Vocal Voices

Driving down a narrow road I find a car parked on my side with another car coming towards me. I pull in and wait, as the Highway Code says to do.

The car comes past and there is no wave, no flash of lights, no thank you whatsoever. By now there is another car so I continue to wait - same thing. Then another car, but this time he flashes his lights and waves.

That's two out of three arrogant, selfish, inconsiderate, b*stard drivers.

Remind me again how much manners cost.

No need for is, is there? Plain bad manners

Funny isn't it, it's the little things like that that do "annoy" ....

I'd say from my experience that 9 out of 10 rural drivers will acknowledge you in those circumstances, but it's far less likely in urban areas.

I always used to look out on the motorways for the "lorry driver's thank you"; when you allowed them to pull in, in front of you, you'd get the left-hand, right-hand, left-hand indicator sequence in acknowledgement. But that's not nearly as prevalent as it used to be, I find these days ....

Ossie, I remember being on the motorway with Becky, and being about to turn off I slowed down. As trucks passed I gave them the long and short double flash.

What are you doing, dad?
I am telling them it is safe to pull in - long says wait, short says it's OK now.
Why?
Err, to keep us safe from them cutting us up and to keep the traffic moving.
Cool. I never knew that.

They always did the l-r-l indicator thing, and sometimes a blast on the horn as a 'Thank you'.

Simple things often work... even though they are not 'official'.

BTW Thank you is now three times four-way flashers. Do keep up - yokel.

You are as bad as my husband. Why do you expect drivers to thank you for simply doing what common sense and the Highway Code dictate?

It's courtesy though Rodo, and we could do with more of it these days

Mostly the drivers here will acknowledge, it really annoys Mick and D when they don't!

It's the men who seem to get riled up about it though. Me, I expect nothing.

I agree with Kaz, it's just courtesy.

It's not just on the roads though, it's everywhere. Walking Billy the other afternoon there's a section of path about 20 yards long that is ankle deep mud apart from a very narrow strip at the edge, just wide enough for you to edge yourself along. I saw a man walking towards us so called Bill over and we stood and waiting while he slowly and carefully made his way through the section. There was no acknowledgement from him whatsoever.

Horse riders are the rudest though. 9 times out of 10 they fail to say thank you, or even look, when we've stood aside to let them v-e-r-y slowly pass

Rodo wrote:Why do you expect drivers to thank you for simply doing what common sense and the Highway Code dictate?

The same reason I like a nod or a smile or a 'thank you' when I hold a door open or pass the salt etc..

It is a case of having good manners and being polite.... and best of all it costs nothing, not a penny. I also find that I get a lot more out of people by being polite to them, and vice versa.

Anybody who is arrogant or ignorant to me can expect a frosty response.

Workingman wrote:Driving down a narrow road I find a car parked on my side with another car
coming towards me. I pull in and wait, as the Highway Code says to do.

.

I'm afraid I can't see what there is to get up tight about.

There's nothing in the Highway Code to say you should use your lights or your horn as a means
of conversing with other road users. If a car is parked on the carriageway in front of you, and
a vehicle is approaching from the other direction then, naturally, you should stop, in order to
avoid a possible collision - in which event you would be in the wrong, as the approaching driver
has the right of way. Horns are intended for a warning of approach, not for any other purpose.