Driving like a Canadian…
Growing up in Canada, driving in many different elements has really been a blessing when you look at the big picture. In many places of Canada, it gave you the opportunity to drive in extreme winter weather conditions and then a few months later, extreme heat. It almost feels like you’ll need to wear a winter coat while wearing shorts because you never know what the weather will be like in a few hours later. Being labelled a “Canadian driver” isn’t all that bad really.
Canadians are often considered to be a polite bunch of people. We will often say sorry to someone for something they did. Pretty polite, eh? I’m pretty sure when my fellow Canadian drivers mistakenly cut another driver off, they most likely say sorry to them, even though the other driver can’t hear them. If I’m walking somewhere and someone else bumps into me, I’ll often say sorry even though it was them who initiated the contact. It’s the Canadian way.
So many times I’ve witnessed two drivers arriving at the all-way stop at the same time. Both drivers wave the other driver to go ahead. After the first set of waves, no one moves. So they both wave again…and again…and again. Then they laugh and both attempt to proceed at the same the time. It’s the Canadian way.
As a Canadian driver, we’re constantly waving. Sometimes it’s a wave to say thank you for letting us into the lane. Sometimes it’s a wave to say sorry. Sometimes it’s a wave to let someone else go on ahead of us. It depends on the situation. Even a pedestrian will often wave thank you if a driver slows to let them cross through the crosswalk. It’s the Canadian way.
In Canada we have a roundaBOUT, not a roundaBOOT. We use kilometres to judge speed instead of miles, like many other countries do. To help our American friends who come to visit, we post conversion signs just inside the Canadian border to they won’t travel 100 mph instead of 100 km/h on the expressway. See, even our government is polite. Sorry.
Being a Canadian driver also means we adapt to what we’re doing in winter weather. Stopping to help someone stuck in deep snow (and no, we don’t have snow all year round) is something total strangers do without hesitating. My two sons stopped to help someone get unstuck when they were young teens walking home from school. They knew what to do as they had been with me many times when I’ve done the same. They like to help. It’s the Canadian way.
Speaking of winter, a Canadian driver keeps their winter tires on well into May. This is because, it may be t-shirt and shorts weather one day, but snow the next. You can never be too sure how the roads will be early in the year in Canada so it’s better to be safe than sorry. It’s the Canadian way.
Oh sure, we may not all drive in this manner, but generally, you’ll find Canadian drivers to be polite and respectful. Hopefully our polite and respectful driving manners will rub off on more drivers, even those who are not Canadian. And to those who did not like this quick little post, I have one word for you; sorry.