40 Car Etiquette Rules We Wish Everyone Would Follow

Aside from being dangerous, it's just gross. This isn't your living-room sofa, it's our precious car! Keep your stinky feet off the dash.

This etiquette rule has our office divided: Half of us agree that the passenger should let the driver set the temperature, while the other half think passengers should get a say. Maybe play it safe and ask the driver first in case they're part of the second group. If you're riding in a car with dual-zone climate control, all of our editors agree that your zone is fair game.

This one isn't just courteous; research has proved that it's more efficient and safer. Instead of queuing up in one lane because the adjacent lane is closed miles down the road, continue to use the open lane and merge at the last minute, combining the two lanes in a zipperlike left-right-left-right fashion.

Please wait until you get to your destination before tearing into your Crunchwrap or popping the lid and getting into your beef lo mein. Crumbs and debris can fall into hard-to-reach places between the seat and the console, and food smells can be hard to eradicate. Don't even get us started on lighting up a cigarette.

The extra light from having your fog lamps on can be distracting to drivers of oncoming cars. Not to mention, if you're in a tall truck or SUV, those lights might shine directly into the back window of lower cars. Fog lamps are intended only for use in foggy conditions where lights particularly low to the ground will help improve visibility for the driver.

We all get furious when we see it happening. A driver in a semi truck is ever so slowly passing another semi truck that is going only 0.001 mph slower. It takes forever and goes on for miles. Please stop this madness! Pass only when you have enough speed to do so quickly. And it's not only big trucks who are guilty; a lot of passenger-car drivers do this, too.

Really. For the love of God. Please signal. Letting other drivers know your intention to merge or turn is not only the courteous thing to do, it's also safer.

No one loves being held up on the highway because another driver is camped out in the left lane doing exactly the speed limit. Move over to the right or middle lane and let faster traffic get by.

We're all tempted to stare at our phones for a few brief moments while waiting at a stoplight, but please resist. If you're distracted and don't see that the light has turned green or that traffic ahead of you has moved on, you'll be holding up other motorists who have places to be. Some cars, such as Subarus with EyeSight driver-assistance features, have an audible reminder if you're guilty of this.

Speaking of phones, how about no texting while driving? It's incredibly dangerous and everyone knows it. Yet Americans do this regularly, putting themselves, their passengers, and fellow motorists at risk of injury or death. Put the phone down and drive.

. . . or smoke or otherwise ingest marijuana and drive. This one is rather obvious, but like texting and driving, despite understanding the danger involved, Americans still often take this risk. Stay sober behind the wheel, please.

Ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars have ear-piercingly loud sirens and bright flashing lights, yet some drivers pretend not to notice and fail to pull over to clear a path for these emergency vehicles. Why? Don't be a jerk, get out of the way.

If we're putting in the wheel work, we'd like the final say on what's playing through the speakers. Feel free to suggest songs, podcasts, or radio stations, but don't take it personally if the driver vetoes your suggestion.

Unless you're driving one of those new Teslas with Dog Mode, you shouldn't be leaving your pet (or your kid!) inside the car, especially on hot days. It is literally deadly, so please don't do it.

We've all been there: The Trader Joe's parking lot is packed (it always is), and some creep in a dented Chevy is taking up two spaces because he couldn't manage to navigate his heap between the lines. Be courteous to your fellow errand runners and take the time to make sure you're not taking up two (or more) spaces.

Maybe you forgot, or maybe you were never learned it in the first place, but at four-way intersections you're supposed to yield to the vehicle on your right if you both pulled up at the same time. This also applies to four-way intersections that are normally controlled by stoplights if those lights are no longer working, such as in a power outage.

We're the #SaveTheManuals people, but we're also the #SaveTheShins people. Please, help us save the shins by removing the ball from your receiver when you don't have a trailer hooked up. We're tired of bashing our legs when walking through parking lots. Plus, these things can do a lot of damage in rear-end accidents or if the driver unknowingly backs a little too close to another car in a parking lot.

Look, we get it: Roundabouts are annoying and a little intimidating. But they work only when drivers adhere strictly to the rules. Use the proper lane and yield only if you need to when entering the circle.

Sometimes it rains or snows during the day when automatic headlamps won't turn themselves on. So turn them on manually. It increases the likelihood that other drivers will see you and will help prevent accidents.