We often think of ourselves as being alone when we are driving but that is rarely the case even if we ARE in the car by ourselves.  The cars around us are our fellow travelers or road warriors and from time-to-time another driver will do something to remind you that we are all in this together.

Here’s my list of things that other drivers do that put a smile on my face.

1. The left turn move over.  This is when  a drivers notices you are behind them and before turning left they change into the outside or even on-coming lane (if safe to do so).  You see this mainly on country roads.
2. Right turn advance.  You pull up to a stop light and you want to turn right.  There isn’t enough space between you and the curb so the car in front of you pulls ahead to give you enough room to get past. This is a major bonus for some with my level of patience.
3. Left turn stay back.  A car approaches an intersection and realizes that a vehicle turning in front of them will need some extra space so they stay a car length or two behind the white line.
4. Chess piece lane change.  You know you are in sync with your fellow road warriors when this happens.   You might be cruising down a major highway and there is a car in front of you blocking your progress.  Before you have to put your brakes on the car one lane over changes lanes giving you room to get around the slowpoke.  This is called being aware of your surroundings.
5. The shared “what an idiot” look.  You are at an intersection and some clown does something stupid like runs a red.  You look over at another driver and you give each other that what an idiot look.

If you’ve experienced any of the above then you too have realized that we are not alone on the road.  Just like the boy in the plastic bubble, we might be in our own moving isolation chamber but we are not alone.