Summer's slowly dwindling down but your family, thank goodness, squeezed in a vacation just in time. The car is loaded up, and you hop in, ready for some relaxation and boardwalk fries.

Five miles down the road, however, your peaceful bubble pops when your little brother begins to kick your seat and your musically challenged mom starts singing to Journey on the radio. The driver in front of you is going 10 miles under the speed limit, while the guy behind you is riding your bumper. And, to top it all off, your dad is critiquing your every maneuver of the wheel.

Pet peeves: We've all got them. They are those annoyances that continually bug and aggravate you, no matter how many times they happen. They can show up at school, at the mall, on the road or even in your own home. But whatever they are or whenever they show up, they create the same irritation for everybody.

"My pet peeve is when parents keep their children on leashes," said Garth Bolin, 18, of Millersville. "It's simply wrong and looks silly. Yes, it may be safe, but it's ridiculous. They are human beings who may grow up to remember being the family pet."

Quinn Yunginger, 15, of Warwick High School, said her No. 1 pet peeve is when people don't pick up after themselves. "It's rude when people don't pick up after themselves at other people's houses. It's rude, and it's gross."

It would seem that these little problems are just a bump in the road on the highway of life, but actually, they can cause some major problems.

"People tend to look at the big sources of stress — a job change, major life crisis — as the 'real ones,' " said Dr. Deborah Rozman, a psychologist and stress expert at the Institute of HeartMath in California in the June 2008 issue of Experience Life Magazine. "But small irritations accumulate and these little emotional 'paper cuts' can create real anxiety and health problems."

So that sudden flush in your cheeks when you notice someone forgot to recap the toothpaste may be a sign that you are stressing out more than you should be. But who can blame you when pet peeves are here, there, everywhere!

One of the much-noted places where pet peeves lurk is at work. Most teens now are at least working part time and can share their frustrations of obnoxious customers or lazy coworkers.

Randstad, a leading staffing firm, published a study in May that uncovered the top three pet peeves of the workplace. Topping of the list was poor time management with 43 percent of the vote. Second was gossiping, and third was messiness in shared areas.

But for Ashlee Oswald, 13, of Lancaster, gossiping still holds the top spot on her list of peeves.

"It's rude, and it hurts people's feelings," she said.

Alongside work, there is the wonderful world of school: yellow busses and teachers with safari-print dresses, football games and cafeteria messes.

And then there are the hassles of driving. Driving is where many peeves can surface their ugly heads because most people are in a hurry to be somewhere.

Honking horns, cursing and screeching tires fill our ears on our daily drives as tempers explode. What was once a relaxing drive through the country can turn into agitation overload if you find yourself behind someone who is lost and tricks you with ever-blinking turn signals and sudden stops before slowly turning into a driveway at a snail's pace.

"Sunday drivers," said A.J. Kupstas, 17, of Lititz, with an eye roll. "They just go ridiculously slow."

Whatever your pet peeve may be, there is normally one common reaction: feelings of anger and frustration. The general reaction is to release the anger and vent.

"I walk away or say how rude it is to talk behind other people's backs and that they should do something better with their lives," Ashlee said.

"I sit patiently and yell at them from my car," A.J. said about Sunday drivers.

"I tell them to pick up after themselves or I pick it up myself," Quinn said.

"I shake my head and whisper 'Seriously?' " Garth said about kids on leashes.

But actually, according to Rozman, venting can be negative.

"It doesn't show you how to let go of the anger triggers; it just adds more triggers," she said in the article. Instead of venting the next time you get parked in by a truck or whatever drives you crazy, here are three tips:

1) Breathe easy. And by easy, that means taking deep, deep breaths and letting them out slowly, calmly. You may not be able to control your situation, but you can control your anger.

2) Take your mind off things. Take a walk with someone you care about or get lost in your favorite movie or book. By thinking about other things and putting aside what happened earlier, you can better deal with the situation the next time it pops up.

3) Workout. Take out frustration and beat stress by stamping it out on a treadmill or by taking up kickboxing. Not only will it make you less tense, it will improve your health as well.