Drivers in Fort Collins and the surrounding area spend a lot of time behind the wheel, whether it’s commuting to work, heading to the mountains, taking the kids to sports practices or shopping.
That leaves plenty of time to become annoyed at other drivers, and few things annoy us more than other drivers.
With that in mind, here is a mostly unscientific look at eight driving habits that annoy us the most:
The ‘texting, eating, brushing teeth, putting on makeup, etc.’ driver
Is there anything more annoying while waiting in a long line for the light to turn green than when the driver ahead of you is texting or otherwise distracted?
It’s only more maddening when they make the light but you don’t because of their distraction.
Texting not only is annoying to other drivers, it’s dangerous. Distracted driving leads to more than 15,000 crashes annually, including 600 involving injury or death, according to Colorado State Patrol.
Texting while driving is also illegal in Colorado.
An old “MythBusters” episode came to the conclusion that talking on a cellphone is as dangerous as driving drunk.
That makes texting (with your eyes off the road) even more dangerous.
A University of Utah study found 98% of the public is incapable of performing two mentally demanding tasks at once without incurring substantial costs in performance.
Food for thought.
As some road signs read and other drives agree, “Get your head out of your apps!”
The ‘refuse to use my blinker’ driver
Despite turn signals becoming mandatory on vehicles in the 1950s and all states requiring the use of them when turning or changing lanes, drivers still view them as optional.
At times, the only driver behavior more annoying than forgetting to use a turn signal is when drivers forget to turn them off.
Or maybe this blinker joke says it all: “I don’t use turn signals. I figure it’s none of your business where I’m going.”
The ‘left-hand lane’ driver
Twenty years ago, Colorado passed a left-lane passing law that says any driver traveling on a road with two or more lanes with a designated speed limit of 65 mph or more must remain in the right lane unless overtaking and passing another vehicle.
But if you drive I-25, you wonder how many tickets could be written for such an annoying and unlawful habit.
Maybe enough to pay for all the construction on I-25.
The roundabout is a Rubik’s Cube driver
Slow speed, yield to your left and proceed through the roundabout when clear.
Seems simple enough.
The ‘failing to zipper merge, or trying to zipper merge’ driver
Black and white here.
Some drivers love it, others loathe it and will let you know by refusing to allow you to merge.
In Colorado, you are not legally bound to allow another driver to merge into the through lane when their lane ends, but studies indicate it sure helps congested traffic move much more efficiently.
Here is why you should embrace it.
The ‘you’re not passing me’ driver
You come upon someone driving below the speed limit. When you go to pass, they speed up.
In Colorado, it’s illegal to drive at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable traffic except for safety reasons.
It’s also illegal to exceed the posted speed limit when passing.
The ‘tailgating’ driver
Few things enrage drivers more than when you’re following them too closely.
It’s a personal space issue, as well as a safety issue.
Rear-end crashes are the most common type of crash in Colorado, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Colorado law says a driver can’t legally follow another vehicle more closely than is “reasonable and prudent.” The closeness depends on road conditions and speed.
If the practice is annoying to you, you might paste a “You keep tailgating, I’ll keep slowing down” decal on your vehicle.
There are much more direct decals, but we can’t print them here.
The ‘weaving in and out of traffic’ motorcycle rider
Like zipper merging, vehicle drivers detest the motorcycle rider “cutting in line” when traffic stalls. They might like them less when they zip in and out of lanes while traffic is moving.
Come Aug. 7, motorcycle lane filtering will be allowed in Colorado on a trial basis.
Colorado’s law is not going to look like what you see in California, which is called lane splitting. That’s where motorcyclists can ride between lanes of moving vehicles.
In Colorado, the law reads motorcyclists can lane filter if:
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The other motor vehicle is stopped.
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The road has lanes wide enough to pass safely.
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The motorcycle is going 15 mph or less.
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Conditions permit prudent operation of the motorcycle while overtaking or passing.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: These 8 driving behaviors annoy us the most
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