Why do we thank drivers.

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hairycob

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Have a feeling this might be a bit controversial but here goes.

I always thank/acknowledge drivers & have never thought twice about it until the other day. Driving home from work a cyclist acknowledged me & my instinctive thought was "must be a rider" just from the way they did it & I got to thinking aboout how when I'm driving I expect a rider to wave/nod but don't expect it from any other road user.
If we are riding along & not having a particular problem & wave/nod at drivers are we in effect saying "thanks for not breaking the highway code, driving dangerously & risking my life" and by doing that are we saying that we don't really have a right to be there and are really grateful that they put up with us. I can see that it is different if you are having a real problem & drivers are maybe having to stop for a while. Then it would be good manners to recognise that you have caused extre inconvenience, but I am really wondering whether we are giving the right message.

Now I haven't stopped waveing & my 2 are both very well behaved on the road.

What does everyone else think?
 
I thank them not for me as such coz mine is a good boy on the roads but....... if I dont thank the driver and he drives off thinking 'snotty cow' and doesnt slow down for the next horse who may be young or the child may be young and he drives too close and too fast thus scaring child or horse then thats not good.
Also...... bycicles(sp) are not animals and dont spook !!
It is common courtesy.IMO
 
I will nod to say thankyou but like this morning had a car come up with in inches of neddy Ive noted there number plate and next time Im in my tractor and I meet this red Volkswagen Golf Im going to squeze them into the hedge so they can have a taste of their own medicine
 
Lots of people don't bother (and I've had the occasional one speed up..bizzarely) so I've always done it just to let the driver know it's appreciated that they've slowed down - the fact that they should anyway has never really affected whether I do/don't!

I think it's nice to know that slowing down is appreciated. I find it slightly rude if there's no acknowledgement of slowing down (even a head nod, as not always sensible to raise a hand) , but then that might just be the rider in me. Perhaps sometimes when not thanked, drivers who normally slow down would get the message that it's not really that important to and doesn't matter that much, and so would stop bothering.
 
I always wave or nod a thanks unless the driver speeds past at an unacceptable speed or too close. For everyone else I thank them - probably for not killing me! But really for bothering to pass me safely without scaring me or my horse or putting either of us in danger.

When drivers pull over and turn their engines off (especially lorries) I want to get off and give them a hug!

I've had a road accident before so am particularly wary about the pitfalls of road hacking.
 
I think riders on the road should thank drivers, and as a driver i get pissed off if riders dont!
The driver has had to slow down and make allowances for the horse.
I thank other drivers if the allow me through on a blocked off piece of road or similar, as they've had to change their speed etc! SO to me this is the same.
Its common courtesy to acknowledge someone if theyve altered the way they are driving to allow for someone else!
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When drivers pull over and turn their engines off (especially lorries) I want to get off and give them a hug!


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PMSL. Im sure they wouldnt say no!
 
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Its common courtesy to acknowledge someone if theyve altered the way they are driving to allow for someone else!
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That is what I think too!
 
I always try to thank drivers for their consideration, whether I am on a horse, or in another vehicle. It sends them away happy and might make them continue to extend that consideration to other road users, and it costs me nothing to be pleasant.
 
That's a good point - when I drive carefully past cyclists, joggers or anyone else that maybe vunerable, I never get a 'thankyou' gesture.
 
I understand the arguments given and they are why I wave/nod & why I get annoyed with people who don't wave etc. But the same could apply to other road users - dog walkers, families with young kids out walking/cycling & nobody expects any thanks from them. I just get a horrible feeling that it is part of seeing horses as second class road users who should be grateful to anyone who doesn't drive dangerously.
 
Yes, that's my point - we don't even notice that we haven't had a thankyou gesture from other vulnerable road users, but if it was a rider we would be annoyed - why?
 
Its common courtesy. As someone who has an unpredictable horse I thank them for the day when they drive past quietly because the next day she might be leaping about in the hedge and I will need them to be understanding.

I'm also a walker and a cyclist and it is slightly different because while the car does have to move out to go around you they don't necessarily need to slow so you aren't impeding their journey in the same way. We often ride a tandem and I do thank people then because my hands are free but if I take my hands off the handlebars on a normal bike I'm prone to veering into the path of oncoming traffic.
 
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I understand the arguments given and they are why I wave/nod & why I get annoyed with people who don't wave etc. But the same could apply to other road users - dog walkers, families with young kids out walking/cycling & nobody expects any thanks from them. I just get a horrible feeling that it is part of seeing horses as second class road users who should be grateful to anyone who doesn't drive dangerously.

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Part of the difference is, when u drive past a bike rider you generally dont have to slow down!
I also wouldnt say it was driving dangerously, but if im on a main road i will be driving at 60, there is nothing dangerous about this, its the national speed limit, when i see a horse i obviously have to make an allowance to this , therefore it is only polite for the rider to appreciate this fact!
 
