Oh, honey. I've lived in OK, TX, NM, SC, FL, and UT. All but FL acknowledged polite driving with a wave (and not the single finger salute).

Well, once in TX a guy followed us into a parking lot to yell at us. We told him he was an idiot and that we have a gun (it *was* TX ferchissake).

As for attribution? Um. Ted Kennedy?

:)

Oh my god. The drives in St. Louis are probably more rude than you 90%. I can't remember the last time someone thanked me in any way for letting them in. Grrr. This is one of my huge driving pet peeves.

We here in the midwest wave like crazy fools. It depends on my mood how many fingers I use. :-)

In California there is no acknowledgment unless I yell, "YOU'RE WELCOME *SSHOLE!". Then I do get a response, though it's not the one I hoped for.

When somebody lets me in I flash a Shaka sign, which took me forever to learn lefthanded. When I'm letting someone in I wave them over. Maybe 60-70% of the time there's a wave of thanks. This is Hawai'i, after all; we're polite as all hell out here.

I am a happy waver when someone shares such a courtesy with me...but that doesn't mean that if they do something stupid the very next second I won't cuss them out like a sailor. It's that whole yin/yang balance thing don't you know...

Though its great to be nice and let people in ... there is some risk to waving them in. Lets say your stopped at a red light, a few cars back, and there is a car coming out of a parking lot. You could be mean and block there way, or, since one more car won't make any real difference, you can let them in. So, you choose to leave a gap, and wave them in. However, unbenownst to you, and to the parking lot car, there is a car in the oncoming lane that wants to turn into that same lot. They see the gap, and they see you wave. Lets say the car in front of you is a largish SUV (nothing against largish SUV's), so the oncoming car can't see parking lot car. They think you are being nice and leaving the gap and waving them in. Boom - collision occurs. Now everybody has to wait (never mind who might be legally liable).

As such, I personally make it a practice of being as nice as possible, and let other people in whenever possible ... but I don't wave them ... if they have a clue, they can figure it out. If they don't have a clue/aren't paying attention, I figure they are taking the moment to adjust the radio, and then I go.

And yes, I do get thank you waves more often then not ... and since a thank you wave is less likely to be an invitation to liability, I always give them myself. And yes, I live in Massachusetts. But its the Rhode Island drivers who need to be given a lesson in politeness ... :-)

i've never had a car while i've lived in a city. come to think of it, i've never really driven in any one city. i have been a passenger, though ... and i must say that honolulu drivers are CRAZY POLITE, and people actually take turns letting drivers into lanes of traffic. and, no beeping! ever! of course, the traffic is terrible in honolulu, but hell -- it's hawaii, and apparently no one is ever in a hurry there.

I believe Georgians wave? At least most of the time? You never, EVER honk the horn there, though. Admittedly, too, I don't pay so much attention to these things since I got rid of my wheels.

I spend half my life in the car (from Seattle to Los Angeles and everywhere in between), and rarely ever receive thank you waves. What I see most is the angry/impatient wave of somebody reluctantly letting me in.

Although, this might be because I drive in CA most of the time in an SUV with Oregon plates. Californians seem to have a dim view of Oregonians in SUVs. Go figure!

I would just like to say I am a product of MA although I currently live in NM. I ALWAYS acknowledge someone letting me in (unless I don't have a free hand because I'm on my cell phone while driving a standard).

The NM drivers are crazier than the massholes. I swear. It's scary out here. At least in MA, people know what they are doing! Here, anything goes! Especially drunks. It's not uncommon to hear stories of a drunk driver with like 12 DUI arrests driving the wrong way up I25 and killing someone in another car.

I'd rather drive in MA any day.

mostly i get a finger lmfao!! i usually only get a wave when im letting someone come out from a street wher its block otherwise or a parking lot and im on the street.. people dont wait to get in front of you driving out here they just do if they cause and accident they dont care! we have horriblly nmean drivers out here! lol
hugs

This is an issue I pay a lot of attention to as well. I myself wave 100% of the time. Unlike Boston's low 10% of grateful drivers, here in Tampa I would say about 50% of the people wave when I let them in. This estimate is slightly biased though because I have criteria for those I let in. I never let in a SUV no matter what. I like to think of this as a punishment for their wasteful lifestyles. I also never let in anyone who has a Bush bumper sticker (that is if I can see their bumper before I let them over).

I always wave...and most people around here do too. Some of them still drive like shit, but they wave.

eric, right there with you - around here, RI drivers are dangerousstupid.

i'm all about the politeness, especially since having worked quite diligently on letting go of my own road rage. hey, if my house isn't on fire, then i'll tend to take turns and let people go.

do i expect acknowledgement? does it tell you something that my kid will say 'say thank you!! say thank you!!' to drivers who don't wave? :)