Does A Middle Finger Suffice As A Turn Signal? I Think Not

So, this morning I was privy too a little bit of road rage on I-25 and Mulberry. Apparently a woman driving a maroon van figured that making a rude gesture with her middle finger was actually a better and more effective way to encourage me to let her change lanes.

Allow me to set the scene for you: I'm taking the cloverleaf exit from northbound I-25 onto westbound Mulberry. I'm in a line of about 10 cars, each one about a car-length apart going 20 miles per hour around the steep turn. Westbound traffic on Mulberry is going at a decent pace, but cars were pretty much bumper-to-bumper.

Many of those cars needed to get one lane over to make the turn to go southbound on I-25, the same lane all of us exiting I-25 were in and trying to get one lane over to continue on Mulberry.

Sounds like kind of a cluster-hump, (can I say I HATE cloverleaf on/off ramps?!) but most people are considerate enough to let each other into the respective lanes they need to be in. I watch car after car ahead of me do things the way most courteous drivers would. (One a car left, on car right, one car left, on car right...everyone taking their proper turns and getting on with their day.)

But not this lady in the van with temp tags. Her reaction to the incident, give me the most prolonged middle finger I've ever received.

Yup, the second her car came up to where our lanes met, she frantically waved her middle finger at me. She didn't actually make eye-contact, just stuck out her finger, assuming, I guess, I would understand that meant she wanted to get over. (I think her actual turn signal might have been a better choice.)

I had my 11-month-old baby in the backseat, so I wasn't about to push the issue. I slowed a bit and let her get ahead of me, much to the chagrin of the driver behind me, who may have also been uttering fowl words at me in his car after that. (I just can't win.)

But this act of considerate driving wasn't met with a thank you wave, it was followed by more middle finger. Yup, as she pulled in front of me she moved her hand to make sure I could clearly see that it was still pointed at me through her back window and she continued to do sot continued to do so until she pulled around the clover-turn and out of sight.

A classy dame she was.

Driving lesson for the day: Middle fingers may work as turn signals, but the rest of us drivers would sure prefer your actual turn signal. Thanks.