KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Slow-poke drivers, tailgaters or those who blast their music from the car speakers can all annoy or distract us while on the road.
On this Driving you Crazy Monday, we’re taking a look at those pet peeves while driving. Many of these driving habits can slow you down or distract you.
Driving at night or in inclement weather can be tough. With rain, fog or snow, it’s hard to see and can be pretty frustrating.
But according to Knoxville Police, turning on your high beams or your hazard lights won’t give you a leg up.
It's actually No. 1 on our list of bad habits.
“High beams in rain or fog actually have a negative effect on you,” Officer Matthew Gentry with Knoxville Police said. “More so than the other drivers because the reflection of the light can come back and blind you.”
Instead, use your headlights. According to Tennessee law, your headlights must be on 30 minutes before sunset until 30 minutes after sunrise, and any other time when there is insufficient light.
If you don’t, you could be fined $94.50 in Knoxville.
And driving behind a car with broken tail lights can cause major problems, too.
It's driving you crazy bad habit No. 2.
“You have to be seen. So, if you’re driving at night [without tail lights], you can’t be seen,” Officer Gentry said.
According to Tennessee law, each car should have red, white, and amber lights in the rear. Having improper or broken tail lights could cost you a fine of $79.50.
And the biggest complaint viewers mentioned to us is getting stuck behind a ‘slow-poke’ in the fast lane.
“The slow-poke law is specifically for passing,” said Officer Gentry. “You’re not supposed to use the furthermost left lane for anything other than passing and passing only.”
There’s only one exception to that law, and that’s for emergency vehicles.
“By law, emergency vehicles pass on the left. So you have to yield the right away by turning on the right, not the left,” said Gentry.
Other driving pet peeves that made the list: waving another car through traffic and improper use of a roundabout.
What's driving you crazy? Let us know at drivingyoucrazy@wbir.com.