On The Road

It seems that driving often brings out the worst in people. What is it that takes an often soft-spoken, pleasant person and turns them into a raging bull when they step behind the wheel? I remember reading an article a number of years ago where they spoke of ‘Road Rage’ as a medical condition. They referenced a number of studies with different age groups and in various scenarios – there was some serious research done into this. They also crowned the ‘Road Rage Capital’ of North America.
Now, many people are simply angry drivers, ready to pounce on anyone around them, but the majority of this frustration is rooted in our personal driving ‘Pet Peeves’. Yes, some lead to pure rage and often physical or verbal interaction but a vast majority of them simply result in a remark to those in the car with you or a beeping of the horn. As lovers of all things cars, I have often found it interesting as to what annoys other drivers while behind the wheel. I know some of my trigger points, the obvious ‘driving in the left lane while on the highway’ or the less obvious person that, while driving in front of you on a side street, just stops alongside the curb, without signalling or putting on their 4-ways. I have also learned of other ‘pet peeves’ that my clients have mentioned over time, i) the person that leaves their signal on while driving on a highway on-ramp, ii) the person that turns into the convenient lane, not the closest lane, or iii) those that don’t park in the middle of a parking spot but way to one side. Now, of course the list can go on and many of these events do not result in anything more than a little frustration. There are some horrible drivers out there and perhaps this frustration is often warranted. With that being said, I do think that many people need to just relax and take everything in stride.
I am curious though – what are your ‘Pet Peeves’ when behind the wheel?