Basic Courtsey/Politeness

DuckyNoMates · 23/03/2022 02:40

Thanks for not running me over?!

GeodesicDome · 23/03/2022 02:53

Wait - we have to thank drivers for stopping? Why?

A zebra crossing is a right of way. Do you wave your thanks to all the drivers who stop at Give Way signs at side junctions as you drive along the main road?

Eileen101 · 23/03/2022 02:57

But you're supposed to stop on a zebra crossing, why do you need thanking??! I'm often pushing the pushchair with one hand and holding the 4 year old with the other hand, I'm not being rude trying to get everyone across safely.

I hear you about idling engines. It's selfish and fills the air around the school with fumes, yet people (on here) will tell you they need the heater on/can't possibly wrap up etc.

FavouritePi · 23/03/2022 03:19

People on zebra crosses - do t seem to wave/acknowledge/thank you anymore when you stop to let them on? Is it just me?

I think this is like thanking the bus driver, I'm only in my thirties so not old but my parents' and also grandparents' generation taught me to thank drivers for stopping at a zebra crossing. Yes, it's a right of way but not all drivers choose to stop. Definitely less people doing it but I'm not sure I can get angry about it.

I agree with the idling and the pulling out of junctions, both are totally wrong.

GeodesicDome · 23/03/2022 03:23

Yes, it's a right of way but not all drivers choose to stop

The drivers who don't stop are breaking the law.

It's like thanking someone for not punching you in the face. Bizarre.

icklekid · 23/03/2022 03:34

I’m with you OP 2sec to raise a hand in thanks is no skin off my nose but makes someone who stopped smile. Basic manners - I just nod if hands full with kids. Taught both my children to when they cross as I think it’s important. But then I also teach them to thank bus driver/ check out staff etc… 🤷‍♀️

FavouritePi · 23/03/2022 03:56

@GeodesicDome

Yes, it's a right of way but not all drivers choose to stop

The drivers who don't stop are breaking the law.

It's like thanking someone for not punching you in the face. Bizarre.

It isn't akin to not to assaulting someone

It's just something people with manners used to do. I also thank drivers who wait and let me go when their side is obstructed, I have right of way but it's polite.

yossell · 23/03/2022 04:09

I wave thanks at drivers who slow to let me cross at non-zebra crossings...but what do you think I should be thanking them for at zebra crossings? Would it be any different from thanking them for stopping at a red light?

willowstar · 23/03/2022 04:41

I wave a little thanks when people stop at zebra crossings and have taught my children to do the same. Good manners don't cost anything.

SquirrelG · 23/03/2022 05:19

I always acknowledge people who stop at a zebra crossing for me, but at the same time they are doing what they are required to do by law so really they shouldn't require thanks. It is no different to cars stopping at red lights. What annoys me are the people who come out of supermarket carparks and totally ignore the fact that I have stopped to let them out when I am walking along the footpath. It seems that pedestrians are supposed to fall over themselves with good manners, but not drivers.

Billandben444 · 23/03/2022 06:19

If raising a hand in thanks makes a driver feel a bit more chirpy then it's worth doing. My mother also taught us to thank bus drivers, waiting staff and shop assistants - people who have no right of reply basically. Do you ignore the waiter in a restaurant because 'it's their job to serve me so why should I thank them?'

What does madden me is when I let someone out in a stream of traffic and get no acknowledgement - no manners at all.

MrsPear · 23/03/2022 06:37

If I do thank it’s in a sarcastic manner to the drivers who huff at having to stop. So I should be grateful that a driver doesn’t break the law?! That explains the near misses

Maverickess · 23/03/2022 06:49

It seems that pedestrians are supposed to fall over themselves with good manners, but not drivers.

This.

When drivers start thanking me for not getting in their way, when it holds me up then I'll return the favour! When they stop behaving like pedestrians are only there and alive because they allow it, then I'll start thanking drivers for obeying the rules of the highway and not running me over.

KosherDill · 23/03/2022 06:51

@icklekid

I’m with you OP 2sec to raise a hand in thanks is no skin off my nose but makes someone who stopped smile. Basic manners - I just nod if hands full with kids. Taught both my children to when they cross as I think it’s important. But then I also teach them to thank bus driver/ check out staff etc… 🤷‍♀️

Same here. It's just polite to acknowledge the person behind the wheel with a wave and smile, or nod.

Donkeyinamanger · 23/03/2022 06:56

I usually still thank people for stopping, but then I am a horse rider, and we are regularly expected to thank people for not killing us, so it is a pretty ingrained habit.

SquirrelG · 23/03/2022 06:58

It's just polite to acknowledge the person behind the wheel with a wave and smile, or nod.

I agree - but I want to know why people behind the wheel don't feel the same way about pedestrians who give way to them? A few people are polite but the rest just sweep on past without a look (much like some people do when someone holds a door open for them).

Imsittinginthekitchensink · 23/03/2022 07:03

I neither wave nor wish to be waived at. Drivers have to stop, they aren't doing me a favour. When I stop, it's because it's the law, not because I'm being kind. My internal monologue when I get a wave is definitely not kind.

jowly · 23/03/2022 07:07

I was brought up to thank anyone for something they had gone for me, for whatever reason.

I shall continue to do so, and will also continue to think those who don't ill mannered.

jowly · 23/03/2022 07:08

*done

Febrier · 23/03/2022 07:09

My internal monologue when I get a wave is definitely not kind.

I’m intrigued! What are you thinking?

DuckyNoMates · 23/03/2022 07:09

@icklekid

I’m with you OP 2sec to raise a hand in thanks is no skin off my nose but makes someone who stopped smile. Basic manners - I just nod if hands full with kids. Taught both my children to when they cross as I think it’s important. But then I also teach them to thank bus driver/ check out staff etc… 🤷‍♀️

I thank the bus driver and the checkout staff but I'm not going to thank someone for not running me over at a crossing.

ClariceQuiff · 23/03/2022 07:11

Next time I'm waiting for the green man so I can cross at a Pelican crossing, I'll look forward to all the motorists waving their thanks at me as they drive through.

DuckyNoMates · 23/03/2022 07:11

@Billandben444

If raising a hand in thanks makes a driver feel a bit more chirpy then it's worth doing. My mother also taught us to thank bus drivers, waiting staff and shop assistants - people who have no right of reply basically. Do you ignore the waiter in a restaurant because 'it's their job to serve me so why should I thank them?'

What does madden me is when I let someone out in a stream of traffic and get no acknowledgement - no manners at all.

I do not exist to make drivers chirpy. If their driving ability is that affected by their mood then they shouldn't be on the road.

Febrier · 23/03/2022 07:11

I generally wave an acknowledgment to cars who stop, but on one occasion I didn’t. I was just having a really bad day and quite frankly not bursting in to tears was all I could muster. The car driver wound her window down to call me an ignorant c&£@.

Nietzschethehiker · 23/03/2022 07:16

Where the hell did it say that it affects their driving ? What a ridiculous statement.

Good lord I'm on the fence about the need to thank at a crossing, on the grounds as a driver I don't particularly care either way but you surely dont genuinely think that response was rational right?