‘Sorry’ always seems to be the hardest hand gesture

Today’s question: I recently made a dumb driving mistake and had it not been for the other driver’s great driving skills, there would have been an accident. I could tell he was mad at me by the length of time blowing his horn, which I deserved. I wanted to say, “I’m sorry,” but didn’t know how.

Is there some sort of hand gesture that says I’m sorry? If not, how about an open waving hand?

It seems that quite a few other people already have given some thought to this matter, and there have been quite a few suggestions. So far none of them seems to have caught on.

I certainly agree with you that some sort of such gesture is needed, but given how much rudeness and road rage there is out there I think many people might think that any sort of gesture might be misinterpreted and just make matters worse.

What we need is a gesture that wouldn’t be misinterpreted and also not so complicated that it diverts your attention from driving, especially during a hazardous situation you may have created.

One suggestion I liked was to give yourself the finger. Make a fist, extend the middle finger and point it at yourself. That, however, may be too easily misread by the offended driver.

Your best bet might be to turn a hand palm up and shrug your shoulders. Or how about lightly clapping a hand across your heart while trying to look contrite.

I suppose some of you are such bad drivers you should just keep at hand a large placard reading, “Sorry” when you mess up.