QOTD: What Driving Maneuver Gets Your Goat?

by Tim Healey

Published: August 23rd, 2024

qotd what driving maneuver gets your goat

I was driving on the freeway the other day when I got very angry at another driver's aggressive move.

I saw a traffic jam coming up, but the lane to my left backed up a bit further down the road. Looking to shave some seconds, I signaled and started to slide over, only to have to the car behind me speed up and dive in to the spot I wanted -- thus sticking me behind a parade of traffic. Annoying.

I know, I know -- some of you will say that the other guy's move was fair. Some will say I shouldn't have had the slightest of hesitation while I checked my blind spot.

But I am not here to argue about whether the move was fair -- though I do think it is a bit unsafe and could lead to a collision. No, I am here to ask you about the move that other drivers do on the regular that makes your blood boil.

It might be fair and/or legal, but either way, it gets your goat.

I suspect most of you will say it's being cutoff that's the worst, but I am curious nonetheless.

Yes, I have almost certainly asked this before, but it's nice to check in with our anger once in a while.

Sound off below.

[Image: DimaBerlin/Shutterstock.com]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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2 of 77 comments

Leonard Ostrander on Aug 26, 2024
I never get angry behind the wheel but my pet peeve is drivers swerving to the left to make a right turn like they're driving a school bus. Even worse without a turn signal. To make a right turn, move to the right and turn which way? Oh yeah, turn right. Driver education is no longer taught in high school. It was better than nothing. It's clear that most drivers today haven't a clue.

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Ja-GTI on Aug 26, 2024
PIT maneuver

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