07th September 2007

My driving instructor told me he would “do the waving” as an old lady in a Mini Traveller allowed me through a gap in Boscombe’s busy high street 30 years ago. “You keep your hands on the wheel,” he said. I glowered. How I longed to get rid of this bossy, overweight man, who smelled of Nuttall’s Mintoes, gesturing thank you for me like a loony in the passenger seat. Passing your test meant so many things back then; independence, a sex life, petrol bills and a chance to motion your own thanks to other motorists.

But what sort of wave do you have? You often give way to other drivers, and you can’t help wondering about the hidden meanings of their displays of gratitude. My summer break, travelling along the narrow roads of Devon and Cornwall, has given me a chance to spot some of the more telling gestures in motoring sign language.

The single finger raised off the steering wheel, for example, is usually the preserve of an SUV owner, and is frankly lazy. Proper thanks needs more commitment than moving one digit. Two fingers held together when lifted off the wheel is reminiscent of the Boy Scout’s salute, recalling DYB, DYB, DOB and Akela – not a good look.

More baffling is the extended index finger and upright thumb pointed like a gun at the bonnet. The chill menace of Brooklyn gangsta culture was neutralised when I saw the pensioner attached to the hand grinning like Mr Magoo from his Skoda Fabia.

Motoring salutes are not new, of course. In the earliest days, cars were so novel that drivers would often stop and dismount to greet each other like long-lost brothers. That rarity and the fraternity of the open road will often move bikers and classic car owners to nod a greeting at each other.

At its earliest beginnings, in 1905, the Automobile Association was set up (in part) as a reaction to the police’s pernicious habit of trapping speeding motorists. It was (and still is) illegal to warn others of speed traps, of course, but the inverse does not hold. So, if an AA patrolman did not salute a passing motorist, he could assume there was a speed trap around the corner – this practice was stopped in 1961.

The earliest Wankel rotary engines were so unreliable that passing NSU owners would signal with the appropriate number of fingers how many replacement motors they had received.

A few years ago, I was given a novelty Connelly signboard, with various flirtatious messages attached to a wooden ring binder resembling a table tennis bat. It was useless, but less so than Boy Scout salutes or obscure displays of guns.

I searched The Highway Code for advice on thanking my fellow motorist, but it is strangely bereft of guidance on the right manners. It merely points out that flashed headlamps are to be used as a warning rather than a give way sign – a stark denial of everyday driving.

The novel thank you signs have continued to mount up. The Churchillian V for Victory sign (occasionally the wrong way round); the VW Camper ‘Shasta’ greeting of clenched fist with thumb and little finger extended and a vague salute, more of a wave really, recalling John Le Mesurier’s nonchalant salute to Captain Mannering in BBC TV’s Dad’s Army.

So far, I’ve found only one common trait; Porsche drivers don’t appear to feel the need to thank anyone, as if they expect everyone else to get out of their way. No matter how hard the oncoming motorist has squeezed himself into a hedge to help the Porsche owner through, there is never even a flicker of thanks or even recognition. Am I the only one to observe that Porsche drivers are possibly the rudest on our roads, or is it just a West Country thing? Please let me know.

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

Link to this article:

Company Website | Media Information | Contact Us | Privacy Notice | Subs Info | Voucher Codes | Sitemap
Our Other Websites: The Week | Custom PC | Evo | IT Pro | IT Pro India | MacUser | Men's Fitness | Micro Mart | PC Pro | bit-tech | Know Your Mobile | Octane | Expert Reviews | Channel Pro | Know Your Cell | Know Your Mobile India | iGizmo | Digital SLR Photography | Den of Geek | Computer Shopper | Dennis Communications | Magazines | Mobile Phone Deals | Competitions | Health & Fitness | CarBuyer | Cloud Pro | MagBooks | Mobile Test | LITS