Like, if you accidentally cut someone off, and they get mad and honk, how do you apologize?

  • supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz
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    1 month ago

    I think the fact that there isn’t a good way I think escalates a lot of otherwise defusable road rage situations.

  • BenderRodriguez@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Sorry? Hell naw. Double down. Make it their fault. Get even more mad than them. Brandish your gun. Then brandish your second gun. Fire a warning shot towards their vehicle. Finish your beer in case you need to get out of the car. Challenge other driver to fisticuffs. Lose. Go home and explain to wife why you lost another fight. Get sad. Go to bar. Get really drunk. Pass out on stoop of the Wayne County Building. Miss work for the 3rd time this month. Get fired. Get kicked out of house by wife. Move into bachelor apartment. No artwork on walls. Only Kroger brand bread, condiments, and cheese slices in fridge. See kids every other weekend. Start going to AA meetings on a whim. Find new job. Hit the gym. Find new hobbies. Meet new girlfriend. Come to terms with faults and find peace through meditation and mindfulness. Experience growth. Drive to work one day. Accidentally cut a guy off. Double down…

  • hperrin@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    Just hit their car slightly with yours. You know, a love tap, to show them love and appreciation. Then show them your extended middle finger, signifying that you are standing with them in solidarity of thinking you’ve made a mistake. If you have a weapon with you, you can hold it up and show them to indicate that you are aware you could be perceived as a threat, but are making the effort to indicate that you aren’t.

  • tiramichu@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month 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!”

      • tiramichu@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        Same here in UK honestly - it’s that or the hazards, they both send the same message :)

        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! Possibly it’s less easy to reach the hazards in a truck but I don’t know, that’s just a guess!

    • boonhet@sopuli.xyz
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      1 month ago

      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.

      • bitwolf@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        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).

    • theTarrasque@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Same in Germany! I mostly use it to signal „ thank you“ though. Usually the reply is flashing the high beams once very quickly.

        • Underwaterbob@sh.itjust.works
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          1 month ago

          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.

  • slothrop@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    I pretend to shoot myself in the temple.
    Then I put the gun back in the glove box.

    • dellish@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      This. I will forgive most driving indiscretions if I see a wave/acknowledgement of wrongdoing.

  • bitwolf@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    Most people follow and likely understand the manual hazard lights.

    Two blinks in the tempo of “I’m sorry”.

    I’ve made mistakes before and did so, sometimes they flash one quick blink of high beams to acknowledge.

    • eldoom@lemmy.ml
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      1 month ago

      I thought two blinks was thank you? Are you telling me I’ve been going around apologizing to people for letting me in?

      • bitwolf@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        Its contextual, and can be both :)

        I use it for thank you as well. OP asked about apologies, I probably should have mentioned it could be both

  • F/15/Cali@threads.net@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    If I have some free time, I’ll follow them to their destination and knock on their window before they manage to slip away, and then apologize. Many seem like they’re in a hurry, despite just arriving, so I’ll just shout out my apology as I knock on their window. Depending on how bad I felt, I might try to repeat the apology next week, seeing whether I can find them on the road or their destination at the same time