1. Onlooker slowdown – Grrrrrrr! There is a wreck. You aren’t in it. Keep driving! Admittedly, sometimes the accident is interesting. Like the time DH was driving me to the airport very, very early in the a.m. The driver of a rock hauler dump truck somehow hit the button to raise his bed just as he was going under an Interstate sign. Talk about a mess! The truck bed was standing straight up and was all tangled in the sign. Fifteen firefighters were standing around scratching their heads trying to figure out where to start. Okay–that one was interesting–onlooker slowdown approved.

2. Semis in the fast lane – Of course they drive 80 mph in the straightway. But, there are curves and inclines, and semis just cannot maintain their speed consistently. I really hope that Dallas starts requiring semis to stay in the slow lanes through the rush hours.

3. Eighteen wheelers carrying poorly secured equipment or are overloaded. There are so many accidents of this nature! Recently my brother was driving through Dallas when an overloaded truck started losing angle irons. Bro managed to avoid them as they fell, but one flew at just the right angle to cut a hole in his tire bigger than a man’s fist. Thank God it hit his tire and not his windshield! In the past year a popular radio host was killed on his way to work in a freak accident with a truck dropping equipment. This is so unnecessary!

4. Ok. This one should probably be #1. This is my all-time biggest annoyance for several reasons. Picture an old pickup truck, usually white. Picture about 11 men crammed inside this truck. Now add a flat trailer on the back. See it? Yep, it is full of tools, plants, shrubs, water coolers, you name it–yep, all unsecured. Picture the driver keeping ‘er steady at 10-15 mph under the Interstate speed limit. Oh yes. One more thing. Now picture no brake lights on the trailer or the truck. Yep, this one’s my favorite.

5. Smart aleck bumper stickers – You looked better on MySpace.
Ha! I actually liked that one.

6. Tattered American flags – This one really makes me see red. If you are going to post the colors on your car lot, repair them! Tattered flags are a great inspiration after battle but not along the side of the highway, particularly when used just to draw attention to the fact that you exist. Grrrrr!

7. Sun in my eyes – Now this one could potentially cause a war in my truck on any given morning. DH and I work for the same company, so obviously we commute together. DH is tall. Yours truly is short. Because of his height, DH cannot use the visor because it blocks his line of sight, nor does he need to. He is tall enough to avoid the sun. Not little old me. Many mornings, even with my shades on, the sun is obnoxiously blazing at just the right angle to bbq my eyeballs unless I ride all the way to work holding a magazine in the air to block it. DH does NOT understand this problem at all, and I don’t understand his not understanding.

8. Rude drivers – I promise this is the truth, though it sounds crazy. Most of the time when a driver cuts me off, clearly not caring that my life has value too, that car fits into one of two categories. Chances are very high that the cutter-offer is either sporting a bumper sticker for a certain Christian rock radio station or is driving a Cadillac. The Christian rocker must be jazzed up, and the Caddy driver is just plain better than me. Amazing. It’s true! (Come on, Christian rockers, watch your witness!)

9. Road construction – Ay-yi-yi. Is it really necessary to tear up every road in town all at once? Is it because cities get a bulk rate discount? And those electronic signs–who can read them while watching out for #8?

10. News Radio – Makes me want to pull my hair out. The news is informative; the traffic report is a must. The problem is the “loop.” The same stories every 10 minutes. I heard all the gory details of the murder the first time. Ten minutes later……again… and again….

11. The Commuter Salute – Oh, excuse me. I didn’t know this is a private highway and I am not allowed to drive on it when you are present. Forgive me!

12. Lookie Loos on the bridge – Yes, the pink and orange sunrise is astoundingly beautiful over the lake. No, you cannot slow down to 20 mph to admire it with miles of traffic bearing down on you. The accident that makes us late for work is almost always on the bridge. There is no other way across, so traffic backs up for miles and miles.

13. Hard braking – I hate it when I am studying and all of a sudden DH stands on the brakes to avoid a pileup. Scares me to death! Some mornings I just have to put the book away so I can be alert for the next time. I got rear-ended once in Dallas and totaled my car, so I am ever aware of what is going on behind me.

Can’t we all drive nice and get along?