Monday Manners: A Smile and a Wave

I don't drive very much in the city, which is why I've written about things from a pedestrian's point of view, but never as a motorist. But still, I drive often enough that I figured it was due time for this column. It's a short one today, but it's about a decorous breach that many drivers often make: the forgetting of the wave.

What is "the wave"?

It's the acknowledgment of another driver who has done something nice for you – generally something like letting you cut him off so you can change lanes without missing your exit or allowing you to leave a parking lot without waiting forever or letting you go first when you simultaneously arrive at a stop sign. It's saying thanks for the courtesy.

When someone holds a door open for you, you wouldn't walk right through without at least mumbling a "thank you" under your breath. Same deal here: you don't need to ask the helpful motorist to pull over so you can get out of your car and say thanks. You don't need to aim a megaphone in their general direction and project platitudes. But a well-placed wave as you pass the other car or move in front of it is an important gesture of your gratitude. If you don't wave, expect bad driving karma for a while, and quite likely immediately – from the person you just inconvenienced because you didn't realize until it was almost too late that the exit for City Ave is on the left.

After all, as Jeff Foxworthy has said (it's about 5:57 into the embedded video; ignore Larry the Cable Guy and enjoy): "I believe if you let somebody cut in front of you in traffic and they don't give you the little 'wave,' it should be perfectly legal to get up underneath 'em, get 'em loose, and put 'em into the wall."

I couldn't've said it better myself.