# The opposite of Road Rage **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 28, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231 "2005-06-28T17:31:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231/1 "2005-06-28T17:31:31Z")
When I started driving, I was taught that (occasionally) you might let someone in your lane (or out of it) or do other such nice, courteous things. And if someone did the same for you, you waved in some fashion to thank them. I’m not trying to say that everyone should, and if you cut someone off you don’t thank them afterwards, or they might give you that “special” wave of one finger ( 😉 ), but isn’t anyone polite anymore? I try to give ground to at least one person who asks politely (i.e. using their turn signal) a day. I think over the past, say, 6 months, I’ve had ONE PERSON wave a thank you, whereas I ALWAYS\* do. Am I unusual (or unreasonable) to do/expect this, or is this another sign of the trend away from politeness? Do you thank people for on-the-road politenesses? \*Or almost always; I’m sure I forget occasionally, but I really try not to. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231/2 "2005-06-28T17:41:43Z")
I, too, make sure to wave whenever anyone lets me in, and I expect that common politeness would demand the same of others. I have found a partial solution – if I let someone by and they don’t wave, then I just hit the motherfuckers. 😉 –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231/3 "2005-06-28T17:44:35Z")
I also try to wave whenever someone does something nice for me, traffic-wise. No idea if it does any good, and if anything, fewer people wave at me than used to when I do something nice for them. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231/4 "2005-06-28T17:47:05Z")
I try to give a thank you wave when someone lets me in, but there have been times when I’m in heavy traffic that I don’t have the chance - I’m too busy paying attention to the other traffic around me. Next time that happens I’ll make sure I watch out for **Cliffy**. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231/5 "2005-06-28T18:04:51Z")
I quickly wave when people let me in. Sometimes, though, I’m letting someone into the lane in front of me, and they look at me, and wave, and mouth ‘thank you’, and the seconds are ticking by, and the traffic ahead of them is a half a block away by now, and I find myself wishing they would do less waving and more driving. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231/6 "2005-06-28T18:54:35Z")
I’ve seen a decline in waving thanks in the years I’ve been driving. Eh, the world changes, sometimes in ways I like, sometimes in ways I don’t. I always wave. If someone stops and lets me pull out, I’ll even blow them a kiss. I never give anyone the finger. I just don’t like it. I just curse them under my breath. ---
**Author:** ![zoltar7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b38774/32.png) [@zoltar7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoltar7)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231/7 "2005-06-28T19:52:24Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > I, too, make sure to wave whenever anyone lets me in, and I expect that common politeness would demand the same of others. I have found a partial solution – if I let someone by and they don’t wave, then I just hit the motherfuckers. 😉 Don’t think of it as hitting them. Think of it as hugging them with your car. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231/8 "2005-06-28T20:00:55Z")
Ya gotta wave to someone if they wait for you to cross a one-lane bridge, even if they weren’t there when you started crossing. You wave by lifting two fingers, max, from the steering wheel as you pass their car. It’s kinda funny, people waved to me all the time, or waved back when I waved, when I was driving a pickup. Now that I have a sedan, I don’t get as many waves. ---
**Author:** ![Mint\_Julep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@Mint\_Julep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mint_Julep)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231/9 "2005-06-28T21:24:37Z")
I try to be considerate and let a few people out and I wave at anyone that lets me over ( I do it for extended time to be sure they saw me) I also do the “im sorry” or “im so stupid” face/gesture to apologize if I accidentally do something stupid when driving. But on a slight tangent, one of my pet peeves is for one line of traffic (when there are two lanes moving in the same direction) stops to let a car across. It is very dangerous and I nailed a car a few months ago that was pulling across traffic because he ASSUMED that because the lane of traffic closest to him had a driver waving him across…he ASSUMED that I could see him (my lane of traffic was continuing to move, no cars had stopped to let him cross our lane) and jutted out in front of me in the rain. Needless to say I nailed him and his insurance was stuck with the bill. It happend to my sister the other day too, and she narrowly missed a car while driving with her newborn. If the car wants to pull out and go with the flow of traffic, no biggie. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231/10 "2005-06-29T08:25:10Z")
Here in Oz people usually do the “teacher wave” - if someone gives way/lets you into their lane, you raise your right index finger (but not you hand) off the wheel and waggle it about while doing a stern half-smile. Sometimes I’ve had people grin, wave and mouth “thankyou soooo much!”, and sometimes T’ve had people totally ignore me, after which I Damn them to Hell, though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opposite-of-road-rage/310231/11 "2005-06-29T20:14:47Z")
I’m definitely in favor of the thank you wave. What I don’t support is what I see more often around here which is “I’m waving so you can’t be mad that I’ve flopped the front end of my SUV\* into the street directly into moving traffic.” \*To be fair it isn’t exclusive to SUV drivers, though I think there is some correlation between having the front bumper 9’ feet away from the driver and having to pull out into traffic to see if any traffic is oncoming.