for some reason they are always the worst drivers (2000 focuses, 2002 Laguna drivers, 2004 Mazda6 drivers etc)

Not letting drivers out of an entranceway they themselves are entering and will require reciprocation 20 mins later (mothers at school finishing time are worst for this)

Indicators as suggestors to their eventual direction which they might change their mind about.

Voted for general ignorance though

elexes

Voted for:
General endemic ignorance and a displaying a lack of courtesy for others on the road.

i would of liked not knowing where the indicators are
not using them to switch lanes
*ppl that realise that there in wrong lane suddenly switch without use of indicators
*people that dont have indicators on there trailers
the fact that when a funeral happens tailbacks for miles come about
*truck drivers that drive in groups of 3 or more without any space between them and the guy in front making it impossible for you to pass out
guards in checkpoints in places where people cant actually speed or be killed
*accepting that its ok to charge a much higher insurence just cause i was unlucky and was born male
people that sideswipe your car in a parking lot .

the ones with *'s reely annoy me the others


oo one last one
when there is 3 lanes on road one for going right one for strat on and the other oncomming traffic
people that refuse to go into the right lane for turning right and stop in the center of the road . usually comes with lack of indicating

LegacyUser

Has to be not using motorways / dual carriageways properly. If I see another granny doing 30 mph in the overtaking lane again Im gonna ram them off the road!! :mad:

DubTony

Balfa wrote:

.... I drive in dallas

Good. Thank heavens for small mercies.

Tony

campers

Spogpean wrote:

If I see another granny doing 30 mph in the overtaking lane again Im gonna ram them off the road!! :mad:

Ooooooooooooo man, and I thought I had road rage!

saobh_ie

I voted for driving too close.

But its more complicated than that... generally I've noticed that people drive behind the car in front of them, they look at its bumper and go where it goes. When it slams on its brakes that's the first warning they have of the fifteen car/spaceship collision that happened a dozen cars and a minute ahead despite the mushroom cloud and falling debris.

I suppose that kind of falls under the ignorance one... generally ignorance of everything except for whats happening two seconds in front of them, until they approach a corner and stop looking where they're going and look for a gap before flooring it while still looking at the gap and never checking in front of them.

Or the ones who approach a juntion looking ahead and just drive out without checking to see if its clear. =] Basically the people who don't look around.

galactus

saobh_ie wrote:

I voted for driving too close.

But its more complicated than that... generally I've noticed that people drive behind the car in front of them, they look at its bumper and go where it goes. .

Yeah, people go into auto-pilot very easily - look at the government people keep voting in.

Seriously, what I really, really hate is if I'm leaving a gap in a long row of traffic and some turd zooms past me and steals it. Now he's (for it is invariably a he) right in front of me, I have to drop back. Dood, you're not going to get there any faster.