let's stop and chat

I love the way people in vehicles communicate to other drivers. You say things to other drivers while you're in the car that you might never say to their faces. But there are also communications that you do want them to hear. There’s the favored and maybe overused finger, which of course indicates anger or irritation. There’s a simple stare. There’s movement of the body that indicates you’re really enjoying your music. My favorite is the universal two hands up in the air. Everyone has seen this. Many may have done it to someone. It basically means they don’t understand. It means you’re in your car and I am in my car and I do not have any explanation for what you just did that caused me to choke on my breakfast. Sometimes I wish there could just be a universal signal that meant, “Hey, let’s stop and explain.” Then I could tell you that the reason I stayed on the wrong side of the road for so long and swerved over to my own side just before we collided was because I’m familiar enough with this road to know that on my side there is this crater-sized dip that causes whiplash unless I go over it at 2 mph, and I knew that I could get past it in enough time that I could get back to my own side before you got there. Trust me. I’m in control of my vehicle. I’m not a crazy person. And then we could just get back into our cars and continue on to our respective destinations.