cycleobsidian

Yesterday I was walking in 35 degree Celcius heat (around 96 degrees Fahrenheit) and I passed in front of a Tim Horton's coffee shop. There must have been 15 -20 cars waiting in the drive thru, all of them idling. I'm thinking to myself, really?? You are idling your car in 35 C heat. Are you guys for real? Where do they think smog comes from??

They could have easily have parked their car and went in, and the wait would not have been substantially longer.

What things have you witnessed car drivers do that made you shake your head in disbelief?

plustax

Driving them in general.

chewa

I bet it was to keep the aircon on!

wphamilton

Circling the parking lot and then blocking the lane while someone backs out, just to snag a spot 20 feet closer. That always gets to me.

kmv2

drive thrus have to be one of the most idiotic inventions ever (imo of course, I'm sure alot of obese/lazy people disagree with me).

My biggest complaint would have to be creeping/rolling at stop signs where many people are walking, followed by residential street speeding.

I could probably write a pretty huge list on exasperating things car drivers do, but on the other hand I could also write a fairly large list on exasperating things cyclists do.

kmv2

oh oh, here's another one. When they "wave" you forward at an intersection to cross (when you were going to cross anyways because you have ROW). As if they have the right to say who can cross and who can't. I'm crossing because I have right of way, and I'm certainly not going to "thank" you for letting me.

350htrr

Speeding up to pass you and then putting on the brakes, cutting you off to turn right... Pet peeve...

locolobo13 

I do that when driving as well. The reason isn't that I'm giving you the ROW. The reason is so you know what I'm going to not do. Such as ignore you, and run you down.

Roody

How about when they leave the engine running while they run into the party store for a pack of cigs? Some idiots even leave their small kids in cars with the engine on! My city outlawed this practice after a few cars slipped into gear and crashed into the store.

cabledawg

I hate drivethru's but use them when travelling and the kiddos are snoozing. Why wake everyone up when I can grab lunch/dinner and not wake them? Otherwise, I'll walk in. Like mentioned before, it usually takes less time.

And like locolobo said, I dont wave to grant permission, I do it so the rider knows I'm aware he/she is there and not going to run them over.

My biggest peeve with other motorists (especially in Ohio) is tailgating and getting cutoff. Running red lights and stop signs is a huge problem around here too as I've had several close calls in just the past year. Good thing the brakes work!

gerv 

Hate to say this, but Tim Horton's is a blemish on the Canadian landscape. It's probably responsible for about half the volume of crap that gets dragged from Toronto to the Michigan landfills...

wolfchild

One of my pet pevees is when I see a line of cars parked along the fire route in front of the grocery store. Too lazy to walk few hundered feet.. If people could drive into a store they would.

wolfchild

Few weeks ago a 2 year old boy died from heatstroke when he was left inside the car while somebody went shopping...Another incident which happened just yesterday was when some idiot in an suv was driving along a hwy exit ramp when a rear door opened and his small child fell out while strapped into a child seat. Apperently the child seat was not secured correctly.

cycleobsidian

Yes, Timmies sure enjoys good PR when they are major contributors to landfills... Some of my coworkers have a daily habit, and of course, despite their frequency of use, don't make the effort to use their own mug.

I must admit though that I enjoy a Timmies myself a few times a year while on the highway so that I don't sleep while driving...but at least, I guess, I don' t go through the drive thru!

wolfchild

The same can be said about every fast food joint out there..Personally I prefer to brew my own coffee at home.

Roody

Hey, we didn't want their trash! The US Supreme Court made us take it. It's still a touchy subject...almost a border war between Michigan and Ontario at the time.

Now we have Tim Hortons all over the place. I like their breakfasts, their coffee is as good as McDonalds and better than Starbucks.

MEversbergII

It exasperates me when I see cars with bikes strapped to them.

M.

DX-MAN

Parked in the fire lane...YUP.
Stopped and idling ANYWHERE...YUP.
Kids/pets in the car...YUP.

SMH to all of them.

How about the fools who drive down residential streets WALKING THEIR DOGS? Arm out the window, holding the leash...and the dog is trotting along.
How about visitors to homes who pull into the driveway, shut off the car, and leave the stereo on? What, you're gonna listen to it IN THE HOUSE?
I have seen drivers speed up when they see pedestrians crossing a half-block ahead of them.

Rootman

Had the weirdest thing happen to me last week. I've been right hooked, pulled up on, passed too close, all that crap, but last week takes the cake.

I'm just about to my destination, a pretty little lake I ride to on a Saturday morning, I am stopped at a stop sign at the bottom of a T in the road, next to the stop sign and right of the right wheel track, about 10' back from the sign well away from the intersection. I have to make a right turn, go about 150' and then turn left, so I just sit and drink from a bottle of water, both feet on the ground and let 3 cars go by so as not to impede the traffic by my sudden left turn just down the road. I'm in no hurry.

A SUV pull up to my left on the abutting road, there is no stop on the top of the T's road mind you, they have the right away. I again let them know to go ahead by waving and take another drink. They just sit there stopped, no blinker or any indication of where the hell they are going. They pull around the curve widely enough that they actually are in the opposing lane facing me, rear of the car sitting in the lane they are turning from. Here I am face to face with this SUV staring at this doofus. Is he a bike hating cop wanting to yell at me? Someone wanting to try and force me off the road? I don't know. Here we sit front bike tire only about 3' from his front bumper him in the wrong lane. Well, I'm typically nice about stuff and realize I can move around much easier than a car can, but this is nuts, so I just stand there. They too just sit there. At least there was no yelling or horn blowing and we stare at each other for maybe 20 seconds. Then the SUV backs up and see-saws maybe 3 times around to point the front of the vehicle towards the right lane to get around me. WTF, he could of done it in maybe ONE turn but he takes 3, edging closer and closer to an angle at which he can go around. He eventually gets it at an angle pointed past me and slowly takes off. Said nothing as we passed, then I realized, he was on a f'ing cell phone, steering with his elbow. This dude was so distracted my his phone that he could not use his blinker, or do a right turn and stay in the correct lane. At least he wasn't so distracted that he could not see me.

One wonders how people like that avoid killing someone or causing major accidents.

MEversbergII

They don't avoid it - simply hasn't happened yet. They'll eventually grave someone when the time comes.

M.

wolfchild

There are a lot of people out there who should not be allowed to have a drivers license and operate a vehicle. They should be forced to take public transit , walk and ride a bike... Some people don't have enough conscience to operate something that can be used as a deadly weapon..

B. Carfree

Aren't those trophies of their kills?

JoeyBike

On a similar note: Making a dangerous pass around me, then turning either way within ten seconds thereafter. Even if they don't cut me off I can't understand it. They saved zero time and just endangered me for nothing, not even one second. Exasperated is when that happens and infuriated is when they cut me off as well.

JoeyBike

There are a few of us who probably should be prohibited from riding bikes and forced to drive cars. I drive like an old lady and bike like an ass.

Roody

No, you bike like a bad ass.