Issued in a news release by Toronto Police Traffic Services Sergeant Tim Burrows, these were the top 10 peeves of drivers in an on-line survey by the Toronto Police:

10. Slow drivers

9. Slower-moving drivers who pull into your lane when you're going faster

8. Late/no left-turn signals in traffic

7. Distracted drivers

6. Cyclists who disobey the HTA

5. Left Lane Bandits

4. Unsafe lane changes

3. Tailgating

2. Lane crashing/entering and using lanes that end to cut in front of other cars (drivers leaving the right lane on a freeway/expressway, jump on a ramp, pass cars, cut back in)

1. No signals - by a landslide

Lane crashing------------@#%$#%#$@^#^%#%^ drivers.

i can't belive no one ever mentions this, but my biggest is IDIOTS WHO GEAR DOWN to slow down AND DONT USE THEIR BRAKES god damn almost write off my car so many times coming through TO on the 401 cause of some idiot ricer in a civic. These people are horrible especialy in the rain when its hard enough to see. I've ended up on the shoulder more than once because of that, never crashed, probably because i look for it I would like to see how many tickets *I* would get for that, but then it wold be interesting to see what a Cadillac would do to a Honda

Left Lane Bandits. I love it!

How about those who speed to get in front of you when you are the last car in the long line of moving vehicles, only to slam on the breaks because they were going faster than your lane and are about to brownnose the car ahead?

Or those idiots who, seeing your signal to enter their lane, speed UP in order to prevent you from executing a safe lane change for no other reason than just because they are feeling territorial on a public highway?

Heck, if I weren't so scared of guns, I'd apply to become an officer just to ticket these flarches.

How about those who speed to get in front of you when you are the last car in the long line of moving vehicles, only to slam on the breaks because they were going faster than your lane and are about to brownnose the car ahead?

That was lane crashing.........

Or those idiots who, seeing your signal to enter their lane, speed UP in order to prevent you from executing a safe lane change for no other reason than just because they are feeling territorial on a public highway?

Blocking. I always love it when people do this for no reason at all.

Marquisse wrote:

Or those idiots who, seeing your signal to enter their lane, speed UP in order to prevent you from executing a safe lane change for no other reason than just because they are feeling territorial on a public highway?

This might be part of the reason why Toronto drivers do not use their signals when changing lanes. Not a justification, but an explanation...

Radar Identified wrote:

Marquisse wrote:

Or those idiots who, seeing your signal to enter their lane, speed UP in order to prevent you from executing a safe lane change for no other reason than just because they are feeling territorial on a public highway?

This might be part of the reason why Toronto drivers do not use their signals when changing lanes. Not a justification, but an explanation...

A part of? I found that the easiest way to merge into left lane when there is another vehicle pacing you is to speed up a bit and show left turn. In 9 cases out of 10 the jerk on the left rockets off, and then you easily merge...

Feels so nice in Guelph though. 9 out of 10 will actually let you merge without doing anything crazy.

I gear down to slow on an incline or when I just want to adjust my speed (e.g., passed a car at 100 km/h and want to slow down to 80 km/h before Bear pops out of the woods). You really can't tell when a car slows down without brake lights? Or are you referring to drivers gearing all the way down to stop for a turn/stoplight? Never seen that before, but I could see how that could throw you off. Our Lancer is set up with a lot of engine braking from the factory; just by taking my foot off the gas, I can slow from 120 km/h to 100 km/h in a matter of seconds.

Not signalling seems to have gotten much worse in the last five years. I'm not taking it as personally as I used to, and I am not sure if that is a good thing. Back in the '90s, when a car merged in front of you without signalling, many times it was meant as an insult, or at least that was my impression. Most people tended to signal, and when they didn't, it was usually after passing a slow vehicle in the passing lanes.

Squishy wrote:

I gear down to slow

From rabbit to turtle?? Squish, get that lawn tractor off the street...

just to add in another twist...

142

Signal for stop

( 8 ) The driver or operator of a vehicle upon a highway before stopping or suddenly decreasing the speed of the vehicle, if the operation of any other vehicle may be affected by such stopping or decreasing of speed, shall give a signal plainly visible to the driver or operator of the other vehicle of the intention to stop or decrease speed,

manually

(a) by means of the hand and arm extended downward beyond the left side of the vehicle; or

signalling device

(b) by means of a stop lamp or lamps on the rear of the vehicle which shall emit a red or amber light and which shall be actuated upon application of the service or foot brake and which may or may not be incorporated with one or more rear lamps

Ooo, tricky. The Escape slows at roughly the same rate when I gear down (turn off O/D) as the Lancer does simply by going completely off the gas, though I would say that neither qualify as "sudden".

Manual transmission cars can engine brake much more effectively, so I guess that should be avoided in traffic. Saves gas in the newer cars though.

(Stop lamps can be amber? )

So the car guys that recommend letting off the gas gently then applying the brakes, are telling you to break the law.......will wonders never cease in Ontario......

Are Jake brakes connected to the stop lamps? I've never really paid attention to that detail.

^ Jake brakes and retarders on automatics (large trucks and buses) can activate the brake lights if the relays for such are installed and working. I have seen many though that are not working because the relay has been removed or other wiring issues. There are also various levels of activation for engine brakes or retarders, light levels of either will not turn on the lights, only the moderate to high levels will. But yes, they can.