When I was a youngster, everybody waved at everybody in our part of the country. Quite a few still do. When on the road though, we don't see many that wave back.
Have RV....Will Travel
2007 Forest River Sunseeker 2860 LTD
2000 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
Why would anyone assume I am grouchy, inconsiderate, or any other adjetive laden with negativity if I do not wave back to you? Responsible defensive driving means you are paying attention to your entire driving environment. Not peering into some other rig to see if someone is waving. If your co-pilot would like to wave to my co-pilot that is fine with me. Also, give your cell phone, GPS, computer, etc. to your co-pilot. Just keep your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel, and stay in your own lane. I will be more than happy to greet you at the next reststop or share a beer with you at the next campground.
RVnRobin, DW, and the cat.
The cat thinks she is the boss!
I will wave if I think the other person can see me. Hardly ever has anyone waved back. I figured it was because we are pulling a pup but it sounds like that is not the case. When I do wave my wife always asks why am I doing that knowing full well that the other people will not wave back. One time someone actually waved back and I caught her waving too.
MattC from MO
2003 Grand Caravan
2008 Palomino Yearling 4102
Wife and 4 kids
What I have found is that most of the time you can see only see an on coming RV driver when you are on a small two lane road. As for me, I try to keep both hands on the wheel and all my attention on the road when I am driving on a two lane road. I do wave at fellow RVers when I am on a four or five lane HWY and they happen to look over at me while passing or something.
What I have found is that most RVers are very friendly and do wave when they are in a RV park and can take there eye off the road for a second or two.
It's to bad that you think that because they are trying to drive safely you think of them as being rude.
I think it's a regional (and as noted, perhaps a generational) thing. As I've travelled around the US (not in an RV), I've noticed that when driving through more rural areas, if someone is walking alongside the road, they'll usually wave. You almost never see that in suburban areas, and virtually never in urban areas. In those areas, on small or narrow roads, the vehicle drivers will often wave to each other (regardless of vehicle). If you're walking on a street, they're a lot more likely to smile and say "hi." If you're not used to it, it's very odd at first.
Where I used to live (a highly populated state), construction workers and flaggers were just people who told you what to do. You stopped, waited, then drove past them. Here, especially once you get outside the more populated areas, it's common to smile at the flagger, say thanks, or wave to them. If a construction worker looks up as she's working, you wave to her too.
Are suburban and urban citizens ruder? Are younger people ruder? Nah, just more rushed. Older folks remember when life wasn't quite so busy, when people had time to say "hi" to a stranger. Now, a lot of people have 100 "friends" on Facebook that we can say communicate with. We don't need to wave to strangers.
I never knew there was a rule about waving to RVers. Jeep drivers wave to each other. And motorcyclists do too(except, as a general rule, Harley Drivers don't wave to import motorcycle riders. Did you know Waving can have rules attached?).
But waving to EVERY RV? That's a lot of waving. Maybe we'll only wave to other Class C drivers, or every Winnebago/Itasca.
Dh, our 2 year old German Shepherd, 15 yr old Beagle/Spaniel and me.
Exploring every National Park (and Monument) in USA, Canada, Mexico & beyond.
3 well-used backpacking tents.
2008 Itasca Impulse, 24'
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