What annoys us - tailgaters, non-indicators and texters

Jeroen Van Der Beek, of BOP Driving School, said an issue with driver training is that instructors want to teach people how to drive, though some students simply want to pass the test. Photo / John Borren

Tailgaters, non-indicators and texters are the drivers most likely to get other road users' blood boiling, a new survey has revealed.

A survey by Colmar Brunton polled New Zealanders on driving etiquette and what they saw to be the most annoying habits of other drivers.

Tailgating was the most annoying, according to the survey, with half of those surveyed including it in their top three most-disliked driver behaviours.

Aerolink Shuttles owner Dave Orr said tailgating led to other dangerous manoeuvres on the road. It "creates the other issue where drivers are trying to get away and duck in and cut people off"', he said.

Mr Orr said he had experienced numerous incidents in which people cut him off in his shuttle on trips to and from Auckland Airport.

"I could probably count a dozen to 15 ... I usually stop counting after 12.

"They pass and then pull in and leave you with about a second following distance.

"It's really annoying, especially when you have passengers on board, to have people just duck in."

Tauranga head of road policing Senior Sergeant Ian Campion said motorists cutting people off at merge points "really frustrates people".

"People try and get one or two cars ahead and push in.

"I see it regularly around Tauranga."

Mr Campion said other behaviours that drivers found frustrating were not sticking to the correct following distances and not being considerate - though he said he had noticed an improvement in that area.

"We are a city with a significant level of traffic volume and letting people into traffic streams is improving but we still have a way to go," he said.

Driver distraction and intersection compliance were "two main issues" police dealt with and were "right up there" in terms of contributing to crashes in the Western Bay of Plenty.

BOP Driving School instructor Jeroen Van Der Beek said motorists' frustrating and dangerous driving habits were often not intentional.

"I don't think it's malicious ... they are just not aware of what is going on around them," he said.

Mr Van Der Beek said the longer he was in the industry the more he realised the need for a "formal aspect" to driver training.

He advocated maintaining a driving log book as part of the process of getting a licence.

Colmar Brunton chief executive Jacqueline Farman said in a statement that the survey results indicated Kiwi drivers found it easier to identify shortcomings in other drivers than in themselves.

"When confronted with a list of fairly common annoying driver behaviours, half of those surveyed claimed none of these described their own driving," she said.

Other driving habits hated by Kiwis

* The crawler (someone who drives too slowly) ... 28%
* The cellphone caller (someone who talks on their phone) ... 26%
* The cut off (someone who cuts you off) ... 24%
* The right lane hog (driving slowly in the passing lane) 21%
* The fullbeamer (someone with blindingly bright lights) ... 20%
* The weasel (someone who tries to sneak into traffic) ... 16%
* The light gambler (someone who ignores traffic lights) ... 14%