The man in the truck was outraged. His face went the deep red shade of the seven ball on a pool table. Veins throbbed in his neck and at his temples. The muscles around his jaw throbbed like fists beneath his skin. His own hands were in the air, shaking and pointing at the object of his wrath.

“Put down the goddamn phone!” he yelled at the driver of a car in front of him. “Hang up the goddamn phone and drive!”

A stream of profanity and spittle followed.

Early afternoon at the beer store in Auburn. The man in the truck had just pulled in and was trying to park. The woman in the car was on her way out. She was engaged in a lively conversation on her cell phone as she backed from her space. She laughed and nodded at the caller on the other end of the line. She took her sweet time getting out of the lot and the man continued to rage.

He raged all the way through the store, sputtering at the clerk, at other shoppers, telling them all about the horrible woman outside.

“These people,” he said. “No consideration for anybody else on the road.”

Then he left and I had the good fortune of driving behind him for several blocks. He turned right, turned left, turned left again and turned right once more. Not a single time did the red-faced man use a blinker. Not once. I thought of calling him on it and then decided I didn’t really want my own cell phone given to me as a suppository.

But there it is, highway hypocrisy in action. Drivers who talk on cell phones bug the hell out of this man. You know what bugs the hell out of me? People who don’t use their blinkers. I mean, come on! It requires one finger and maybe three-inches of movement. If you can’t be bothered to do that much to let other drivers know where you’re going, you probably should take a cab.

These people. No consideration for anybody else.

Americans spend, on average, three hours a day in their cars. That’s a lot of opportunity to become irritated with your fellow man as he or she pulls out in front of you, cuts lanes and bangs left turns from right lanes. Most of us agree: It’s not simple inexperience that makes for a bad driver, it’s more about attitude. Self-centered twits can’t be bothered to use a blinker because it’s more important that they use that free hand to fire off a text message.

There’s a new state law around aimed to put a halt to texting while driving, but does anyone really believe it will cure the egocentric laziness that vexes our highways and avenues? Nope. Not the people who responded to our query. They believe that bad drivers are the product of bad attitudes. And while we can agree on that, most of us have our own strong opinions about what constitutes the worst of the worst when it comes to on-road aggravations.

Get your blood pressure medication out, Martha. Tales of the worst drivers on the road are coming right at you. In their own words.

Father Dan Beegan, Rumford

The “no blinker” annoys me the most, to the point I’ve named it the New England Left Turn. The NELT also involves moving one’s car or pickup as far to the right as possible before making a left turn. It’s as if Bubba thinks he’s driving a team of draft horses hitched to a wagon.

I have worked in Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine, and it’s bad in all three states. No blinker for a right turn also fries my ass, but less so than the no-blinker left.

Since medical problems prohibit me from driving, I don’t worry about it anymore.

Marilyn Brown, Grand Lake Stream

1. Tailgating — my granddaughter was a victim of a tailgater on I-295 on Memorial Day weekend. She had minor injuries, but lost her car, could not get a rental car (no major credit card) and is now involved in trying to get her life back together. She was able to stop (and avoid) an impaired driver in front of her, but the car following her did not stop. Needless to say the impaired driver drove off, and was never caught — hmmm.

2. Cell phones stuck to the ear — mostly younger people do this. It is interesting trying to dodge those who have the cell phone stuck to the left ear and are trying to get on the Interstate from an entry ramp when they do not even look to see where they are. I try to pull over to let people on, but sometimes the double lines of traffic will not let me do this! Makes for interesting juggling to avoid them, then sometimes you end up with #1 (see above).

3. Dog on the lap of the driver. This is interesting. Watch what happens when you try to pass someone who has a German shepherd on his lap and he’s trying to see over or under the dog! The dog is barking, trying to get at YOU while you are passing (because you are in his space), the driver is all over the road trying to find the road again, while there is a huge monster standing on his lap and other accouterments, and he is trying to get the dog off him! I got out of HIS way fast!

Cal Brown

I find it most annoying to see highway signs on the interstate that say “Keep right except to pass.” The law has been repealed. It was rarely enforced. . . . Nothing is much more irritating than seeing a person drive in the left lane on multi-lane highways at speeds lower than the posted rate. It may be legal to pass on the right but it isn’t without risk.

Audrey, Chesterville

The Leader of the Pack. You know, the guy who pokes along at 20 mph, then when you try to pass guns it, and before you can get passed he/you are going 70. A good way for these booboos to kill someone.

Kenneth Edgerly, Auburn

I am perturbed by drivers who cannot read, do not read or just don’t care about traffic signs and signals. Such as:

Failure to stop at stop signs

Failure to obey the laws regarding right on red lights

Failure to obey posted speed limits

Failure to use turn signals properly

Failure to yield right-of-way to pedestrians in a crosswalk

And the list goes on and on.

Jessica Hutchinson, Auburn

I think 80 percent of the drivers on the road got their license out of a Cracker Jack box. There are plenty of things . . . but the absolute worst drivers are the idiots who stop to turn. And more than half the time they don’t use their blinkers! It’s like “Hello lady, you are driving a minivan, not a damn big rig!”

Rosita Friel, Buckfield

Road rage is the biggest for me. Drivers don’t like to be passed even if they are slow. They want to control the speed of traffic. Once we passed a van from Arizona on our way back from Rangeley and he got so mad he hurried to catch up with us at an intersection where there was a light, got out of the van and punched his fist into the rear bumper of our car and took off. Insurance covered it.

Called the police; they called him, eventually got him long distance, and he denied it even though we had his license plate number. The trooper did nothing because, he told us, it was a he-said-she-said case.

Of course there are times fists are shaken at us or the finger given, even by females.

Doreen, Augusta

People who dangerously pull out right in front of you and then go about 5 miles an hour. Plus, I cannot understand why people do not use their signals. Oh, and of course, there are the people who are right on your back bumper, especially on I-95.

Jamie T., Auburn

Which poor driving habit annoys me the most? When there are two turning lanes and responsible drivers get in the lane that they are going to need to be in after the turn, but some idiots pull into the lane with less traffic and then cut everyone else off to get in the lane they need to be in. Want an example? Keep an eye on the two lanes across from Yvon’s Car Wash at the corner of Lincoln and Main streets in Lewiston at rush hour. That makes me furious! Your time is not more important than mine. I’m in a rush too, I’m tired, I’ve got dinner to make, my 4-year-old has been at day care longer than I (and probably you) have been at work, and he’s waiting for me to get there because he misses me and wants to go home. Get in the right lane in the first place. I never let them cut in front of me if I can help it.

Lost in Lewiston

Lately it seems to be a trend in town that . . . some people who are walking have no clue to get out of the way. They simply amble slowly in front of the traffic without a care in the world. They must see cars . . . waiting so they don’t get hit, but it’s like they’re in slow motion, clueless, oblivious or on some type of mellowing drug.

On the other side of the coin, while you’re on the turnpike there are people who drive right up to your butt without allowing any space, itching to pass you as you’re going 70 mph! One quick step on the brake and a major catastrophe is waiting to happen. Some drivers hug other cars so close for so many miles it’s apparent they have road rage. They no sooner pass one vehicle and they do the same to all other vehicles in their way – glued to the back end, silently trying to push others out of the way.

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