Things other drivers do that annoy you...disproportionately

[crr003]

Why do you need such bright lights to drive at 70 mph on a motorway?

To drive along the country road on the way home from the motorway? I pay for Xenons as a vastly expensive extra to make my night time driving easier and safer.

I'd prefer you bolted a pair of Ciebies on for that kind of use, rather than have an "always on" xenon overkill.
I might even question the necessity for having need for long distance lighting on more twisty bits.
Anyhow, in keeping with the thread - I don't like them.

[jont]

I'd prefer you bolted a pair of Ciebies on for that kind of use, rather than have an "always on" xenon overkill.
I might even question the necessity for having need for long distance lighting on more twisty bits.
Anyhow, in keeping with the thread - I don't like them.

Since getting the MR2 I seem to notice badly adjusted lights a lot more than I used to. I wonder if it's to do with sitting that much lower. Xenons are especially bad on 4x4s, where the extra height of the headlamp unit is really blinding, whether they are behind, following or oncoming towards me.

I'd much rather see standard dipped bulbs, and leave the Xenon's for mainbeam, where having a really high level of light can be useful. However I've heard they take a short while to warm up and produce full levels of output, so having to keep switching them on and off probably wouldn't help.

Jon

[Nigel]

I of course dislike some cyclists & some motorcyclists because they take risks and expect everyone else to take responsibility for them.

But my biggest hate amongst car drivers are xenon headlights ....sorry James.

These things seem even more counterproductive to road safety than speed scameras.

I've spoken to my optician about this, just to check I have nothing wrong with my eyes, he assures me I don't, and apparently the older you get (I'm 45) the more these will bother you due to your eyes gradually getting slower to respond.

They may be great for the driver of the vehicle they are fitted to, but the dazzle others, pure & simple, I dislike them coming towards me, and I absolutely hate them fitted to vehicles following me, and again apologies to James, but the ones fitted to Vauxhalls, notably Astra's seem to be the worst.

The only time I've been comfortable with these around was in fog, they seem to be a superb fog light.

[James]

People who approach you quickly in Lane 3, tailgate and sit there waiting for you to let them past (despite you travelling at a good speed and overtaking those in Lane 2).

How would you prefer them to indicate to you that they wish you to move in at the first suitable opportunity so that they can overtake? Do you prefer them to flash? Or to undertake?

BTW, I am not trying to say that I would do it in the way you dislike, but I am asking a genuine question.

Im all a for body language in driving, flashing, positioning e.t.c. but this example is based on a scenario that occurred a couple of days ago. I merged a 3 lane NSL and went straight to lane 3 as usual. I saw about half a mile back as I merged a silver car in lane 3 and nothing in 1 or 2 in front of it. I accelerated to a decent speed in 3 to overtake a handful of vehicles on 2. This Silver Alfa 156 acccelerated towards me in Lane 3 (he must have hit about 120) and left it to the last minute to brake as hard as possible and almost came into touch with me (who was still travelling at a decent speed in Lane 3). I looked back in my mirror to see a male about 35 yrs old with a 5 year old asleep in the front passenger seat. This continued.... It was downright dangerous.

[nuster100]

Here we go in order of loathing.

1. Fart Canons on a 1.1 corsa
2. Tailgating
3. Rear foglights when there is no fog
4. Front fog lights when there is no fog
5. People who do 45mph in a nsl then 45mph through a 30
6. People who accelerate hard for 50 yards only to stop for a red light
7. Lorries trying to overtake each other on a hill with a speed difference of .5 mph
8. 4x4 drivers, as they tend to exibit most of the above

Think that about covered most of them.

Jay

[MGF]

How would you prefer them to indicate to you that they wish you to move in at the first suitable opportunity so that they can overtake? Do you prefer them to flash? Or to undertake?

BTW, I am not trying to say that I would do it in the way you dislike, but I am asking a genuine question.

Why on earth would the driver in a following vehicle feel the need to indicate he wants you to move over at the first suitable opportunity?

By doing so he is assuming you are not going to or wishes to push you along to complete the overtake quicker.

The fact that someone has caught up with me indicates the driver would like to pass at the first safe opportunity.

