> Uh...no, actually.  You're thinking of cagers.
>
> A flash of the headlights is a universal signal among US truck
> drivers, meaning just the same thing as it does in the UK -- your pass
> is complete and you're clear to pull back in.  It's also customary for
> the overtaking vehicle to flash his taillights after pulling back in,
> as a "thank you" gesture to the truck which allowed him to pass.
>
> Truckers assume -- and rightly so -- that bikers and cages (actually,
> anthing with fewer than ten wheels is a "four-wheeler" to a trucker)
> are blind and deaf to this communication, although if you demonstrate
> your trucking savvy by giving the proper signals (and not driving like
> a typical cager) they'll usually take that at face value and accord
> you the same courtesy.
>
> I never learned all the intracacies of truckers' light language -- my
> dad was a trucker, not me -- but it seems possible to hold a lengthy
> conversation on almost any subject using nothing but the truck's
> lighting equipment (in case the CB radio breaks down, I guess).
>
> -Scott
> '73 CB450

Quite right, although the original post was about "vehicles."
I will certainly say that in the years I've been riding, most
truckers show about 3 times the concern for a biker's welfare
than cagers do.  And that yes, most trucks do indeed obey
lane discipline, unlike the majority of car drivers.

Jim

This gives an insight into how some of the road users view communication between other drivers. It is majority of the time as an act of courtesy, but when one does not know the signals to show in situations then rage or havoac occurs.

 
> What if instead of AM/FM radios became standard car equipment, CB
> radios were standard equipment instead?

Drivers would be able to scream at each other more easily, which might
lead to more people pulling over for a fight, or shooting at each
other if you are in the U.S.  Alternately, CBs might start playing the
role that mobile phones do today: and the car-as-mobile-office concept
would have caught on much earlier.  The problem with having CB radios
becoming standard equipment in cars is that there is no obvious use
for limited two-way communication between vehicles.  AM/FM radios are
useful because driving is usually very boring (you spend a lot of time
waiting at lights, or driving down highways with little scenery) and
listening to music or some brain-dead political commentator can be a
good way to keep yourself awake or entertained during the trip.  There
was a brief craze for CB radios in North America in the 1970s, but the
fad fizzled because they didn't serve any useful purpose for most
people.  The first radio I ever bought could receive the CB bands, but
I don't remember ever listening to them after the first day.

I think that by using CB radios may cause even more confusion to the everyday driver. A person may say something to someone and another person may hear it and respond. This is where the confusion would take place. It is a good idea but to allow people to use it in a wrong way may even worsen the problem.

Jayson Nakasone

Writes about how road rage comes about through the misinterpretation of driver signals. When a driver signals to another driver about what they are about to do cause reactions, usually of courtesy. Sometimes though the communication faulters, the outcome maybe a crash but majority of the time there is aggression.

Mr. Nakasone also goes into some details of merging, changing lanes, and right of way all of which require a certain degree of communication and knowledge of driving. Under these the type of communication usually utilizes hand signals, and the blinker. Mr. Nakasone makes a very good suggestion "One piece of advice is to have someone else drive so you are able to concentrate on the other drivers and not worry so much about your own vehicle." This allow one to pay attention to different stimuli that maybe missed while driving.
 

Trisha Hashimoto discusses racing, overtaking, and making room in a lane, of which she breaks it down into categories. These categories are Methods of Interaction, How Widespread is It?, Who Uses It?, How Effective is It?, What is It's Function for the Doer?, and For the Receiver?. Through her data collecting she noticed many things that she did not notice before. She states that when she first started out she focused on the negative forms of communication such as cussing and flipping the bird. There are other more positive forms of communication that she noticed also such as signaling a lane change and the other driver waving you in. The wave is like a thank you.

Bowers, Barbara. Getting Aggressive about Road Rage. Best's Review: Life Health Insurance Edition, Nov 1997, 98, 61.

Eisenlauer, Richard. Driver and Traffic Safety: Program Evaluation, 1990-1991. K-12.

Kenel, Francis C., Ed.; Krueger, Emily A., Ed. Cooperative Driver Education Manual for the High School EMR Student. 1969

Malfetti, James L. Young driver attitude scale: The development and field-testing of an instrument to measure young driver risk-taking attitudes New York: Comlumbia University, 1989.

Malfettit, James L. and Winter, Darlene J. Safe and unsafe performance of older drivers: a
descriptive study. New York: Columbia University, 1987.

National Driver Education and Training Symposia. Public and Nonpublic Schools, December 1-4, 1968. Commercial Driving Schools, January 26-29, 1969. . 1969

Smith, Angela. How to be a Great Communicator. American School board Journal. V178, n8, p31-33. Aug. 1991.

Schulz, Wolfgang. Traffic Management Improvement by Integrating Modern Communication Systems. Ieee Communications magazine. Oct. 1, 1996, v34, n10 p56.

Thiel, Randall R.. A Guide to Curriculum Planning in Driver and Traffic Safety Education. Bulletin No. 96300. .