This week’s column came after receiving an email from Times editor Lee Howard regarding his take on a “move over” pet peeve he has with other drivers. After mentioning this to other drivers I know, a flurry of other pet peeves came streaming in from many folks concerned about how drivers seem to be so negligent in the proper rules and etiquette of the roads.

• Driving too slow in the fast lane on a highway.

Most drivers have forgotten the rules regarding the lanes on the highway. On a two-lane highway, the left lane is the passing lane, the right lane is the travel lane, and if there is a third lane it is usually designated a slow vehicle lane. That is exactly how they should be used. Stay in the travel lane if you aren’t passing someone.

• Passing on the right or in the “Slow Vehicle Lane.”

When someone is moving too slowly in the passing lane, get into the travel lane and follow the recommended speed limit. From my own personal observations, those drivers using the “Slow Vehicle Lane” as a passing lane are usually pickup truck drivers or kids in their modified Hondas who are frustrated with the travel lane and passing lane traffic, even when everyone is obeying the speed limit.

• Going around a car making a left turn at an intersection on a single lane road.

Most drivers do this routinely, and it can lead to an accident. A car coming from the other direction may also be making a left turn. The driver making the left turn should remain at the indicated stop line in the road and not pull ahead allowing the vehicles behind to go around on the right. Drivers behind the turning driver should be patient.

• Following too closely.

In my personal experience, most all drivers follow too closely behind another vehicle. Driving a single car length behind a tractor trailer or any other vehicle is an accident waiting to happen. The three-second rule should be observed, where you leave a three-second gap between you and the vehicle in front of you. However, due to how others drive, this simply leaves an inviting opening for another driver to enter.

• Speeding up to pass a driver to take the approaching exit.

Can’t you simply slow down and pull in behind the vehicle to access your exit? Why speed up and then cut off the vehicle? Know your route and plan accordingly.

• Proper merging onto a highway.

The on ramp to a highway should have an acceleration lane to allow a driver to match the speed of the vehicles on the highway. Merge safely into the travel lane, and as a courtesy, the driver in the travel lane should yield to the entering vehicle by also adjusting their speed to provide an opening. Not all on ramps have an acceleration lane, unfortunately. You are now at the mercy of the driver in the travel lane.

These are only a few of the common complaints by drivers about other drivers. We can be more courteous and considerate on our roadways. If we remember the etiquette of driving, our roads would be so much safer.

Lee Edwards of Niantic, who works in the transportation industry, writes an occasional column for the Times on road safety. To comment, email l.howard@theday.com.