Comment on How do you communicate "sorry, my bad" when you make a mistake while driving?
tiramichu@sh.itjust.works 15 hours ago
Here in the UK, turning on your hazards for a couple of flashes means either “Thank you” or “sorry” to the car following, depending on context.
Someone let you merge in? "Thank you!*
You cut someone off? “Sorry!”
Same in Estonia, seems continent-wide basically.
Truck gives you 2-3 flashes of the right (left in the UK I suppose) turn signal in the middle of the road, they want you to pass because the road’s clear and they don’t want a convoy forming behind them. So you pass and flash the hazards to thank them. Sometimes they’ll flash their brights as “you’re welcome” during daytime.
We can be completely self-centered assholes on the road, but we keep our common courtesy.
In America I do the turn signal hint as well. It seems no one gets the context, even when I can tell by their behavior (body language)?
That they desperately want to pass, and I want them to pass before I do (left lane is open).
Same in Germany! I mostly use it to signal „ thank you“ though. Usually the reply is flashing the high beams once very quickly.
Huh. Same in Korea. Which was odd to me when I moved here since I’m from Canada and it is not the practice there.
Weird. You’d think Canadians at least would have a way to say sorry ;P
Ha! The biggest problem with drivers in my hometown is that they’re too polite. It’s dangerous when people don’t take their right-of-way. It causes confusion in drivers who know whose right-of-way it is. It’s also infuriating being stuck behind someone who thinks they’re doing people a favor by sitting at a four-way stop until all traffic disappears instead of taking their proper turn.
Zorg@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 hours ago
In Sweden they blink left-right-left or right-left-right.
tiramichu@sh.itjust.works 13 hours ago
Same here in UK honestly - it’s that or the hazards, they both sebd the same message :)
Probably down to whichever is easiest. I’ve personally observed that drivers of big trucks tend to do the indicator thing, while most people in cars do the hazards. Not sure if there’s a specific trucker reason for that divide!