Editorial: Why I'm driven to despair

SH2 Elizabeth Takitimu intersection will be upgraded to deal with the growing traffic. Photo by George Novak 06 March 2015 BTG 07Mar15 - PRESENT: The Elizabeth St roundabout will go.PHO

Let's face it. The driving habits of many people leave a lot be desired.

And let me be the first to say that I'm nowhere near perfect behind the wheel.

But a few days ago I had the dubious pleasure of driving behind a master of the art of annoying driving, someone I would assume had spent many years perfecting this art because they were, for some mysterious reason, still alive.

This person fell into three categories: the crawler, the texter and the non-indicator.

While weaving all over the place, with an occasional jerk on the wheel to bring herself back on to her side of the road or out of the gutter, this young woman narrowly missed a few parked cars - her face lit up in a ghostly glow by the screen on her smartphone.

So, instead of getting angry or becoming a "tailgater" or "full-beamer," I pulled back to match her speed of somewhere between 35km/h and 45km/h.

This was a good move because, as soon as I did so, she looked up and realised she needed to make a swift right-hand turn, which left little time for her to indicate. So she didn't.

And just like that, she was gone.

I wish her all the best. I just hope she doesn't take anyone with her when she goes.

It also seems everyone has their own interpretation of the rules when it comes to roundabouts.

My favourite is when people going straight ahead at a roundabout feel the need to over-indicate by letting people know every tiny nuance of their cornering manoeuvre.

They are going straight ahead but will indicate right or left - or both ways - when doing so. Just to confuse everyone else.

We all have our own "top annoying driving habits of other drivers". I try my best not to be that annoying driver but I don't always get it right. So I've learned to be a bit more patient and a bit more understanding of other drivers.

I hope it lasts.

What do you think?
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Street View: A survey shows the top most annoying driver habits include tailgating, not indicating and texting. We asked people what they rated the most annoying driver habit?

"No indicating and tailgating" - Julie Saies, 50's, Central Tauranga

"Not indicating on a roundabout" - Matt Milson, 26, Bethlehem

"Switching lanes without indicating, especially when they cross more than one lane." - Amelia Cheng, 22, Bethlehem

"Tailgating and failing to indicate." - Andrew Ward, 25, Bethlehem

"Driving too close." - Rishab Mansata, 29, Papamoa