California freeways around Orange County tend to make people throw up. That’s a local specialty you won’t see in many other places. Everyday, I encounter different kinds of drivers. Many drivers are patient while others are the exact opposite. Some drivers drive in a fashion that makes the driving experience a good one for everyone. Other drivers, however, tend to ruin the driving experience for everyone around them.

Here’s a list of 9 annoying drivers I encounter every week. Many of these drivers also cause unwarranted accidents on many occasions. Try to see if you know anyone who falls into a similar category, if you have seen such drivers, or if you tend to associate your own driving with certain points below, or even all of them.

1. Slow driver. This is the role model for majority of the lazy people. This driver will drive 35 mph in a 60 mph zone. This driver will also drive at 40mph on a 70 mph freeway zone. Not only are other cars in danger of colliding with such a car, they are also in danger of hitting more than one car when they hit the brakes or try to swerve away from the lane which has this slow turtle in front of them.
2. Fast driver. This is the big truck you see that drives at 90 mph on a 70 mph freeway. These drivers will come behind you and try to touch your car’s butt. Whether or not you try to file sexual harassment charges is up to you; simply ask your mechanic for advice. These drivers usually use their bright lights, sometimes on purpose, as if to tell you to change lanes immediately or they will run you over.
3. No-signal driver. This is the driver that will not give any signal while changing a lane, nor making a right, or a left. These driver do not believe in giving signals. Life is meant to be understood through experience; other drivers should also learn through experience when other cars are changing directions. These drivers will probably petition one day to have all signals from cars removed within the country.
4. Squeezing-up driver. These drivers try to squeeze up into a space, between two cars, that is exactly equal in length to their own car on a fast freeway. They assume that the car in front and the back will keep driving at the same exact speed, and that they can fit into the spot in the other lane perfectly. These people cause a lot of accidents, usually with the drivers behind them in the lanes they are squeezing into.
5. The daring squeezing-up even more driver. These drivers try to squeeze into spots smaller than their cars, hoping that the drivers behind them in the lane they are merging into would be scared and would back off in order to allow this new gangster into the lane. These drivers make the “Squeezing-up” drivers look like saints.
6. Slow parking lot drivers. These drivers drive at around 7 mph or a bit less in parking lots and when exiting shopping centers. These drivers are in no hurry. In fact, these people believe in a slow world, trying to ensure everything around them moves slow enough for them to understand what’s going on. As far as I can see, these drivers rarely cause any accidents; they are mainly a nuisance.
7. Good-faith, stop sign loving drivers. These drivers stop at a stop sign permanently. These drivers will stop at a stop sign and look around for at least 10 seconds to ensure no car is coming, and that no pedestrian is crossing the road, even when it’s broad daylight and there is no visible car or human being for miles. These drivers will also stop at a red light for about 20 seconds before making a right turn, even if there is no oncoming car from any direction.
8. Fast freeway exit drivers. These drivers exit the freeway at 60 mph, and they maintain that speed on the local roads. They get upset at anyone who gets in front of them, as that results in a slower than speed of light speed for them. I have seen some of these drivers become the “Slow parking lot drivers” above, which is interesting.
9. Slow freeway entrance drivers. These drivers get on the freeway at speeds of around 40 mph and maintain it, while going into any lane they wish. These are somehow indirectly related to the “Fast freeway exit drivers”; maybe the other half that got lost at a carnival, while the parents were being “Slow parking lot drivers.”

So there you have it. This is the list of 9 drivers that tend to ruin the driving experience for many people. It is ok to drive in any manner you want as long as it doesn’t affect the driving of other people around you. I sometimes drive really slow in parking lots, though in such cases I know there is no car behind me. Similarly, I sometimes stop at a stop sign for a while, thinking of whether to take another street or something and at the same time being aware that there is no car behind me.

How about you? What do you think about this? Have you ever run into something similar? Do you have any other driving trend in mind that I might have overlooked?

Speaking of drivers, here is a picture while driving on the 5 freeway, taken in the late afternoon.