We are spoiled in Yakima.  We have it good…no great! I’m talking about “Traffic”.  See my post on the ten worst places to have a car.  That’s not to say that we are good drivers in Yakima.  I fully admit to being a lousy driver…I don’t even like to drive.  I need a chauffeur like Tormey has….but seriously, while we may not have the huge number of cars as the big city, we still have our share of driver complaints.Consumer Reports' National Research Center polled 895 American drivers to rank 20 common driver complaints on a score of one to 10 -- where one means "does not annoy you at all" and 10 means "annoys you tremendously" -- texting on a cell phone while driving came in as number one. It was followed closely by able-bodied drivers who park in handicapped spaces and tailgaters following too closely. Here's the top 20 driving pet peeves and the score:

  1. Texting on a cell phone while driving: 8.9 out of 10
  2. Able-bodied drivers parking in handicapped spaces: 8.7
  3. Tailgaters: 8.4
  4. Drivers who cut you off: 8.3
  5. Speeding and swerving in and out of traffic: 8.2
  6. Taking up two parking spaces: 7.7
  7. Talking on a cell phone while driving: 7.6
  8. Not letting you merge into a lane: 7.6
  9. Not dimming high beams when approaching: 7.6
  10. Not using turn signals: 7.5
  11. Slow drivers dawdling in the passing lane: 7.3
  12. Jaywalkers stepping in front of your car: 7.3
  13. Excessive horn honking: 7.1
  14. Slowing down to "rubberneck" at accidents: 7.0
  15. Not turning on headlights when it's raining or at dusk: 6.8
  16. Drivers who are indecisive about when to turn: 6.6
  17. Slow drivers on a two-lane road who won't pull over: 6.5
  18. Not going when the light turns green: 6.1
  19. Bicyclists who don't let you by: 5.8
  20. Cranking up the radio volume: 5.7

 

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