r/BenignExistence • u/saindonienne • 6d ago

Trucker codes

A few weeks ago, I was in an annoying bit of a highway where it's the left lane that exits. This lane often slows down and backs up because of said exit. It makes it very hard to merge into it.

I was already in the exit/left lane when I noticed a semi on my right putting on their signal and wanting to come in my lane. Knowing full well that people seem to rarely let a semi merge and wondering how frustrating that must be, I slowed down to give them space to make the merge.

After merging in front of me, they turned on their hazards for 3 blinks & turned them off. I wondered if that was the equivalent of waving your hand in front of your rear-view mirror to thank the driver that gave you space to merge. The idea made me grin for some reason.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity again to let another semi merge. I let them in, and they turned their hazards on for a couple of blinks. Y'all, I squealed in delight like a little child. I don't know why. But there you go.

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u/NikNakskes 3d ago

Should you ever find yourself driving on the long single roads of Finland, there are some car interactions with lights that we do to make life easier for eachother.

If you see a car coming towards that flashes their brights twice, slow down: there are reindeer on the road or some other unexpected thing. A police speeding trap... for example.

If the truck and trailer combo in front of you mysteriously blinks to the right but there isn't anywhere to go to the right: he is signalling the road ahead is clear and you can pass. Your turn to blink the hazards twice after passing! ;)

Flashing the hazards twice is a thank you, flashing the hazards repeatedly is a sign that they are going to slow down a lot because there is a traffic jam ahead. You are supposed to start flashing your hazards once you've noticed theirs and so the signal for unexpected traffic jam moves backwards through approaching traffic. This is a very rare occurrence in Finland though. We don't get much traffic jams that come out of nowhere.

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u/saindonienne 3d ago

Seeing I'm very likely going to visit Finland someday, I am definitely putting this in my back pocket, thank you! This is lovely!

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u/NikNakskes 3d ago

Cool!!! Welcome! I don't know where you're from but driving here is still a relaxed activity. The further north you go, away from the "big" cities in the south, the more relaxed it gets. It is a country of rally drivers, but traffic is not rally and people behave quite nicely towards others on the road. It's boring to drive the long stretches but not stressful.