[jacobvarughese]

I returned from a brief visit to the West Coast US region today, and wanted to showcase one product which I reckon may make waves in India, particularly as a result of the heavy and hostile traffic situations we sometimes navigate through everyday- please take note this isn't form of any marketing gimmick by me nor do I have any relationship with this company.

The product is called 'MotorMood Classic', and it cost me circa US$22 to purchase this(only still available in the US unfortunately)- I had it delivered to the hotel where I was put up.

Using this, one could send across a 'Thank You' emoji to the motorist behind you using a remote controlled light installed on your sun visor- I received three other overlays as well (blue and pink color), however would have preferred an 'angry' emoticon.

Here is their link

http://www.motormood.com/

Some pictures which I managed to take today AM (one without the light-up and with).

Welcome your thoughts to know if this could click in India- I drove a couple of kilometres here in Trivandrum, and there were some incredulous smiles !

[shankar.balan]

Very cute.
Lovely idea indeed.

In the 70's/80's/90's in the Hilly regions of South India, everyone who used the roads had this simple quaint way of thanking someone else, especially when they gave way to "uphill traffic" on those narrow roads. All that we used to do, was quickly toot the horn in quick succession, twice.

And receive a similar acknowledgement from the other motorist.

This used to work across all classes of vehicles, Buses, Trucks, Tractors, Cars, Bikes and the works.

Of course, that was then.

Nowadays, with so much money around and fancy cars and absolutely no time at all, it appears that no one at all has any manners at all, so this kind of exchange of pleasantries has now become a thing of the past, fading quickly into the sepia coated memories that make one smile whenever one thinks of it...

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Very cute.
Lovely idea indeed.

In the 70's/80's/90's in the Hilly regions of South India, everyone who used the roads had this simple quaint way of thanking someone else, especially when they gave way to "uphill traffic" on those narrow roads. All that we used to do, was quickly toot the horn in quick succession, twice.

And receive a similar acknowledgement from the other motorist.

This used to work across all classes of vehicles, Buses, Trucks, Tractors, Cars, Bikes and the works.

Of course, that was then.

Even nowadays, on rural single roads, bus / Innova drivers while coming from opposite direction give a single hoot and if you return, they give you way enough to pass. After passing, single hoot again to thank. We improvise! It is like, switch on hazard lights if you want to go straight on an intersection (without signal) and even people crossing on foot seem to know that.!

[Tanveer_2558]

I had seen this sometime back, Was happy to see such an idea and i am glad i saw someone who would be using it on Indian roads now, I am eager to know the after effects of this, How many people would actually notice or realise that the smiley just lit up for them, How was their reaction etc.

Do keep us posted!

[GTO]

Very cute , thanks for sharing!

Wish it explicitly had some 'thanks' text as well. If someone behaves really well on the road, I usually roll the window down and give him a . A lot of truck drivers respond to the thumbs up with a honk.

[shifu]

Very interesting! I always wanted a way to communicate with the driver behind. Saying a 'thanks' is a bit simple - just waive your hand or a thumbs up.

But saying - 'dip your high-beam' or 'move back and maintain safe distance' are more important and difficult things to say. I wish I had a scrolling marquee at the back of my car. I could type in stuff from my seat that would show up as a scrolling marquee on the back of my car.

[revharder]

It's actually an appreciation of recognizing the good move.

Even the traffic police should also start giving some small token of appreciation to general public for their good manners on road. Very recently, our Finance Ministry has started issuing Certificate of Appreciation to honest tax payers.

[Dry Ice]

Nice!

I guess it is better suited for night time or highways where our thumbs up might not be clearly visible to the driver behind.

But I am skeptical about even good drivers "decoding" this smilie as a gesture of our thanks or appreciation.

Originally Posted by shifu

Very interesting! I always wanted a way to communicate with the driver behind. Saying a 'thanks' is a bit simple - just waive your hand or a thumbs up.

