I am a pretty mild-mannered woman. It takes a lot to get my panties in a knot. But I do have one big pet peeve that leaves me seething: tailgating. When I have a driver bearing down on my car, inches from my bumper, I have to work really hard not to get out and go postal in the middle of the road.
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I think it began when I was in my twenties, living in Utah. I was on my way to work, and it was still dark. I was the only car on the road except for the pickup behind me. We were both going the speed limit- 55. Suddenly, a herd of elk began crossing the road in front of my car. I slammed on my brakes to avoid the gigantic animals, and I somehow managed to miss them all. But, the driver of the truck was unable to keep himself from plowing into my car because he was following too closely.
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Fast forward to five years ago when I began to chauffeur my baby girl around. My fear of anything happening to her combined with my past experience to make me virtually intolerant of tailgaters. I have been known to call the police when confronted with a particularly aggressive driver. The world is a dangerous enough place, I just don't see how some people think it's ok to selfishly crank all of the odds up so many notches.
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Whew- my rant is over! We all have things that make our blood pressure rise a little, right? Please, share your pet peeve in the comments... let's vent!!!
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6 comments:
OMG! At my kids school there in a marked illegal left turn into the school. The entrance is the same as the exit, it's a big U driveway. So plenty of parents...EVERY DAY...come into the entrance making the illegal left turn. So when it's time for me to exit I'm now facing both lanes, parallel to the school and I need to make my legal left turn, but it's almost impossible to because now there are cars perpendicular to me making the illegal left turn. ARGH!!! I've yelled at parents before and they are oblivious to it and ignore it. However, once in awhile I do get some peace when the cops are waiting in the school lot handing out tickets to the illegal left turners (but not as frequently as I would like)
My pet peeve is people who jump to conclusions. What I mean is, that if someone hears something about another person from a 3rd party, they don't bother asking the person if what they heard is true and pass it on as gospel truth. I've seen too many cases of hard feelings and destroyed friendships because of this.
Jennie, I'm with you on tailgating. That is a major peeve for me. It's gotten worse since I started student-teaching and am on the interstate for about an hour to an hour and a half each day. People scare the crap out of me.
Hate tailgaters...but I have a PT Cruiser and something about that car makes it seem like everyone is tailgating...it's crazy.
My huge pet peeve is people who don't pick up after their dogs. Drives me crazy when I got to the park and have to watch not only where I step, but where my two year old steps too.
i'm right there with you! dangerous drivers really get me so angry. tailgaters, those who make left-hand turns in front of on-coming traffic (instead of yielding. it's crazy. i've seen them almost hit people in crosswalks, almost hit my car as i legally drive through the green light. they don't want to wait their turn, they'd rather almost injure me and my children!) and i especially harbor terrible thoughts for the ones who weave in and out of traffic coming within INCHES of other cars. i feel like they are as dangerous as someone shooting a gun into the air above a crowd of people. they are just going to inevitably hurt someone one day. same goes for texting drivers. extremely common here on the roads in CA. even with the $100+ tickets. i don't think they give those tickets out enough! should be $1000. ok. whew! rant over. here's to getting more cars off the road and more people into efficient and affordable mass transit!
That sounds very scary Jennie :(
I totally agree with you all on the tailgaters, and the dogs mess...
I have another really little and petty one compared to all your's.
It's when you forget your shopping bag at the shop and they offer you a bag, then lick their finger to get the bag open... urgh.. And if someone maybe has to read through some paper work of yours, then they lick their finger to turn the pages... Sorry, but this does make me cringe a bit lol...
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