The Drivers Wave

 How many times when we're driving do we see someone trying to make a turn into your lane from a street, a gas station, bank, whatever, and you are stopped and wave to them to go in front of you.

Do you expect a thank you wave in return? I certainly do, and when I get it, I wave back. When I don't get it, I say the word "dumbass" out loud in their direction. These days, giving someone the finger or yelling out the window is not the smart thing to do. You never know if that other driver is going to get mad at you and try to do something really stupid.

The wave is a show of courtesy, acknowledging that you did something nice. You also home that since you did something nice, the same thing will happen to you.

You want to get out of the gas station, and the light ahead is red. Don't you want someone to be nice to you and let you in? Do you silently curse the "idiot" that looked right at you and didn't let you go? I'll say "dumbass" again. 

My favorite is when you're trying to get on the highway, and those entrance lanes are fairly short. Your signal is on, and you're running out of roadway, hoping that someone will slow down enough to let you in, or move into the other lane so you can safely enter.

I'll try to move over as opposed to slowing down so another car can get in front of me. That's because the entering car is going slower than me, and then traffic behind me is going to have to slow down as well. With these moves, there's no wave involved.

A while back, as I was in the right lane of a three lane main road, I heard a honk to my left. If was a guy about my age, motioning for me to lower my window. As I did, he leaned over and said, "Have a blessed and wonderful day." I said thank you, and have a great day yourself. Why did he choose me? Was it because it because I was bopping my head to music in the car, or he felt I needed to hear it. Either way, I appreciated it. I don't think I would that, simply because you never know what kind of reaction you're going to get. 

In closing, it doesn't cost anything to give the wave and to be courteous. Try it sometime, you'll be happier for it.