Bad driving habits: Indicating incorrectly, phone usage and tailgating annoy people the most

According to survey results of AA members, the greatest driving annoyances were red-light running, tailgating and drivers using a cell phone. Photo / 123RF

From tailgating to people who drive while using their mobile phones, Rotorua road users have shared their pet peeves about behaviour on the roads.

However, not indicating correctly was the chief annoyance for most of the 16 people who participated in the Rotorua Daily Post’s unscientific survey on Tutanekai St about bad driving habits.

One woman said she had seen a close call first-hand just two days ago when a driver failed to indicate and cut in front of her bus.

“I told the bus driver I’d be happy to be a witness if he wanted to make a complaint,” the woman said.

“That could have been a terrible accident.”

Another woman said it was dangerous when cars indicated too late.

Meanwhile, one man said he believed using a phone while driving was one of the most terrible things a person could do.

“It’s like they care more about their phones than they care about anybody else on the road,” the man said.

Using a mobile phone while driving is dangerous, according to police and a road safety advocate.

Thirteen of the pedestrians surveyed agreed that running a red light and tailgating needed to be in the top five of bad driving behaviours.

Drink driving, speeding and driving well under the speed limit were also brought up by three people.

“I think more accidents are caused by slow and unconfident drivers,” one man said.

“Because it’s harder to figure out what they’re going to do. If you’re going to be on the road, you have to be confident.”

According to survey results of AA members, the greatest driving annoyances from 2013 to 2020 were red-light running, followed by tailgating, drivers in the slow lane speeding up at passing lanes and drivers using a cell phone.

Brake director Caroline Perry said drivers nationwide picked up “various bad habits” but many may not realise they’ve done so.

“There are other distractions which drivers may not see as a bad habit but can also put you at risk on the road, such as changing your GPS while driving, or eating or drinking at the wheel.

“There were other bad habits drivers might pick up that could be frustrating to others and could still result in a crash,” Perry said.

“For example, not indicating at roundabouts and junctions, tailgating, not stopping properly at a stop sign, or failing to give enough space to other road users, particularly those who are more vulnerable like pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.”

Taking a hand off the wheel to use a mobile phone and looking at it instead of the road to dial or text was dangerous, as was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, and not wearing a seatbelt, she said.

Bay of Plenty acting district road policing manager Fane Troy.

Bay of Plenty acting district road policing manager Fane Troy said some of the worst habits were being discourteous on the roads, merging was “always an issue”, and drivers speeding through roadwork areas.

“We need to look out for [road workers]; travelling through a site with loose chip on it at 50km/h to 60km/h is throwing a whole bunch of metal up as projectiles at these people trying to get our roads up to a good standard.”

Troy said officers often got “bad press” for doing their jobs.

“Our people are out there trying to keep everyone safe because we don’t want to tell people that someone’s been killed or seriously injured in a crash when it can be completely avoidable if the public takes some responsibility.”

There were no red light cameras in the Bay of Plenty but road policing data showed there had been 109 officer-issued red light infringements between January and March and 1590 nationwide.

Police had also issued 1087 mobile phone infringements in the Bay of Plenty district between January and March, compared to 220 for the same period in 2022.

There were also 1463 seatbelt offences in the first three months of the year, compared to 411 for the same period in 2022 locally.

Dave Donaldson says people should not wear earbuds when using a shared path. Photo / Andrew Warner

Keen Rotorua cyclist Dave Donaldson’s pet peeve was people who threw glass bottles onto roads and paths that caused punctures.

“It’s frustrating and potentially dangerous.”

Donaldson, a former Rotorua deputy mayor, takes long rides out towards Tauranga and Pāpāmoa.

He said “the worst bit” was around Okere Falls and having drivers following and overtaking too closely was “intimidating”.

“It’s intimidating having a vehicle passing you at 80km/h, the speed limit, but a number do more than that, or having a vehicle coming from behind and just not giving you space.

“The majority of drivers are great, they’ll give you plenty of space and give you a wide berth; The general rule is you give a cyclist 1.5 metres.”

Donaldson wanted people using shared paths to stop listening to music so they could hear others around them.

“Nothing frustrates me more than ringing my little bell on my handlebars to people walking along but they’ve got earbuds and they don’t hear you coming and, once you’re right beside them, they get a heck of a shock.”

Jogging the Powerpoles community group member Josh Te Kowhai said the worst driving habits he saw everyday were people running red lights and speeding.

“I think a lot of drivers need to take away the negative mindsets they have.”

Rotorua Cycle Action spokesman David Crawley said seeing drivers who were reading, watching or texting on their phones was “the worst”.

“All are all terrible distractions, and it only takes a second or two of inattention at 50 kilometres per hour to kill a pedestrian or somebody on a bike.”

Crawley said he wanted drivers to remember that they were sharing the road with others.

“Road users are not just cars or cyclists getting in your way, they are other people like yourself trying to get somewhere.

“If everyone slows down a bit and shows more consideration, everyone will get there safer and probably sooner too.”

Luke Kirkness is an assistant news director for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post covering general news. He previously worked at the NZ Herald for three years, mainly as a consumer affairs reporter. He won Student Journalist of the Year in 2019 at the Voyager Media Awards.

Maryana Garcia is a regional reporter writing for the Rotorua Daily Post and the Bay of Plenty Times. She covers local issues, health and crime.