Service, get out of my head, I was just talking about this at dinner last night.

I just returned from a 1600 mile road trip, and I get so weary of people not knowing how to merge onto highways. I get over when I can if I see merging traffic, but when I can't, I try to judge what the other drivers are going to do. You have some who creep up the merge lane and practically stop before getting on the highway, but what ticks me off are those who fly up the on ramp at highway speed and then slow down at the moment of merging. I usually let off my accelerator if I can't get over so they can merge, but then they slow down, which causes confusion for all. And why oh why does it seem like every on ramp I come up to there is ONE car trying to merge when I reach the ramp. No one in front or no one behind.

The four way stops don't really bother me too much, we have very few in my area, and if I'm in a smaller town where they are more common, then I'm usually in less of a hurry so I'll let someone be kind if they want to wave me through.

My latest peeve is people at four-way stops who see you coming a hundred feet away, cleary slowing down and braking, but they just sit there looking at you until you come to a complete stop, and then they meander across the intersection while you wait for them to pass by.

Trucks passing trucks and blocking the left lane. I dislike trucks.

@ServiceAward wrote:

I am about 200 miles west of you. It seems like drivers in this state have gotten worse than when I lived here 20 years ago.

My thing with the 4-way stops is when people do that, it could actually be a type of scam. It's called a drive down. They wave at you to go, even though you do not have the right-of-way, then as you turn, they pull out and hit you. When the police arrive, the person who waved you through claims they had the right-of-way and you pulled out in front of them. Without some sort of video evidence, it is very tough to prove otherwise.

I never thought about that type of scam at four way stops, it's like a variant of pulling out in front of someone quickly and then slamming on the brakes hoping you hit them. This is why I have dash cams in my vehicles. It's a small price to pay just in case you are involved in road scams.

The traffic and the crazy drivers in this area have steadily gotten worse since the pandemic. For a couple of years it seemed like I never saw a state trooper pull anyone over, so drivers became more bold. It's nothing to see someone flying down the interstate at 100 MPH+. Plus we have another problem in this area, at least once a week you hear of shootings occurring on the interstates. The moment you hop on an interstate here, it's like you are in the wild west.

This trip I just came back from, I did not see one Virginia state trooper set up on the interstates, but once I passed Bristol and entered into Tennessee, I probably saw about a dozen troopers doing radar from the state line to west Tennessee. It's all about enforcement, and we don't see a lot of it in this state, not like it used to be.

Since Hamp mentioned state troopers, I'll add this: If a trooper is going 55 mph and the speed limit is 60, it's okay to pass them.

Yesterday, a whole line of cars were backed up on the highway to Podunk, not even going the speed limit because they were all afraid to pass a state trooper.

Must'a been a lot of nervous people with warrants.

Where I live, critters in the road are a thing and a traffic jam. The rules of the road are basic: critters have the right of way. If tptb have not closed the road for planned critter passages, it is your responsibility to let the critters pass. If in doubt, stop your vehicle and remain in it until the critters have cleared the area. I do not miss big-city traffic.

What type and size of critters are we talking about here? I mean, the cows in the pasture out back have gotten loose several times and gone moseying down the street....that I would stop for, but it'd be a bit difficult for me to see something small if I'm on the highway.

For the record: to my knowledge, I've only ever hit one critter (a dog ran in front of my car on a rural highway), and I cried heavily over that happening.

It is difficult. Smaller critters are less likely to damage a vehicle or people in one. Cows, deer, etc. are more likely to damage vehicles or people in them. Bears tens to cause people to stop, create traffic jams, and sometimes behave badly toward critters who will never learn to cross the street safely. Have you ever seen mama bear take cubbie by the paw and train it to look both ways before crossing the road? Deer in herds may suddenly jump.into the road one or multiples at a time. If you just saw one deer who literally does not care about road traffic, how can you be certain that more of them will not follow?

Sometimes, they close the roads when herds of cattle are being moved. We have seen escapee sheep and cows wandering the highway...

Not too long ago I was driving home after midnight (I got mixed up on due dates, long story,) and the roadway I was on was just teeming with dear. I mean I passed probably more than 50 in half an hour. I *knew* not to drive those roads that late at night, but there just wan't any way around it. I kept it to about 50, dligently scanning both sides of the road ahead to stay safe, and then at the last second I saw some hogs in the road right in front of me. Long story short I busted my radiator and was stuck in the middle of the night 30 miles from the nearest town on a deserted road. All I can say is thank goodness I have road side assistance on my insurance policy. That tow would have cost a fortune.

