Courtesy on the road

Dear editor:
Yeah, it’s Rapid Robert again. The old guy with the plaid tam.
I do a lot of driving, and have done a lot of driving over my 77 years, and courtesy and politeness never leave my mind. Remember when our mums and dads used to instruct us, “Now don’t forget to say please and thank you and be polite when visiting a home.”
Well, I think the same applies to the highway.
Personally, I like to wave to people, especially trucks. I guess I’m partial to trucks and truckers who are hauling goods and contribute so much to the economy of the country.
I get a big kick out of meeting a truck and waving to the driver, and 90 percent of the time I get a friendly smile and a wave back.
It’s a thrill for me to look in my rearview mirror and see a big load of pulp on a Peterbilt or Western Star coming up on me. And if the road is clear, I blink my turn signal a couple of times and pull over to let the driver know that I’m aware of his presence and willing to let him go by.
The payoff comes after he has passed and gets back into the lane, he turns on his white loading lights, or blinks his tail lights, as a thank you. I, in turn, blink my head lights in acknowledgment.
Sounds childish, maybe, but gratifying.
I say to my wife, “He has miles to make and work to do.” He can’t loaf along at our 80 km/h, which is often my speed.
One day at Nestor Falls as I had a coffee in the coffee shop, a rugged-looking trucker got up from his chair and as he passed by me, he nodded and smiled in such a down-to-earth way that I got up and asked him if he knew me.
He smiled and said, “No, but you wave to me every time we meet on the highway.”
That is gratifying to me.
Courtesy on the road, or anywhere. It is so easy to wave, smile, or nod. Maybe you have made a better day for that person.
Signed,
Bob Cottam