Flash, indicate, tailgate, shout abuse... do what you (not you personally) like, unless you have blue lights I will complete my overtake safely according to my own judgement.

[Gromit37]

People who flash you because they dont know what Xenon lights are and think you are on full beam.

One of my pet hates : Poorly adjusted, overly bright lights!

If people think you are on full beam, then perhaps your lights are out of alignment or just too bright? There are a fair few cars out there that dazzle other drivers whilst on dipped beam, and it's not pleasant. It is dangerous, and if an accident occurs, saying that you weren't on main beam won't help if it can be shown your lights dazzled the other driver unnecessarily. Dazzle me, you get flashed... xenon beams or not. How am I supposed to know the difference if the effect is broadly the same?

[James]

There are xenons I hate too, Mercs, Range Rovers - they are like fireworks and blind you on sight, mine as you can see from my signature are not that intrusive and they are actually quite low, on dipped beam. The only time I feel for the car in front of me is when we go over a crest, i.e he is going down as I am raised up over the crest so he gets the full effect, but thats quite rare...

[stv]

I must be in the minority here as i don't have any issue with xenon lights, fog lights, or 4x4s.

Drivers who don't look beyond the end of the bonnet annoy me, the ones who stop across junctions preventing other drivers entering and exiting, don't notice the 30mph limit coming up, or that my brake lights are coming on because i am letting them know that i am slowing down for the 30mph limit - and it doesn't register with them at the next village, or the next.......

Drivers who wait to pull out from a junction immediately in front of you when there is no one behind, and they could have gone 10, 20, 30 seconds before.

[PeteG]

The only time I have issues with xenons, apart from James' crest example, is on 4x4s - they're just at eye level for us peasants. :p
Much more annoying, I find, is people with regular lamps aiming skyward. I almost always have my lights set to the "3" position to angle down, since if I'm using dipped lamps I'm most likely in a residential area. Out on the back roads, I flick them back up, but I'm on main most of the time anyway.
I'd be interested to see the new +80% bulbs just being launched, as to whether they dazzle or not. Fancy getting some for my next car, since the +50%s I put in my Corsa are (As said in other topics) splendiferous.

People who tailgate with an empty lane 2, especially on my local urban DCs, get my back up. Similarly, those whose exhaust size is inversely proportional to their intellect, who nearly hit me when I slow gently for a bend, junction, etc, rather than slamming on at the last possible moment...

[manilva15b]

I have no issue with Xenon lights other than (like any others) if badly adjusted. The company car (C8) has them and I do find the occasional driver flashing me in the mistaken belief that I'm using full beam. The C8's lights are mounted quite high up, but are well adjusted. They do give the blue fringe as mentioned by others, but I don't find this disconcerting.

I've also retrofitted xenon bulbs to my pug, but since it doesn't have the projector lenses, I don't get a blue fringe, nor flashes from other motorists.

What really gets my goat is blatant, lazy observation failures which put other road users (not just myself) in danger. The typical scenario is the 'yoof' in his depressingly unoriginal customised Seat Leon diesel etc. hammering up the inside lane on a DC with a slow lorry ahead, who will then indicate once, brake sharply to the lorry speed and then pull out into the outside lane to try and overtake, normally missing the faster traffic in the outside lane by less than 6 inches either end. This of course causes all sorts of panic / sharp braking

[ScoobyChris]

One of my other pet hates is uncourteous drivers (if anyone's driven round Hampshire they'll know what I mean! ). A simple thank you or acknowledgement goes a long way

Chris

[jont]

Another one I was reminded of on the way home sitting at traffic lights.... muppets who don't know what the handbrake is for and sit on the foot brake. Sometimes I wonder about shoving main beam on and see how they like being blinded, but I know it wouldn't really do any good.

[martine]

Yeah and that's another thing ...

...people at traffic lights that hold it on the clutch, rocking backwards and forwards gently. It offends my mechanical sympathy, is downright sloppy and is potentially dangerous (esp. with pedestrians crossing in front).

[nuster100]

Will have to remeber not to hold the car on the clutch.

I have lost count on the number of time I have rolled to a halt on a hill and caught the car on the clutch in 1st.

I am guessuing this is not good then?

Jay