In more pleasant news, I recently saw a bobacat run across the road in front of me, spots and all. I had a good view and enjoyed the experience. I had seen wild cats before, but only glimpses, and I couldn't always be 100 percent sure. I also recently saw some wild turkeys on the side of the highway. That was a first for me. And before that I got a good view of a pair of coyotoes for a good while. I had seem glimpses before, or from a distance, so that was a nice experience, although I worried they were getting too comfortable with humans..

One of my pet peeves is drivers who make a left 45 degree turn to cut corners.

As a former CDL class A driver.. I was taught to maintain my speed and let the folks in the merge lane fend for themselves. Don't slow down, don't speed up. It is THEIR job to match the speed of the traffic to merge smoothly. They don't know how to do that in AL and the trucks drive in the #1 lane (not allowed in a number of states). There doesn't seem to be an enforced speed limit on any Interstate highway in TX, and I've heard rumors of folks just randomly stopping in the middle of the highway, but I've never seen it.

Service is right about the insurance scammers, there are a LOT of them here. They will go to great lengths to get in front of a car that they think will have good insurance and do brake checks until the driver of the car is caught off guard and hits them. I never had a dash cam in my car or any truck that I drove until I moved to AL. Now I won't even get into my son's car without one. And I have a spare sitting here on my desk, in case something goes wrong with one of the ones we're using (It'll probably end up in whatever car I buy to replace the POS Jeep). I NEVER accept an invitation to go when it's not my turn at a stop sign, and I do NOT make eye contact with any other driver. When my Taurus X got hit at the signal the @#$%& in the Ford Truck that caused the accident tried to convince the state trooper that the folks that had stopped at the signal waved and told him it was safe for him to turn, but he never actually stopped his truck in the left turn lane, so I don't know how he could have seen something like that, even if someone did (I know that I did NOT).

Everybody in AL tailgates, and there are a lot of folks that brake check and try to get hit. I ALWAYS keep a minimum of 3 car lengths open in front of me even in bumper to bumper traffic, and 5 or more on the highways at any speed. If someone pulls in front of me I take my foot off the gas and let them get out of the way before I speed back up again. And I get kinda freaked out when I'm riding in my son's car and he drives like them, all over the road, way to close them, stuck in a lane between two vehicles with no way out, driving in folks blind spots.

Morledzep, keep your foot on the accelorator. Tap your brake with your left foot. It will cause the rear end of your car to show both brake lights and pop up a bit.

That should incent the tailgating people to lay back or go around.

lol Rosie,

My son and I decided that the next truck we get is going to have a reinforced rear bumper, extra lights, and fair warning stickers on the back. And I'm going to brake check every single car that gets within a car length. He also wants to mount a giant spot lamp just inside the door in the back to blind the folks behind us that think running up on my bumper with their bright lights on is going to make me get out of the way. We can blind them, let them hit my truck and still drive away unscathed.. lol

None of that is likely to happen, except for the fair warning bumper stickers.. one says "The closer you get the slower I drive" The other one says, "If you can read this I'm about to hit my brakes "

I've never heard the phrase "brake check." What does it mean?

Somebody pulls in front of you leaving little room then hits their brakes so you hit them.

And put your cell phones down...

Ugh, I always try to leave a few car-lengths between me and the car in front of me simply because, around here, a deer or moose could suddenly enter the road and cause the need to brake. I hate when I'm on a busier road or highway and I'm leaving plenty of room between me and the car ahead, when someone cuts in and reduces that space - especially on roads with huge signs saying "Watch for Moose in Roadway." Hitting a moose is going to be fatal for the driver most of the time.

I agree with you ServiceAward...but here's where I've seen it degrade further since the pandemic.

Let's just say I've been driving a few decades. I also haven't had an accident since the early driving years.

Once I get on a local multi-lane highway, I typically engage cruise control about 1-2 mph above the posted limit and stay in the right lane. I am not the slowest vehicle as I still need to pass others from time to time.

Since the pandemic, I have seen THREE times now, drivers who approach me from behind and cannot wait for a vehicle in the left lane to pass me, so they pass me on the RIGHT SHOULDER (!) well above the posted limit.

I've never seen this aggressive behavior by other drivers before.

It's insane.

Much like the stopping for a yield sign - stopping for a flashing yellow light. Usually at a 4-way intersection where the main road has flashing yellow and the side road has flashing red. And I always think of Jim from Taxi, " wwhhaatt ddooeess aa yyeellooww lliigghhtt mmeeaann??" All because one idiot stopped for it, now everyone else feels obligated to do likewise and traffic piles up for blocks as everyone stops needlessly. It also confuses the red-lighters on the side roads who now think we must have a red light also and we're supposed to stop. People are stupid. Me included.

wow...I must be the zen master of driving. lol