What kind of driver are you?

[OldRightHander]

Are you an overly aggressive driver, or a courteous driver, or somewhere in between? The following is from a web site frequented by people in my line of work. It comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Answer the following questions to determine your driving style.

Do you...

Pass other vehicles only on the left?
Avoid blocking passing lanes?
Yield to faster traffic by moving to the right?
Maintain appropriate distance when following other vehicles?
Use headlights in cloudy, rainy, and other low light conditions?
Come to a complete stop at stop signs, before right turn on red, etc.?
Approach intersections and pedestrians at slow speeds to show your intention and ability to stop?
Follow right-of-way rules at four-way stops?
Drive below posted speed limits when conditions warrant?
Maintain speeds appropriate for conditions?
Use turn signals for all turns and lane changes?
Use your horn sparingly?
Avoid unnecessary use of high-beam headlights?
Refrain from flashing headlights to signal a desire to pass?
Drive at posted speeds, in the proper lanes, using non-aggressive lane changing?
Maintain proper speeds around roadway crashes?
Avoid returning inappropriate gestures?
Focus on driving and avoid distracting activities (e.g., smoking, use of a car telephone, reading, shaving)?
Avoid driving when drowsy?
Avoid blocking the right-hand turn lane?

Tally up your answers. The more no answers, the more aggressive you are as a driver.

1-3 Excellent
4-7 Good
8-11 Fair
12+ Poor

I see way too much aggressive driving on the road every day. Are you one of them? I hope not.

[kaldaniels]

I am a vigilante...using my vehicle (stupidly sometimes) to obstruct/interfere with the crazies out there.

[KittyDuran]

I thought I was an aggressive driver because I speed a lot - usually going 5-10 miles over the speed limit on the highways. But I pretty good about obeying the rules so I said yes on most... No on about 2.

Refrain from flashing headlights to signal a desire to pass?

Do people do this?

[KronoRed]

I've only seen trucks do that.

Me? I'm a decent driver, I don't run up on people or try and run them off the road, I do speed (I blame the broken speedometer) and I do have a bad habit of failing to check my blind spots, but after almost killing someone 2 weeks ago I've been a lot better about it

[Yachtzee]

I thought I was an aggressive driver because I speed a lot - usually going 5-10 miles over the speed limit on the highways. But I pretty good about obeying the rules so I said yes on most... No on about 2.

Do people do this?

Seems like more of a European tendency. They like to "wake up" people who daydream in the passing lane. In the US I believe the standard operating procedure is to just ride someone's behind until they move. I tried the flashing trick a few times because I thought it was safer than riding someone's behind, but it didn't work and the people in front of me got really mad. Honestly though, what is the best way to encourage people to stay out of the passing lane when they aren't passing another car? I just don't understand how a person isn't embarrassed when they discover they've been holding up a long line of cars because they didn't move over to let faster traffic pass.

[Caveat Emperor]

Do people do this?

Yup.

Part of my leading cause of road rage (beyond unsynchornized traffic signals) is people who don't understand the proper use of the high-speed lane.

#1 on the list of worst-offenders, though, are truckers. There is nothing more infuriating than 1 truck doing 60 in the high speed lane to pass another truck doing 55 in the slow lane -- on a 65 mph highway.

[camisadelgolf]

I am sometimes tardy in using my headlights in low-light conditions. I come to a complete stop at signs only when I see another vehicle or pedestrian. I never use my horn (it's broken). I usually speed about 6-15 MPH over the limit. I use my cell phone while driving every once in a while. I drive when I'm drowsy all the time. Otherwise, I do all those things.

[pedro]

Do people do this?

They should. It beats tailgating or passing on the right IMO.

People do get mad though. Especially in Washington state in my experience though I don't know why.

[TeamCasey]

If someone was flashing their lights to pass, I wouldn't know what that meant.

The only time I see people flash lights is oncoming traffic warning you that there's a police trap ahead.

[OldRightHander]

#1 on the list of worst-offenders, though, are truckers. There is nothing more infuriating than 1 truck doing 60 in the high speed lane to pass another truck doing 55 in the slow lane -- on a 65 mph highway.

Uniform speed limits would fix this problem. In Ohio you have a 55 speed limit for anything over four tons. Now, you have one truck that's extremely heavy and can't go much over 50-55 and you have another truck that wants around, but if he kicks it up to 65 or 70, he's going to get a ticket because the cops watch commercial vehicles like a hawk. You have all the cars allowed to go 65 and they're given more leeway as well. You really have to be flying low in a car to get a ticket, but a truck barely breaks the limit and he's nailed. If one slow truck is passing another, he is still using the left lane to pass a slower vehicle, and I'll bet that once he's around that other truck, he's getting right back over and not blocking the left lane any longer than necessary.

Also from the same article I was reading is this little tidbit. Out of all fatal accidents involving trucks and cars, the driver of the car was at fault over 70% of the time. Cars are more than 300 times more likely to rear end a truck than a truck is to rear end a car. (Make the speed limits uniform and that problem decreases.) Clearly the commercial drivers are for the most part the safest and most courteous drivers on the road

[camisadelgolf]

My whole life, I've had to put up with biased hate toward truck drivers. If you view it objectively, I think you'll notice that they're less or equally as bad as the rest of the drivers.

[Caveat Emperor]

Uniform speed limits would fix this problem.

Now, you have one truck that's extremely heavy and can't go much over 50-55 and you have another truck that wants around, but if he kicks it up to 65 or 70, he's going to get a ticket because the cops watch commercial vehicles like a hawk.

Uniform speeds are fine -- but set weight limits logically so that trucks can actually drive the speed limit in all conditions.

I lost track of how many times I was on I-75 driving back and forth to school in Toledo where one truck labored to pass another two, both under the speed limit, backing up traffic for the pass that could take upwards of 5-10 minutes.

[Roy Tucker]

I think the flashing headlights to pass thing is European, but I've seen it used here in the US. I might have done it once or twice in 40+ years of driving.

I still swear that driving while using a cell phone ought to be outlawed. I see examples *every* *day* of people totally distracted by talking on their phone. Failing to signal turns, cut people off, failure to realize traffic ocnditions, and generally driving completely oblivious to everyone and everything.

I just don't get why it is so important to be talking to someone. If I get a call, I either let it bounce to voice mail or pull off the road if it looks important.

IMHO, truckers are still the best drivers on the road, but they aren't as good as they used to be. Truckers used to be unfailingly courteous but no so much any more. But seeing how a lot of people drive, I can understand their frustration.

[RedsFan75]

Any Texas drivers reading this?

Pass other vehicles only on the left?
Avoid blocking passing lanes?
Yield to faster traffic by moving to the right?

I swear when I lived in Texas is seemed that the majority of drivers drove in the left hand 'passing' lane. And they never yielded.

[RosieRed]

I am on the road A LOT (road trips a couple times a month), and I'm almost always the one driving. I'm a fairly courteous driver. I get over when I see someone coming up fast on me, I always use turn signals, etc. (I have no problem "returning inappropriate gestures" though.) What I don't get is why so many people are in such a hurry. Is it really necessary go to 85-90 mph in a 65 mph zone? No. Your car is not a time machine. You'll get there when you get there. Not like I don't speed, I'll go 70-75 if that's the traffic flow, but I really can't stand those people who are just zooming along and expecting everyone to get out of their way.

I much prefer driving at night when it's just me and the truckers on the road. Yeah, it can sometimes be annoying to get stuck behind one while they're passing another, but that's nothing compared to the crazy SUV driver who believes he owns the highway. Most truckers, IMO, are very courteous drivers.