New Zealand radio host says Australian drivers are rude because they don’t flash their lights or wave when he lets them into his lane
Kiwi expat ‘confused’ Aussie drivers don’t flash their lights Sophie Nathan questions lack of common courtesy Aussie road users say flashing was for speed cameras
A Kiwi radio host who has moved to Australia is ‘surprised’ by the fact that Aussie drivers don’t flash their lights or wave when he lets them into his lane.
Sophie Nathan, who arrived in Sydney about a month ago, expressed her surprise at the lack of road manners in Australia compared to her home country.
‘Quick question for Aussies, how come no one says ‘thank you’ with hazard lights when you’re driving?’ he asked in a video uploaded to his TikTok account.
‘In New Zealand, if you let someone in, it’s a courtesy that they flick on their hazard lights a little bit, or you wave down the window. Nobody does that in Australia.’
Ms Nathan said she repeatedly gave way to drivers merging into her lane and claimed no one gave her a single ‘thank you’ wave.
Kiwi woman Sophie Nathan (pictured) is ‘surprised’ Aussie drivers don’t flash their lights or bark when she lets them into her lane
He added that he was never offered the same courtesy.
‘Doesn’t matter here?’ she asked.
Australian road users explained that most drivers bark inside their cars and don’t flash their lights.
‘We bark – in our rear view mirror so look between the cars in front and you should see it,’ said one.
Another wrote: ‘Head nods or waves are common.’
‘We definitely wave but in the rear view mirror. We never blip the hazard lights,’ added a third.
Australian road users have explained that drivers bark inside their cars and don’t flash their lights until alerting others of nearby speed cameras. Others noted that swinging was more common in rural and suburban areas than in cities
Ms Nathan, who was a radio host in her native New Zealand, moved to Sydney about a month ago
‘We wave with the left hand, the next time we look in their rear view mirror. You’ll find thanks,’ said another.
Several users told Ms. Nathan that the flashing lights were usually reserved for alerting people to nearby police patrols checking people’s speed.
‘We just blink our lights to warn people off speed cameras,’ commented one viewer.
Others told him that it was more common in suburban and rural areas to politely wave or nod to other drivers than in cities like Sydney.
Ms Nathan’s has received over 42,000 views.
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