by Lindsay Horvath

Created on: January 19, 2009

I consider myself a good driver. I spent a lot of time behind the wheel driving to and from my boyfriend's house (before finally succumbing to a battle of wills and moving in with him, instead of vice versa.) Then, since we lived in the middle of nowhere, I had to drive 18 miles to work every day. In addition, none of our friends or family lived anywhere remotely close to us, so weekends were often spent behind the wheel, leaving our little town and heading for a thriving metropolis. Or, at least somewhere that had a Starbucks.

In all these years I've noticed that other drivers have a lot of bad habits. Let's start with cell phone abusers. Now, I'm certainly not going to lie and say I never talk on my cellphone while driving. Sometimes it's important to let the people at your destination know just how close you are to arriving...every half-hour or so. And if you happen to discuss things such as the weather, your job, and whether to splurge on the good vodka tonight, that's okay too. I'm talking about the cell phone users who are CLEARLY involved in a heated, emotional dialog while navigating the turnpike at unsafe speeds. I mean, you really can't wait until you get home to yell at your husband for not remembering to pick up the dry cleaning? And of course, let's not forget the people who WORK on their cell phones while driving. You can usually distinguish them from other cell phone abusers by the characteristic papers spread all over their laps and the passenger seat. And the fact that they're driving with their knees and not their hands.

The next most obnoxious offenders are the Moms. Yes, that's right, the drivers who should be the LEAST offensive and the most responsible. You can't tell me that you haven't witnessed the travesty of a Mom driving 80 miles an hour on the interstate while bending her arm like a contortionist to hold a bottle for a baby in the back seat. Or sometimes, being stuck behind a Mom in traffic, I'll see her completely turned around, smiling and cooing at her screaming offspring. Meanwhile, the light she's at has turned green and I am patiently waiting for her to turn around and concentrate on the task at hand. I try to be patient with the annoying habits of Moms though, being that I am one. Since I'm also an attentive driver, I'd never turn around to chat with my kid while driving. My trick is simple; I have the rear view mirror set to view my son's face...that's what it's there for, right?

I've saved my final driving gripe for a group

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