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Fall 2010 -
The unspoken apology

	The problem of road rage never seems to go away. Drivers make mistakes for various reasons – distraction, inattentiveness, confusion about where they are going or where they are, and so on. Often as a driver, you'll realize you've messed up – say you've cut another car off, almost clipped a truck or frightened a passing cyclist. And you want to apologize.
Cut off another driver? Hand up, fingers spread – it's a silent ‘I’m sorry’.

Well, when you can't speak face-to-face with the person, or use both hands while looking at them, it's not easy to indicate you're sorry. In fact, in our culture, it's nearly impossible!

A single apologetic hand gesture would do the trick. But there currently isn't one that I know about. Think about it: We have
common hand gestures to tell people when they've messed up, to express anger or frustration, to tell people ‘where to go',
but what about one that would say ‘Yes, I know I made a mistake, and I'm sorry'. Think of the possibilities if there was one.

Well, I’m no expert, but I’ve come up with one. Because when you’re driving you can’t always look at the person you
want to apologize to, nor can you speak to them, try this. Hold up your right hand, flat, fingers apart. That’s it. The idea is to have
a very simple, easy to remember, easy-tounderstand hand signal that says ‘I’m sorry’.

The completely open hand shows you're relaxed, in a sense powerless, and certainly is unthreatening. Raise your
hand, open your fingers wide – making sure it can be seen through your car's windows – and move on. You can hope
that the person you've offended recognizes the gesture as an apology, forgives you and gets on with his or her day.

It doesn't matter if your hand faces palm forward or back. You don't need to wave. The open fingers should expre s s
your meaning.

I think this ‘sorry signal’ would go a long way to reducing road rage, and to encouraging a higher level of respect and courtesy among drivers. It can't hurt to try it, and who knows, it could spread some peace and tranquility around the city.

You can be one of the first to try the ‘sorry signal’. Let me know how it works for you.

Bill Roebuck is the Editor of Home Digest.

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