QOTD: Situational Bad Driving

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

On the road this morning, I encountered a motorist who couldn't decide whether to turn left onto a side street or right into a parking lot. They eventually figured out where they needed to go (right) but not before delaying those of us behind them.


I was tempted to go nuts and yell and gesticulate but my more reasonable side kicked in -- maybe they just were lost, trying to find a certain place (the parking lot is for a local hospital) and their GPS failed them. Or something like that.

Then I realized that even the best drivers screw up sometimes, and sometimes those screw-ups are a result of circumstance. Such as being lost and having your GPS send you the wrong way.

Living in an urban area, I often see it with people looking for a parking space -- they're trolling slowly and I get upset at how turtle-like they're driving, until I realize they're just looking for an open spot that doesn't have a hydrant next to it.

So, I ask of you -- what circumstance turns you into a bad or annoying driver all of a sudden? Is it slowing for a speed cam? Being uncertain of the next turn? Looking for parking? Something else?

Sound off below.

[Image: Twinsterphoto/Shutterstock.com]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments
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7 of 27 comments
  • Matthew Matthew on Mar 28, 2023

    When someone slows down for seemingly no reason at all...

    and then turns on their blinker and makes a painfully slow turn.

    It frequently makes me chew them out in Spanish. Spanish just sounds angrier than English.

  • Mike Beranek Mike Beranek on Mar 29, 2023

    People tend to get pissed at me because I don't speed on 25 mph residential streets. I don't speed on those streets because there's nothing to be gained, like there would be by speeding on a highway.

    Also, a question for drivers: If you're in the passing lane, why are they passing you?


    • See 1 previous
    • Sgeffe Sgeffe on Mar 29, 2023

      Residential streets are one thing, but if the street has one lane each direction plus a center turn lane, that, combined with clear sight lines, makes that same speed interminable, so I’ll do 30-ish! And then knock another five off of that in a school zone! I have no idea how I’d deal with a 15mph zone—I’d probably put the car in Neutral, then get out and push!


  • Rawk Thistown Rawk Thistown on Mar 29, 2023

    I got behind a vehicle recently whose driver apparently didn't know what a flashing yellow left turn arrow means. The turn arrow was green, then it turned to a red light for 1-2 sec then it turned to a flashing yellow arrow. After the brief red light, she remained stationary & didn't go until it cycled back to the green arrow, even tho it was clear to make the turn. Arrrrghhh! I remained calm, however . . . I recognize that stupidity has no bounds.

  • John John on Mar 29, 2023

    When you are driving to your own house, you are usually on residential roads at 25 mph for the last mile. If you drive at 25 mph, you cover that last mile in 2 minutes and 24 seconds. If you drive at 30 mph, you cover it in 2 minutes even. If you drive it at 45 mph, you cover the distance in 1 minute and 20 seconds.


    So, you can drive like a bat out of hell to save yourself 64 seconds, or you can drive the speed limit, and preserve the life and safety on the streets where your own children play and ride their bikes.

    • Sgeffe Sgeffe on Mar 29, 2023

      The speed limit is the only law that people in my neck of the woods follow with any regularity! Turn signals? What are those?! Staring at a cell phone?! Check!! But drive with the flow of traffic?! Why?! Extra points if I can have a quarter-mile of freeway backed-up behind my self-righteous self! If the Ohio Department of Transportation put up a sign saying “Jump Off This Bridge” instead of a speed limit, there’d be several suicides a week where I live!


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