Interviews

High-intermediate

What behaviors annoy you most about other drivers? Do you ever exhibit these same annoyances? Be honest.

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the video:

pet peeve (noun): a minor annoyance that bothers someone
– A messy house is one of my pet peeves. I just wish my kids would clean up after themselves.

bug someone (expression): bother someone
– Sleeping in class really bugs the teacher, so you should get more rest at night.

tailgate (verb): follow very closely behind another driver
– I hate it when people tailgate because this causes so many accidents.

ridiculous (verb): very silly or unreasonable
– Some drivers are so ridiculous when they drive and speed down the road without concern for safety.

Now, watch the interview and answer the comprehension questions. You can also turn on the automatically-generated captions for the video once you start it.

1. Here is a list of annoying behaviors on the road. Describe each one and relate any experiences have had with such drivers.

• The slow driver
• The tailgating driver
• The driving-too-fast driver
• The aggressive, reckless, or impatient driver
• The littering driver
• The no-turn-signal driver
• The texting driver
• The constantly-switching-lanes driver

Randall: In this video, Aubrey, let’s talk about what annoys us most about drivers around us. Any thoughts on that?

Aubrey: Um, I think one of my biggest pet peeves is people not using their turn signals correctly. Like, uh, you know, they’re just suddenly in your lane, or, you know, you’re waiting to see if you can make a turn and you assume this person’s coming straight, but they turn right and you’re like, “Oh, I could have kept going straight if I had known you were turning.” Another thing that bugs me is when people think you’re going too slowly, and they start tailgating you.

Randall: Well, I think everyone wants to be cautious of how they drive. I think one of the things that bothers me a lot is when, for example, you pull into a parking lot, and someone has taken up two or three parking spaces where they could have only used one.

Aubrey: Yeah, that’s ridiculous.

Randall: Yeah. Well, thank you for sharing some of those thoughts on annoying drivers.

The following activities deal with related topics to give you additional language practice.

• Drive Someone Crazy – Idiom
• Driver’s Education
• Driver’s License
• Driving Lessons
• Driving Road Test
• Teenage Drivers
• Texting and Driving
• Winter Driving Tips