Unsafe and deafening motorcyclists annoy readers
It occurred to me a few weeks ago that my next scheduled installment of your Pet Peeves would be published around Thanksgiving.
This did not seem particularly appropriate. We should be talking about things we’re thankful for, not griping about noisy cars or pooping dogs.
But I decided to plow ahead anyway, while first acknowledging how thankful I am, among many other things, for my family, for my so-far enjoyable retirement and for the medical professionals and scientific advances that helped me get through successful hip and knee replacements this fall, from which I continue to grow stronger.
I’m a lucky guy.
Here’s one more bow to the holiday’s sentiments, from a reader.
“I can’t say I disagree with any of the pet peeves in today’s article, but I’ve had enough of people complaining about these petty things,” she wrote.
“Maybe because I’m over 70 now and whenever someone complains to me, oftentimes my response is, ‘So what are you going to do about it?’
It’s time to focus on things for which people are grateful.”
Good point. Maybe next year.
Now let’s get to your complaints about drivers and roads. I had too many to fit in one column, so some will spill over into future pet peeve collections.
Anything you see in quotation marks is the exact words of the reader who complained, although most have been shortened so I can squeeze more peeves in. Nonetheless, I will be left with lots more gripes after this column, so feel free to send me yours if no one has touched on it yet.
Let’s go:
“People who drive $40,000 vehicles but fail consistently to use their turn signals to keep others on the road apprised of their intentions.”
“My biggest pet peeve is how they repair the roads around here. I often
wonder how much training has been given beforehand. Every time they repair a seam on 78 it turns into a speed bump.”
“Allentown is louder than a frontrow seat at the Indy 500, thanks to unmuffled cars, motorcycles and even dirt bikes. These vehicle owners break countless noise, pollution and motor vehicle laws.
“One day on my front porch, I heard a deafening roar. I looked up, expecting to see Marco Andretti or Al Unser coming down Linden Street at 215 mph. Turned out it was a Sentra doing
25.
“It’s well past time the Allentown PD gets what it needs to fix this major quality of life issue.”
“People who put high noise mufflers on their motorcycles and their cars.”
“Drivers who are sure that the entire neighborhood will simply adore the driver’s taste in music and therefore have their stereo turned up loud enough to sonically shatter the distant mountains.”
“People who can’t manage to get into their vehicle without setting off the car alarm.”
“Intersections that have a dedicated left hand turn lane but no dedicated left hand turn light.
“Seriously, you’re acknowledging that there is so much traffic wanting to make a left hand turn that they need their own lane but hey, good luck making that turn because we aren’t going to give you a dedicated left hand turn light.” Almost as frustrating are intersections where there is a turn arrow but no dedicated left turn lane.
“Do motorcyclists have a different set of laws driving on roadways? Instead of waiting their turn for traffic lights, they go around everyone else and if no one is coming, they run the light. Two lanes of traffic? They just go between them right to the front.”
“When it is raining you are supposed to have your lights on with your wipers. I cannot tell you how many people — a lot with dark cars, mind you — did not have them on this last storm. And it happens all the time. That drives me crazy.”
“People who are at a light with their left turn signal on, who don’t pull up a bit when the light changes to let the people behind them go, even if they can’t make their left turn right away.”
“People who pull out in front of me (I have a small car), then drive very much under the speed limit.”
“People who drive slow in the left lane on 22. (Can’t they see the cars lining up behind them?)”
“Rereading my pet peeves and realizing maybe it’s time for me to stop driving?”