Summer brings more people to the road because of family vacations and students taking road trips. And despite all the construction on campus, the roads are still alive with students driving to their summer classes. But whether it be on the expressway or campus, some people can take such a simple thing like driving and make it a headache for everyone else on the road.

For instance, this past weekend I took a trip back home to Carpentersville, a suburb of Chicago. This requires me to travel on the expressway and worse - the Illinois tollway. Take speeders, throw in cell phones and people who don't use turn signals, and you're in for a treat.

Don't get me wrong, not all drivers are bad. Most are pretty attentive. But it's the few people who think they own the road that make driving hazardous.

The Illinois tollway is fun, because once you pay your toll, about six lanes have to suddenly merge into two. Horns are blaring and you can hear the obscenities a mile away. You're haven't really been to Illinois until you've experienced this, and thankfully this usually only happens at rush hour.

On my trip back home I happened to notice one man who never used his turn signal. He was weaving in and out of traffic and cutting people off, but never once signaled to other drivers. It's not that hard to reach down a few inches and flip the lever. It's there for a reason, and its common courtesy, so use it.

And some lady in a big, fancy SUV proceeded to weave in and out of traffic well over the speed limit while talking on her cell phone. As she passed I noticed she had a backseat full of children, and all I could do was shake my head in disbelief. I'm hoping one of them had to go to the bathroom really, really bad. Not that that gives her any excuse.

Everybody is in a hurry to get nowhere fast. Oh, I'm sorry that me driving the speed limit bothers you. I'm sorry that I don't feel like getting a speeding ticket so you can drive faster. OK, now zoom around me in an angry huff - that will solve the problem.

Last summer I had a job in which I had to face rush hour traffic at 6:30 every morning. Most amazing to me was when lanes merged, no one wanted to let the person next to them in, thus causing a traffic jam that I had to sit in for 10 minutes until everyone could file into one lane properly. It's not that hard to leave a little space in front of you so someone can merge over.

I've seen people applying make-up, brushing their teeth and even reading a book while driving. I've heard of multi-tasking but this is ridiculous. Can't it wait? It has to be done at that exact moment while you're driving? Park it and finish what you're doing if it's that important.

But lets leave the expressway for a moment and head to campus. Since it's the summer, most students live off-campus and commute to their classes, which can congest the campus roads.

I'll finally have a car up here in East Lansing next week, but I can't exactly say I'm thrilled. Sure, I no longer have to rely on Capital Area Transportation Authority to get to Meijer, but not having a car on campus for three years has left me plenty of time to observe, and often become the target of bad driving.

Campus is full of one-way roads, and that's just asking for trouble. I was crossing a one-way street a few weeks ago, when a man decided he didn't need to obey the sign and sped down it the wrong way for a "short cut." Basically, this guy felt he didn't need to obey the law and almost hit me, just so he could arrive at his destination five seconds quicker.

There have been times where I have been in the middle of a crosswalk and a car will continue to drive at me like I'm invisible. I guess I don't understand why stopping for pedestrians is such a hassle. You're the one in the comfortable car with the air conditioning on, meanwhile, I have been trekking across campus for 20 minutes in the rain with no umbrella. It should be a no-brainer.

And what can be said about cell phones? Every student on campus has a cell phone, it seems, and they are always on it - even while driving. Campus roads are complicated enough, but add in people not paying attention and you have a whole new world of trouble.

But some people drive bad on purpose. On a sunny afternoon, I witnessed a group of students who decided to get into their Jeep and drive continuously around the traffic circle near Bogue Street. It might seem like harmless fun, but consider the fact that they were speeding with their music blaring and yelling out to other people at the top of their lungs. I'm sure everyone else who were innocently trying to get through that traffic circle wasn't amused.

Driving is a privilege, not a right. And some people abuse their privilege to a whole new level. Whether it be speeding, cell phones or turn signals, everyone needs to be more cautious and pay a little more attention when they are driving. Taking road trips, vacations or being on campus during the summer should be a fun experience.

We don't need reckless and careless drivers making it a nightmare.

Sarah McEvilly is a State News Intern. Reach her at mcevilly@msu.edu.