In order to get from point A to point B the fastest way possible, you must seek a way to drive yourself. As you get used to driving, you will begin seeing some trends on a regular basis. It's up to you to evaluate the current driving situation and act accordingly. Here are 10 things we all experience while traveling through traffic.
1. The gold digger
No matter who you are, you have seen the famous gold digger, or in other words, the person who has no shame digging in their nose. Gold diggers are often encountered at red lights when you’re just looking around and peek into the other car, just to catch the other driver red-handed. When they see that you saw what they were doing they immediately stop and pretend like nothing happened. However, by then, the damage has already been done.
2. In a rush? Commence the red lights
Everyone will experience a time when they are late and in a rush to a destination. Unfortunately, these are the times when we hit every red light on the way to the destination. It doesn’t matter what route you go, you hit the first red light thinking that will be only one, but then you hit the next one, and then the next, etc. To add insult to injury, you will catch every green light while driving home and not in a rush.
3. The tailgater
As stated before, everyone will experience a time when they are in a rush to a destination. They often have to drive beyond the speed limit to reach their destination in time, however, traffic doesn’t always allow this. In hopes that the driver ahead of them will speed up, they tailgate them. Whenever they see a chance to get around the driver, they push forward, whipping through traffic until they reach their destination.
4. The rock star
Most of us are guilty of being that person who gets caught in a full-on jam when our favorite song comes on while driving alone. It’s one thing to get caught singing with your friends. It’s infinitely more embarrassing to get caught singing solo. This embarrassment is what makes it funny to catch others singing a solo they don’t realize they have an audience for.
5. Accident onlookers
Whether driving yourself or be driven by someone else, we have all driven past an accident. There are tons of emergency vehicles crowding the lanes, debris all over the road, and of course, the dreaded accident onlookers. These drivers will slow down, sometimes to a complete stop, to observe what exactly is going on. They do this with total disregard of any traffic behind them and often cause traffic delays.
6. The slowpoke
Whether you’re in a rush or just casually driving to your destination, you have experienced a driver who seems to be scared to go the speed limit. These drivers often have four or more cars closely following them in hopes that the lane will speed up. A good indicator of a slowpoke is if you're driving through moderate traffic and you see cars ahead of you going into the other lane and going back to their original lane. These slow drivers are usually new drivers or drivers of new cars, both sharing the same amount of disregard toward the flow of traffic.
7. Police slowdown
There is nothing that will work your nerves more than when you see a police car in your rearview mirror. You immediately check your speedometer and slow down to match the speed limit. While driving on the highway, you may see a lot of cars in front of you slowing down, which is a good indicator that there is a policeman checking for speeders and that you should slow down as well.
8. The famous traffic jam
Every new driver should be ready for dreaded traffic jams, as they are inevitable. Often occurring around off ramps and main roads during rush hour, traffic jams can be the result of a number of things such as accidents and police stops. Traffic jams can range from traffic moving at an extremely slow rate
9. Bus stops (public/school)
Some of the most annoying moments we experience while driving are the moments when we get stuck driving behind a bus, whether it’s public transportation or for the local school. The entire time you are behind them, they drive at a slow speed and take a long time to accelerate to that speed. What makes it worse is that when they stop, traffic does too. The best way to avoid the stress induced by buses is to do everything you can to get around them.
10. Road rage
Something all drivers see at some point is the road rage of another driver, whether they caused it or another driver caused it. These enraged drivers speed, honk, scream, and curse their way through traffic and often make for a dangerous driving experience. People who demonstrate road rage can sometimes be ridiculous, as they are the people who honk their horn at you the millisecond the light turns green. Since you never know the situation of the enraged driver, it is best to avoid amplifying the situation.
