If you don't say "thank you" when let out in traffic, why is that?

[ChinBristles]

Following on from my last hot topic "if you don't return your trolley at the supermarket, why is that?", this is today's pondering.

I always raise my hand or bip/bop my indicators to say "thank you" but I'd say 50% of the time I let someone out, they don't acknowledge this in anyway.

What are the reasons?

• distracted by a child?


• never taught to do so?


• just an arrogant twat?


• something else?

Arrogant entitled twat!!

This drives me nuts 😂
I always give a little wave if someone has been kind enough to let me out in traffic

Infuriates me also. I noticed a friend (usually very polite) never acknowledges other drivers courtesy and, feeling brave one day, I pointed this out to her and asked why. She told me that she was a nervous driver and felt that she needed to concentrate on the manoeuvre, not thanking the driver who had waited for her. I didn't feel it was a good excuse but it was hers...

Ooooh I hate this! Usually results in me muttering under my breath and wishing I had never let them out at all!

I probably do 90% of the time, but sometimes - especially if you are kind of wiggling through traffic letting you out I can get distracted by the wiggling through.

My husband does a very exaggerated 'no, thank you' when he doesn't get an acknowledgement. That has got wearing.

I've always raised a hand in thanks.
However when I was leaning to drive, my driving instructor told me not to!

I always say thanks to those who let me out or wait for me to come past.

If im the person doing the letting/waiting and I dont get acknowledged I give the other person a sarcastic "thanks" and a thumbs up... even better if windows are open

Raising your hand is polite, but using your lights to 'thank' someone is a bad idea. It may confuse other drivers, and is contrary to the Highway Code. I particularly detest people 'thanking' me for giving way at a single track bridge near my home by flashing their lights... sure, I can't see a raised hand in the dark but I really do not like being dazzled.

I find this is far less common in Europe. To be thanked for being let out.. Well actually to be let out in the first place 😂
Here in the UK, not only do we say 'Thank you', in my opinion you should get a 'you're welcome' in return 😁

I'm cool and casual about it, I lift a finger off the wheel. I suppose sometimes I might forget or I'll be concentrating on not crashing or something, so I might miss the odd one.

I always thank people and let people out etc. I find when I’m courteous , people tend to be courteous back. I’m been out with a couple of friends who aren’t and also passed them when I’m driving myself, and they are completely oblivious , just don’t even notice. There’s a village nearby which is single track and one side of the road has to give way to on coming traffic. I always thank the driver letting me through. One day my friend came through and she didn’t even see it was me let alone thank me! 🙄

I am nd I struggle to think about several things at once. If it's a fairly straightforward situation I will raise a hand . I can't do flashing. 😂 if I'm turning, going round or anything else that slightly complicates it I don't wave as it distracts me.

I'm always grateful and 99% of the time say thanks but very occasionally I realise I'm on autopilot and I've just driven past someone that was giving way to me. Makes me feel terrible.

I always wave a thank you

Very often the driver who has given way will be very deliberately and exaggeratedly "looking at something" on the floor or in the distance and pretending not to see my thank you though - this just makes me laugh but I do wonder what it's about!

Tbh I don't care if I get a thank you or not. I let people out if I can see they're in a tight spot as that is what I hope others will do for me. If they thank me, I will nod or wave back. If they don't - meh!

What annoys me more is people who force their way out when 9 times out of 10, I would have let them anyway if they'd waited their turn.

Don’t use your lights/hazards but yes I do thank people etc plenty who don’t though. Many arrogant drives out there that charge about like they are late for something

Ha! You're not oop north, are you? My dh calls this the 'Yorkshire finger' 🤣

Clueless but are we now meant to thank someone for thanking us? . I always try to acknowledge someone who let me through, but I am not looking at them to judge their reaction to my 'thank you'. My late DF had incredibly formal and old fashioned manners ... he would almost stop the car to shake hands with someone who had kindly let him through .

Meatball my DH does that too ... so passive aggressive.

He's a keen observer 😄

Depends on situation, if someone has genuinely let me out in a line of traffic or something then i will say thank you, however people who decide to 'let me' out of a junction when there are no cars behind them, i just think are ridiculous as i would have already been planning to pull out behind them.

Sometimes people think they are being helpful to let you out, whereas i had already read the road situation and seen a gap further back or something which i will wait for

I always wave thank you and say your welcome with a wave most drivers where I'm from do the same thing. I've only been driving a couple of years and only recently my mum pointed out to me that buses say thank you with their hazard lights and it always makes me smile when they do this. There was one time I was too busy concentrating on sueezing through a tight road with lots of parked cars and it wasn't until after I realised I forgot to wave thank you to the car who let me through and I felt absolute awful!

I raise a hand, but I don't know if it's always seen. There have been a couple of times where it's a small gap, and I was focussing more on the driving. I never flash my lights, because I don't find being blinded a helpful or thankful gesture, and do as you would be done by.

TBH, I don't often notice whether people wave their thanks at me or not, if I let them out, so I just assume that everyone is thankful, because that makes a better world than assuming they don't. I do swear at light flashers though.

I don't actually say you're welcome and wave I mean I acknowledge their thank you with a wave. I'm not that polite

95% of the time I say thank you with a wave. The other 5% of the time I'm concentrating on the road/traffic or on the kids etc.

Perhaps the people you are noticing are the same, and you just happen to see them on their 5% occassions?

I do say thank you but recently read this article:

www.heart.co.uk/news/drivers-1000-fine-thank-you-gestures/

I am v courteous driving. When on the motorway I often put on my hazards to thank people if they have let me cut in in front of them. I also regularly let people pull out of a side road if they are going right and I am turning into said road as I know it’s a pain waiting to get out sometimes. I get v pissed off when people don’t let me out on a particular road near me. It gives me the rage!