My dad was a truck driver for 42 years when he retired. He taught me to do the same thing as a courtesy to the truckers. Heck, I do the same thing to other 4-wheelers when I see a bear in the woods writing his/her end of the month or first of the month ticket quota! So it is definitely not outdated...

I try to be courteous to most drivers out there. If I get a truck or car thats tailgating me and i have to slow down to let them by,I never give them the lights. They don't deserve my courtesy! Normally I even give pickups the lights and always flash back to them after I pass them. When I pass a vehicle,i blink my right lights two or three times and my left signal once,so that i am giving the right away to someone overtaking me. Its a safety thing with me,plus the courtesy thing to do. i am constantly trying to get that image back that we had years ago. i have had folks call my companies and told how nice i was driving and it reall feels good when they do. A couple of times it was a call from my company competitors trucks owners. You don't know who these people are in the 4 wheelers,it could very well be me and you out there. I have driven big trucks with all the chrome and whistles that can run a hundred or so,and the older not so shiny ones'. One thing that does bother me is the younger generation driving a supertruck,he passes me and I give him the lights and he never akknowledges me, thats just a discourteous thing to do,he may need my help soon after,sorry I didn't notice and i'll keep on driving. Not all of you younger guys are in that class,most are courteous,thats just one of the reasons truckers will never stick together and companies will still be treating drivers like the scum of the earth. We need to watch our rears and take care of everybody in the transportation industry,from vans and pickups to trash and food trucks and everything in between. Some of us will never dierespect another 4 wheeler,and I won't be part of that other crowd. You do have to watch out for that openly gay guy,you flash your lights anywhere near them and they'll be right up next to you trying to make a friend. I'll always wave or honk my horn at a good looking girl,but that gay guy better start looking somewhere else. I had to mention that,ma,ct,pa,ny notorious for this.

Good post Buckandahalf! Nicely said............I don't let the gay guys bother me tho--- You know they are only looking at trucks for the same reason the lot lizards do.................Some truckers are lookin' back...........

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Well put.

Ever notice how bus drivers seem to still have that "comradeship" with each other on the road. Even if they are driving for competing companies, they'll still wave and/or flash their lamps/turn signals at each other.

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Thanks alot drivers,I knew you would understand my thoughts,nice to meet great folks like you all here,trying to make things better for our profession. i'm sorry I left the bus drivers out,I surely should have included them. I have the utmost respect for you younger drivers out there. things are alot more complicated for you these days,keep your great work up,have a nice night.see ya all down the road.

So losing a safe distance between you and 80,000 lbs. is worth a measly 4-wheeler?? I fail to see the chain of thought here. There is RARELY a reason to put yourself in a bad situation while passing.
As for the "flashing", as long as it is NOT the highbeams, I usually thank everyone, those who use the highbeams get a single finger salute OR a stearn verbal beating.

"Illegal use of Highbeams, ten mile penalty"

I am unable to flash lights on my bus. The minute my key goes in the ignition the lights come on. The only way to turn em off is to turn off the motor or yank the wires. LOL! So don't take offense if I am not using courtesy lights.

I've seen plenty of near misses because the truck that was passing left a so-called "safe distance" between him and the truck he passed and some ******* in a car decides he can no longer wait and cuts around to the right, forcing the driver just as he was preparing to change lanes to suddenly jerk back.

Congrats. You've shown you're part of the problem. Way to improve the truckers image. Go you!

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True some companies don't allow it and will tell you so in their orientation and training, no problem and I undersdtand why they do this. As far as not being able to flash 'thanks' with some trucks, there is always the 4 way flashers for that.

where's the pics with this thread.......oh wait wrong kind of flashing....i'll just close the door behind me on the way out.