Posted on June 18, 2009 by Fiona Hilliard

The weather is heating up, but so too are tempers.  To help avoid nasty confrontations, we’ve compiled a list of our top three driving grievances and how to avoid them this summer.

Traffic

Red. Yellow. Green. Beep. Rev. Swear.  Traffic jams are part and parcel of driving no matter where you travel.  However, with a little careful planning and help from clever technology, there is light (hopefully green) at the end of the tunnel (preferably empty).

In-car navigation systems, especially ones that link to real-time traffic information providers can help you to avoid traffic jams altogether.  But, if you haven’t got one, the best thing to do is to avoid well-known traffic black spots, especially on public holiday weekends when they’re notoriously bad.  Forget technology.  Whip out the good old-fashioned map and seek out alternate routes.

Caravans

A home on the road: the perfect holiday in theory, but let’s get practical.   Small aluminium house + clapped out car =unhappy union. It is one that poses many potential dangers (and much stress) to the drivers stuck behind the rattling, could-jackknife-at-any-minute caravan.

So how do you steer clear of caravans?  Well, you could just stick to motorways and dual carriageways, where caravans are banned.  But then again, you’re on a driving holiday, shouldn’t you be getting out there and enjoying the open road?  Well, you could always set a destination on your GPS and make a request for it to show you all local caravan sites.  If you’re heading to a beauty spot with a high concentration of sites, it’s probably best to avoid taking the back road!

Tailgators

Tailgating is probably the number one cause of road rage for drivers at any time of the year.  Picture it:  You’re in the second overtaking lane and there’s a snarling sports car lurking mere inches away.  You feel intimidated, you’ve no other option but to break the speed limit, then you realise there’s no space in the middle lane to pull into.

Tailgating is not only uncomfortable, but can also be infuriating when you’re the car being tailgated.  The best thing to do is remain calm and pull over if you can.  Most road rage incidents happen as a result of drivers taking other people’ s bad driving habits personally.  What you have to realise is it’s not personal, you’ve just found yourself in front of a bad driver.  If they want to get ahead, just let them go.

What kind of drivers annoy you? Leave a comment and let us know!