It looks a simple and unrehearsed gesture ... but is it?
With grey nomads now heading north in numbers and getting out into remote areas, many are now brushing up on their ‘waving’ skills showing that the time-honoured tradition of acknowledging fellow travellers on remote highways is alive and well.
According to experts, the common finger-raising gesture is an acknowledgement of common humanity which shows our innate desire to interact with those on a similar adventure.
But anthropologist Dr Adrian Peace from the University of Queensland says the ‘phatic finger’ – as he has labelled it – is not as simple as it might first appear. He has identified a complex pecking order within the ‘waving’ community, and says the gesture has many subtle nuances.
“Perhaps because of their age, some grey nomads see themselves as informal guardians of morality,” Dr Peace has said. “Australians often bemoan what we consider to be poor manners in public places … but this cordial and friendly gesture between strangers proves it is not always like this.”
A previous study into the issue cited the example of a pair of grey nomads from Victoria who ‘never failed’ to greet others out on the open road and had a low opinion of those who didn’t.
‘It’s just the right thing to do, it’s not as if there’s much effort involved, is there?’ they said. “Being decent and polite to people costs nothing, it really gets our goat that some people can’t be bothered.”
Dr Peace says travellers may also wave to relieve boredom; because they feel it is the right way to behave; as a way of building a sense of camaraderie; or simply because they feel obligated to reciprocate gestures.
While waving is commonplace on the open road, Dr Peace says there are ‘deviants’ who often refuse to participate … like road train drivers.
“These men are lords of the highway, and they’re arrogant with it,” he said. “They have no truck with travellers of lesser standing … they communicate exclusively between themselves.”
He says the type of vehicle that people drive gives them an identity and shapes who they wave at … and who waves at them. Apparently, those driving rental vehicles are at the bottom of the pecking order, while grey nomads commonly ‘prioritise’ other grey nomads.
Dr Peace says the wave itself is also critical. A small twitching of the finger might be construed in the oncoming vehicle as a ‘mean gesture’, while raising the hand entirely from the wheel may be considered ‘over the top’.
In terms of timing, raising a finger too early can mean the impromptu quality of the gesture is lost, but leaving it too late can result in the wave being missed altogether.
· Do you stress about getting waving etiquette and technique right? Have you noticed a waving pecking order? Comment below.
I have much more bigger things to concern me.
I would like to give some drivers the ‘big finger’ instead.
My husband says my whole arm waving at fellow travellers could be construed to me over the top and laughs and shakes his head st me but if I can’t see the little one finger wave then how can they see my tiny ones, so I wave my whole arm .. plus I feel good doing it, it’s like ‘hi’…. everyone.
Give the wave
There are waves that crash upon the beach that’s sandy
The queens Royal wave looks rather dandy
our Australian flag we can wave with pride
Wave it up high and side to side
But there is one wave that I am sure you all know
And it’s when you have your caravan in tow
Another van passes and both drivers give the sign
A finger or hand on the wheel all primed
Sometimes even the passenger will raise their Palm
Wishing the fellow vanner to come to no harm
Cause it’s a kindred spirit as we cross our great land
A comfort as each of us raise up a hand
Sometimes you might have one van after another
Just leave that hand up and mass wave each other
And when you are traveling through our major towns
We know you concentrate we can tell from the frown
There are lines of traffic as peak hour is near
And you wish to change lanes and glimpse over in fear
No time now to wave and we all understand
Cause city drivers are a different brand
But as the traffic thins and the scenery changes
Put up your hand and don’t be a stranger
Still give the sign and show the other vans
Your a true blue Aussies who has joined the club of caravans
Love it Debbie and all so very right and true, well said.
Thankyou Debbie that is brilliant-I am an ex interstate driver and the (G,Day Mate )wave has been a part of traveling for as long as I can remember and even at night it was a quick flash of the right hand blinker. so long live the wave.
Spot on Victor, however I need to qualify the one flash of the right blinker at night for the safety of the general traveling public, so as not to put anyone in danger. This gesture by one truck driver to another ( and I drove trucks for many years ) is only done to oncoming trucks provided that there is no vehicle behind you. otherwise that flash could be misconstrued as a signal to overtake the truck. Safe travel.Blue McGrath
Brilliant!!
Dr Peace. Get a life will you.
It’s folk like you that make life difficult. I for one shall keep the salute to fellow travellers. Interpret it as you may but it is and shall remain a gesture of good meaning.
I sincerely hope that Dr Pearce didn’t receive taxpayers funding to produce this twaddle ! Nothing wrong with good old Aussie country values. We always wave to other motorhome drivers & usually receive acknowledgement in return. I’d like to feel there is a sense of kinship out there on the road.
We try to wave ( whole hand or one finger ) as seems to suit the occasion. We like to acknowledge everyone on the road – truckies, motor bikes, caravans as well as all types of motor homes. We find that (we travel in an Asia bus), and any motor home like ours (eg. Coasters, Mazdas etc ) all wave back with the big arm. A lot of “yuppy” 4wd/caravan rigs, particularly ones which are a year or two old, don’t even bother! So “up yours…” We feel it is an essential part of remote country driving with a feeling of comeraderi.
yep we are the same always way to the other travellers we have a motohome and a lot of yuppy caravans just put there nose in the air and dont wave back, BORING PEOPLE you are know better than the rest of us.
It’s been a country persons acknowledgement of neighbours nd friends nd fellow drivers since buggy days. Country civility
I do recall in the 40’s & 50’s when travelling with my parents in strange rural towns those out in their gardens and walking along the street would wave to us, just being friendly to strangers. Of course as a teen/ youth when driving myself, I never considered the nicety of reciprocating a stranger’s wave. Nowadays, as soon as we are out of city limits we acknowledge oncoming drivers in motorhomes, campers and caravans – but still in places like rural South Australia and towns in Western Qld we revert to a nod and flick a finger salute to all.
Waving at everything that moves is a dead set give away, that they are new to the travelling game and to say people who do not wave back are Up themselves or snobby, is a stupid thing to say, when you do not know the person at all, ! how can you make that judgement ? I sometimes wave and sometimes not, I do not keep looking ahead to see if a van or RV is coming so I can say Yippee I can wave at another one, As I also like to watch the road for other safety and panoramic reasons, So if you happen to pass a Colorado towing a Olympic 21′ van, and you don’t get a wave, it is not because I am up myself, or think I am any better than you, ! it is just that you passed when my ‘ wave ‘ mode was not turned on !– And if you take offence to that, !
May I suggest you stop being so snobby, and thinking your more important than others , Because you are not !
We only raise our entire hand to rigs like ours, but other grey nomads always get at least the finger twitch. The road workers up north and west are aldo worthy of a wave, in fact they often wave first.
Dr Peace is an academic and apparently an ill informed one when it comes to his opinion of road train drivers.
I drove road trains for many years and object to being classed as arrogant by an academic who has obviously never been associated with the hard yakka and long hours involved in the transport game.