But saying - 'dip your high-beam' or 'move back and maintain safe distance' are more important and difficult things to say. I wish I had a scrolling marquee at the back of my car. I could type in stuff from my seat that would show up as a scrolling marquee on the back of my car.

You can use something like this -



https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-...3-9dcd9f8590e8

[krackr]

Originally Posted by jacobvarughese

...Using this, one could send across a 'Thank You' emoji to the motorist behind you ...

...Welcome your thoughts to know if this could click in India- I drove a couple of kilometres here in Trivandrum, and there were some incredulous smiles !

This is a superb idea, and one worth welcoming. Thanks for sharing. We definitely need such emotions to curb the road rage. I sometimes roll down the window and give a thumbs up - though not always. Got to make that a habit now.

[vdi]

I have also sourced this from US recently and was thinking about replacing the emoticon with 'dip your high-beam' sticker. Yet to work on this due to lack of time.

[shaggydogg]

In the UK, people use their dipper/flash their lights for the exact opposite reason as in India - to let you know its okay to cut in front of you or to let take a turn in front of you. Example: you're driving on the motorway and turn on your indicator to change lanes. More often than not, the motorist who you are going to cut in front of will flash his headlights to let you join in front of him and it is customary to turn on your hazard lights for a couple of seconds to say thank you!

Truck/bus drivers usually put on both their indicators in quick succession (left-right-left-right) instead of turning on their hazard lights.

So typically British and so nice to see. Compare that to India where madmen flash their lights to claim to a patch of the roadway!

[fine69]

When I did a 10 day driving holiday in Europe, I realized that in Switzerland people would turn hazard lights on for 2-3 blinks if you let them pass. It is of course one of the most popular way of saying thank you there. Japan does the same I believe.

However, lets say that that you flash this emoji after overtaking a white Scorpio/Fortuner with jet black tints in the NCR area, what follows is anybody's guess.

I had once given a thumbs up to a white Accent with jet black tints because he let me pass. What followed was that he came parallel to my car on DND flyway, rolled his window down, hurled some abuses and tried to corner me in stopping. Only I know how loud you have to shout out to say 'Sorry' when travelling at just 60 kmph, that too more than 10 times.

I had once given a thumbs up to a Swift Dzire with tbhp sticker, I got a middle finger in return. After a few of these episodes, I just keep to myself. People in NCR are on a different high when on road, you never know what you could get into.

[ani_meher]

Thanks for sharing this.

I use the two hazard light blinks method as described in above posts. Don't like to honk or roll down window lest someone misunderstands. I hope more people start using this/such gestures!

Originally Posted by revharder

Even the traffic police should also start giving some small token of appreciation to general public for their good manners on road.

In Thane, a couple of times my brother has received a photo of him riding his scooter with a helmet on, alongwith a 'thank you for following traffic rules' card from the RTO. Feels good

Originally Posted by shifu

I wish I had a scrolling marquee at the back of my car. I could type in stuff from my seat that would show up as a scrolling marquee on the back of my car.

This reminds me of one script by Late comedian George Carlin:

"Wouldn't it be nice to have an electric board that would rise up out of the trunk of your car and let you type in any message you like?

"Attention a$$h0le! You drive like old people f##k. Slow and sloppy."

Sorry for profanity, mods pls edit if it is not allowed in quoting someone.

[Venkatesh.C]

Open palmed thank you gestures have always been received properly. At least in my experience. True to the advice given in the DMV book, when you sign thus, make sure the other driver can see all your fingers being open.. lest the other driver think you flipped them one.

[Spinnerr]

Originally Posted by GTO

....
Wish it explicitly had some 'thanks' text as well. I

Originally Posted by ani_meher

...
This reminds me of one script by Late comedian George Carlin:
Sorry for profanity, mods pls edit if it is not allowed in quoting someone.

There is way to say all that and more. Check out drivemocion





But then, do check out the review & real-world pics in Amazon. The product isn't as great as how it looks on the product manufacturer's website.

Reviews on Amazon