Reader Jim Ross of south St. Louis puzzles over the fellow driver who fails to use his turn signal. And he's not alone.

"Is it really that hard for the driver to extend a finger to flick the lever up or down?" he wrote to Ride in an email last week. "I just can't figure out if it's motivated by arrogance or just being inconsiderate."

Ross and others think there is something to the long-standing gripe that St. Louis drivers aren't exactly wearing out their car's turn signals. When the Ride Guy asked readers to share their driving pet peeves last week, bad blinker etiquette ranked among the top five.

Speaking of blinkers, reader Bob Mooney is annoyed by people who use their turn signals to switch lanes but leave them on "for miles down the road, never changing traffic lanes."

The Ride Guy shared his most nagging pet peeves about driving. But as many of you pointed out, there were still many maddening highway habits that merit mention. Here are the most common gripes readers expressed in emails and postings on STLtoday.com:

DRIVING TOO SLOW IN PASSING LANE

You know these guys. They camp out in the fast lane "oblivious to the people flying by them, clueless to the fact that it is illegal to be in this lane" unless passing other cars, wrote Dave Kaercher.

Reader Jim L. said this breed of driver oozes with the attitude that, "I pay gas tax and I am entitled." The driver can "drive any speed I want in any lane I choose," paying little attention to the cars stacking up behind him.

TAILGATING

Sure, the Ride Guy focused on tailgating late last year, but it still rates as a major sore spot among drivers. Why?

"Probably because I'm 60-plus and not in a huge hurry like most people." wrote Frank from Webster Groves. "Don't get me wrong. I drive fast enough, but when you're going 60 in the slow lane, and somebody is right on your (rear bumper), total meanness sets in and ultimately I just gradually slow down."

Probably not something I'd recommend.

Reader Jim Bower said he gets roughly the same treatment.

"I drive a steady 5 mph over the limit in the middle lane, leaving plenty of room for faster drivers to pass me," he wrote. "I really hate those guys who nevertheless run right up to my bumper at warp 3 and hang there for two minutes before passing.

"It's like they are making some kind of statement."

INATTENTIVE DRIVERS

Driver Bob Mooney said his pet peeve is often at the root of traffic slowdowns he encounters on the highway.

"After I have changed lanes and get to the area of the slowdown, I notice one thing: The person who is going slower than the rest of the traffic is talking on their cellphone," he wrote. "The person is unaware of the people around them, and they are going 10 to 20 mph slower than the rest of the traffic. To get around this preoccupied person, people are passing on the right and to the left."

Eric said the "worst type" of St. Louis driver is the one who's napping when the light turns green.

"I've lived in Chicago, and it's a race out of the gate with drivers up there when the light turns green," he wrote. "Here, it's not uncommon to see someone idling at a green light for three to five seconds before they realize what's happening."

FAILURE TO MERGE PROPERLY ONTO THE HIGHWAY

Many of you complained about drivers who don't know how to merge. Too many drivers, you said, get skittish and go too slow to merge at highway speeds. Others are too aggressive.

"If I find myself in the outside lane and see a vehicle preparing to merge onto the highway, I will do the courteous thing by moving over to the left and allowing that vehicle to access the highway," wrote Bob Buchhauser of St. Peters. But "when the traffic is heavy, especially during rush hours, this is not possible. In several of these instances, I've had drivers cut in, causing me to hit the brakes."

"Please remind your readers that drivers on the highway have the right of way and those entering the highway must yield, even if it means coming to a complete stop."