The Daily Grind - Tailgaters, Drifters and more

The appeal of living in a large metropolitan area certainly has its perks when it comes to the convenience of location to work, amenities, and recreation. While everything you’ll likely ever need is located within a few kilometre drive, the sheer magnitude of other drivers doing the same thing can often complicate this simple plan. We’ve come to accept city traffic as a fact of our everyday lives—as inevitable as death or taxes, but what we have yet to understand are our very own driving faux pas that we exhibit on a daily basis. Whether it’s us or another driver (its usually always the other driver, right!?) these five common driving pet peeves will be addressed for those who truly understand what it’s like to drive where the action is!

Tailgaters

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In gridlock traffic, we motorists have no choice but to edge along at a snails pace, bumper-to-bumper—hoping and praying that the seas will part and deliver us to the promised land—usually our couch at home! Of course, as soon as the seas DO part and traffic starts moving at a respectable rate of speed again…these deplorable human beings happen. Someone is riding your you-know-what and you’re driving in the slow lane! This incurious activity is only made worse at night with the added insult of beaming headlights that blind you through your rear view mirrors. These are the type of drivers that make you want to pump your brakes with a bumper sticker that reads “I stop for tailgaters”!

Lane Hogs

Some people just don’t get the concept of sharing the road, and hogging the left lane on any busy street or highway can grind a lot of gears! These lane hogs characteristically get in their left lane position as soon as possible and putt along at whatever speed they feel suits their mood, ignoring the speed of traffic. These perpetrators are the cause of no-reason traffic jams on Sunday afternoons and oblivious to “the bird”…because they’re hogs, and pigs don’t fly straight!

RELATED: 10 Most Outrageous Canadian Laws on Driving

Horn Dogs

There’s a difference between being assertive and being excessive…these people have a tendency for the latter. These motorists like to toot their own horn and they want to make sure you hear them, too! There’s nothing more annoying and unnecessary than some impatient blowhard laying on their horn for 20 seconds because they’re unhappy with the progress of the left turn lane—and they’re 5 cars back. Of course horns are a useful communication tool, but most of these drivers can be confused with tools themselves…

Drifters

Should i stay or should i go now? Famous words from The Clash and the inner thoughts of an indecisive lane drifter as he/she weaves in and out of traffic, ticking off motorists at large. These folks are routinely running late and their erratic and selfish driving behaviour is a nuisance to all on the road. The most annoying example of this behaviour is when drifters start dramatically bobbing and weaving in stop-and-go traffic, and then you catch up with them later on down the road! This just proves that the only thing drifting accomplishes is making you look like a total jerk…So the next time you pull up alongside that drifter, give them a big sarcastic smile and wave to let them know what a good job they’re doing—at being an twit!

Phoneys

These people aren’t necessarily false or fake, but they sure do exhibit a false sense of reality when they are behind the wheel. Driving while texting, talking, taking selfies or reading emails poses a real threat to everyone on the road —and its likely the most universally relevant pet peeve published on this list! And while nearly everyone today has some sort of mobile device at their disposal, it’s best to just keep them in the glovebox and use a hands free device instead. Being a faker can certainly be annoying, but being a “Phoney” can get you disconnected forever. Moral of the story: stay safe, be alert and pay attention and we’ll all make it home to curse another day!

RELATED: DANGERS OF DAY-DREAMING: Distraction is in your head, not your phone

Often our commutes cause us a ton of frustration and anger when we encounter poor driving etiquette. Wading through a sea of crappy drivers with a general disregard for the rules of the road is inevitable. Everyone has their own list of pet peeves. What irks you behind the wheel?