Let's create "National Let 'Em Move Over" day -- but how?
We've all had this experience: you are towing your trailer. You turn on your turn signal. The folks in the lane next to you actually speed up to make sure that you can't move over. You slow down, hoping for an opening. Eventually, you make your move, but it is not a pleasant experience.
As a very senior Southern California driver (exactly 50 years on the road!), I have always made it a habit to ease off the gas when there is someone in the lane next to me who wants to move over. I wave them in, with big hand gestures. At night, I flash my high beams to alert them to the slight gap that I have created for them.
Very often, I get a thumb's up from the other driver. (At least, it looks like a thumb. I don't think it is any other finger.) Truckers give me an off-on of their flashers. And I sort of hope that I have set an example and that these folks will "pay it forward."
So here is my idea -- if enough of us practice conspicuous courtesy, maybe the custom will take hold and become part of the culture. I can tell you from personal experience that cultures do differ on this. I have been in countries where the drivers are ruder and more aggressive than in California. I have been in places in the US (Idaho and Utah) and in Western Canada where the drivers were more polite than in Calif.
I am not sure how we would publicize this event, or even which day to choose. But I would bet that if we could get noticed, and if lots of folks chose to participate in a one-day experiment, the traffic on that day would flow a lot smoother than usual, and the media would cover that result.
Is this idealistic and unrealistic? Yes. But what will it cost us, and what have we got to lose?
Your thoughts and suggestions will be welcomed -- how do we get this rolling??
As a very senior Southern California driver (exactly 50 years on the road!), I have always made it a habit to ease off the gas when there is someone in the lane next to me who wants to move over. I wave them in, with big hand gestures. At night, I flash my high beams to alert them to the slight gap that I have created for them.
Very often, I get a thumb's up from the other driver. (At least, it looks like a thumb. I don't think it is any other finger.) Truckers give me an off-on of their flashers. And I sort of hope that I have set an example and that these folks will "pay it forward."
So here is my idea -- if enough of us practice conspicuous courtesy, maybe the custom will take hold and become part of the culture. I can tell you from personal experience that cultures do differ on this. I have been in countries where the drivers are ruder and more aggressive than in California. I have been in places in the US (Idaho and Utah) and in Western Canada where the drivers were more polite than in Calif.
I am not sure how we would publicize this event, or even which day to choose. But I would bet that if we could get noticed, and if lots of folks chose to participate in a one-day experiment, the traffic on that day would flow a lot smoother than usual, and the media would cover that result.
Is this idealistic and unrealistic? Yes. But what will it cost us, and what have we got to lose?
Your thoughts and suggestions will be welcomed -- how do we get this rolling??