I'm also a walker and a cyclist and it is slightly different because while the car does have to move out to go around you they don't necessarily need to slow so you aren't impeding their journey in the same way. We often ride a tandem and I do thank people then because my hands are free but if I take my hands off the handlebars on a normal bike I'm prone to veering into the path of oncoming traffic.

Quite often I have to slow down for cyclists, especially on bends when you can't see if it's safe to pull out more. Hands don't have to be taken off the handle bars - a smile or nod is sufficient- just like horse riders are expected to do if they can't take their hands off the rein.
I do acknowledge careful drivers and would expect other road users to do the same but they rarely do.
 
I must admit I am always acknowledging people when I am driving too. But if, for example, when I am riding I pull over into a gateway to allow traffic to pass safely on a narrow/bendy road. I NEVER get an acknowledgement from a driver - motor cyclists yes, drivers no - even if they are only just getting to me have not had to slow down to follow me.
I suppose my problem is NOT that riders are expected to acknowledge other road users, but they are the only group it is expected from. When other road users acknowledge someone else we think "nice person", but we too often we only notice when a rider doesn't & think "snotty cow"
 
I don't care if it's a lorry driver, cyclist, milkfloat or whatever, if a courtesy is extended to me I always acknowledge it, it's just good manners. That's the way I was brought up & my children were brought up that way to.
 
But where I live the chances are you would be on a bendy road & are likely to have to slow down until you can see that it's safe to overtake. The same would apply approaching the brow of a hill. As a keen cyclist I know that too many drivers will come past anyway & pull in dangerously if something comes in the opposite direction. The bike doesn't need to be unpredictable for you to be in danger from the motorist - as long as you aren't in a metal box you are vulnerable. As a cyclist it wouldn't occur to me to ackowledge a driver who waited to overtake safely. As a rider I would automatically acknowledge anybody who didn't actually injure me. I asked other cycling friends if they would nod/wave & they thought I was batty.
 
How often do u slow down for a bike on a straight flat road?

Why do u slow down to overtake a bike going round a bendy road?
Too make sure its safe for you. Yes partly for the cyclist but u arent going to over take to then come straight nto another car.
The sae applies to any thing on these kind of roads!
When over taking a horse on whatever road, u slow down to ensure you dont spook the horse.
Therefore slowing down is fpr the benefit of the rider (if on a safe road) and therefore they should acknowledge drivers.#
I dont hack, i dont like it, i dont think its particually safe, so i guess my oppinion may be different if i was on the other side of things!
 
But if the cyclist wasn't there you wouldn't have to slow down at all therefore the cyclist has inconvenienced the motorist.
Don't get me wrong I always do & shall continue to acknowledge motorists when I ride. But maybe I shall think more about acknowledging when I'm on the road in other ways. It really bugs me that riders are seen as second class road users (despite many of us paying 2 lots of road tax on a car & a lorry). But if everybody was nicer all the time maybe people would think more & be more considerate all round - might work, probably won't
 
I have recently stopped hacking out alone after narrowly being missed by angry white van man in middle of road speeding. Very annoying as during the week this means my horses don't get out much, but what can you do safety comes first- and I was wearing full hi-viz clothing and fluorescent exercise sheet on horse. Just don't have confidence anymore fortunately horse was an angel
 
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and just to throw a spanner in it all, what do you do when a driver doesnt slow down?? What if they speed up?

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They get a V sign!
 
I don't think it matters what cyclists, walkers or other road users do...horses are unpredictable and we need drivers to slow down for us in order that the horse is not spooked...that's why we need them to slow down and that is why we should always thank them.
It has nothing to do with 'well they don't so why should we' attitudes!!!! It is common courtesy to thank people that have had to slow down...I thank them all with a big wave and smile...and if they don't slow down they get thanked too...because they might consider for 2 seconds why I thanked them...and they might just slow down for the next rider as a result.
 
Well, this has been very interesting everybody has agreed we should all thank drivers and none of the riders I see who don't have said anything. Perhaps if they have read this they will think about it & start & maybe some people will thank others when they aren't on their horse & the world will be nicer place
 
I always thank drivers who slow down and give me some space, often its out of relief that I'm still on the horse and we are still going along calmly!

As a driver I always slow right down and often stop for riders, I'm not bothered whether they thank me or not, I'm not doing it for thanks I'm doing it because I know what its like to be the person up there clinging on for dear life on a hysterical horse!

I hate it when drivers don't show consideration, I always wear my 'caution young horse' flourescent and regularly find drivers speed past very close, even when it would be obvious we are already having a problem! More often than not i'm too busy trying to calm down my horse and stay on to give the driver a piece of my mind, but afterwards I want to hunt them down and let my horse trample them!
 
I thank drivers, but when I'm in the car I also thank other drivers, cyclists, buses etc if they have given way to me - its only polite. Same if I'm a pedestrian and a driver slows down to let me cross or whatever. I'm reluctant to thank drivers that speed past, never quite decided if I should or not, luckily there's not many like that around here.
 
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