From: crl0195@hertz.njit.edu (Curt R Lindmark)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: Thank you at night (was Re: Signalling one's desire to pass)
Date: 6 Oct 92 14:40:17 GMT
Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.

In article <BvpDH4.9z0@news.cso.uiuc.edu> tmkk@uiuc.edu (Khan) writes:
>
>In article <1aqf5iINNuv@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> ah335@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Richard Banks) writes:
>>
>>In a previous article, karmira@natinst.com (Apostolos Karmirantzos) says:
>>
>>>  What do you think is the appropriate way to signal a thank you at night
>>>to someone who went right to allow you to pass. If it's day, I just wave
>>>my hand, but what about at night?
>>
>>Never, never use hand signals unless you absolutely must.
>>It's a bad feeling when you have to stop your car in the middle of traffic to
>>go pick up your arm laying in the road that other motorists are running over.
>
>Pardon me for asking, but how does waving a "thank you" by raising your
>right hand so that it is visible to the driver behind you through your
>rear window and then waving it result in your arm becoming severed from
>your body and teleported out of your vehicle into the road where it is
>then run over by other cars?

I think what the person had in mind was "legal hand signals":
Left turn: left arm out, elbow straight
Right turn: left arm out, elbow bent at 90 degrees, hand pointing up
Slowing down: left arm out, elbow bent at 45 degrees, hand pointing down and
              to the left
Stopping: left arm out, elbow bent at 90 degrees, hand pointing down

The loss of an arm would results (presumably) from sticking your arm out
to make a "legal hand signal" and having it torn off by traffic (rather
gruesome).

Also, to the orginal poster, it has been told to me by enough people that
the accepted response is to wait until your rear panel is within their
view and then flash your hazard lights once or twice.  The control for your 
hazard lights is generally on the right side of your steering column, with 
seperate pull and push modules mounted on concentric circles.  Push the inside
circle to engage and pull the outside circle to disengage.  
  Personally, I think either a LED display mounted on all sides with keyboard 
and all possible combinations (14 or so in all) of display (front, left, right
and back) OR a PA system would be much more effective and less prone to 
mis-interpretation.

Also, the former would be really neat for use: e.g.
When the radar detector comes on, automatically print
"Warning: Radar contact reported" to the back..
or, after you have passed a speed trap, print
"Warning: Speedtrap ahead" to the left and front.
Naturally, you might be charged with obstruction of justice should you do
so, so do so at your own risk.  

O========|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|========0
 Curt R Lindmark      crl0195@hertz.njit.edu         Defender from ages past

Fast, faster, faster, faster, ready to explode
Don't want nothing left of me to scrape of the road
Spirit........OF THE WHEEL!!!!!!!
					-"Wheels of Fire" Manowar
Disclaimer: NJIT is responsible for nothing I don't say which isn't mine.
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving