Wave Etiquette

The Mad Hat Man said:

Oops sorry. Must be thinking of someone else, then.

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it's 110slut you're thinking off, or that other one 110scankywhore not me

forks normally

now I know that if blonde ,20 something, fit, large breasted , bird smiles at you whilst in the car park this clearly wouldnt be a huge problem for most of the troglodytes on LZ

but thats just my fantasy alter ego - reality is more demented mother running late and no change for the car park

so if you're just parked up and you're about to nip into the bank for example and some strange middle aged bird smiles at you - you don't think " it's the local nutter - RUN away " just as you beat a hasty retreat

Excellent thread, it has clarified a few things.

I am well aware of the wave culture that exists on the road through my motorcycling experiences. There are a lot of similarities between the biking and LR etiquette, for example race rep bikers and freelander drivers, waving to a race rep is never reciprocated – they must be thinking “why is this guy waving at me, my wheels must have fallen off”. Likewise Harley owners and Discoveries, you can imagine them thinking “How dare you wave to me when your only riding an old Triumph!!”

There are exceptions to this rule as below-

• A race rep biker will only wave to another race rep biker if the bikes are exactly the same. If one bike has a few more or less CC’s then the inferiority complex gets in the way and no waves are exchanged.

• A Harley owner will only wave to another Harley owner if both bikes are older than 5 years. Otherwise no waves are exchanged.

• No one waves to the Japanese Harley lookalike bikes.

• If the bikes are painted matt black then waves are exchanged without question.

One thing I have noticed, the Land Rover etiquette is much more elaborate, for example the range of waves is much smaller on bikes, basically there are only a couple I use on a regular basis-

1. The right hand four finger wave. In this wave the fingers and some of the palm of the right hand are unwound from the throttle. The thumb remains in full contact with the throttle at all times.
2. The Nod. Self explanatory.

The opportunity to use the ‘right hand four finger wave’ is very limited – this cannot be used while braking, turning or accelerating so only ever gets used on straight A roads. There are a few seasoned bikers out there who have mastered this wave during accelerating but this is off limits for most of us.



There is a variant of ‘the nod’ called ‘Oh fook, I need to wave but left it too late’. This can be deployed in emergency situations to save some face, typically-

• When you didn’t see the bike coming towards you until the last minute but want to remain courteous.

• When misjudging the make or type of the bike coming towards you so you make the decision not to wave. The oncoming bike waves at you – it’s the perfect time to use ‘Oh fook, I need to wave but left it too late’.

There is an element of risk in using the ‘Oh fook, I need to wave but left it too late’ approach as it requires both a downward motion of the head in conjunction with looking right. Imagine checking yourself for underarm odour. The risk being taking your eyes off the road at speed; be aware this risk is multiplied if your personal hygiene routine lacks soap!!

I have unfortunately used the ‘Oh fook, I need to wave but left it too late’ greeting while driving the Land Rover, I now need to buy a new drivers side window. The risk is similar to the sore wrist after using the “right handed out of the window wave” with a closed windows but the head carries more weight and will easily take the window out!!

mikem2te said:

No one waves to the Japanese Harley lookalike bikes.

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why would they?

Im sorry im going to have to correct you, THE WAVE is GERMAN !!!! It was Ferdinand Porsche who started it and ever since then ANYTHING with the VW badge ( Porsches and Audis incl) has been a object to wave at, Same rules apply thou, apart from dubbers will follow another dubber for no reason than just to admire more often than not end up going in totally the wrong direction.

Got to ask thou. Any one waved when their a passanger in another car and or in another car ?????

i alway's wave to the car that just cut me up normally one finger wave possibly two now and again a full fist in a cupped sort of way am i doing it right????

dave18 said:

Im sorry im going to have to correct you, THE WAVE is GERMAN !!!! It was Ferdinand Porsche who started it and ever since then ANYTHING with the VW badge ( Porsches and Audis incl) has been a object to wave at, Same rules apply thou, apart from doggers will follow another dogger for no reason than just to admire more often than not end up going in totally the wrong direction.

Got to ask thou. Any one waved when their a passanger in another car and or in another car ?????

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edited ....

thought it was mine! said:

i alway's wave to the car that just cut me up normally one finger wave possibly two now and again a full fist in a cupped sort of way am i doing it right????

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forks is best

3.5 efi said:

forks is best

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thank you for your reply i will remember that

feel the force

thought it was mine! said:

i alway's wave to the car that just cut me up normally one finger wave possibly two now and again a full fist in a cupped sort of way am i doing it right????

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That sounds like a good wave and you are doing it right, very effective in the land rover. Not something I normally do on the bike cause the BMW and Merc owners that perform the said cut up manoeuvre are usually faster than my old leaky Triumph and can catch me up; not that I'm a chicken!

I do find that wave effective with cyclists while I'm on the motorbike, especially when used with the 'extended leg wave'.

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OK. I've been watching this fred for some time, researching the hows, and whens of the wave. As far as I can tell my procedure and application is correct. BUT not one miserable bugger round my way reciprocates, D1s, D2s, fenders, gaylanders, series or Rangies, none of them.
I've had plenty of strange looks, but not one wave.
Do I need to put flyers underneath wipers pointing them to LZ, and this fred, or are they all lost causes?
Is it me?

I wave all the time but because I have a standard disco2 nobody ever waves back, :frusty: Untill yesterday, when I had car trailer with a series3 109 saffari on the back, Then just about everyone waved back, I would like to continue getting waves, so does this mean I have tow the series3 with all the time my fuel bill will be huge!!

didsdad said:

I wave all the time but because I have a standard disco2 nobody ever waves back, :frusty: Untill yesterday, when I had car trailer with a series3 109 saffari on the back, Then just about everyone waved back, I would like to continue getting waves, so does this mean I have tow the series3 with all the time my fuel bill will be huge!!

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I suspect a large fuel bill may be the only way to go.

Have you considered knocking up a 1 to 1 scale model of a series 3 out of plywood to tow around with you? Should be lighter than a real S3 so cheaper on the old fuel but you'll still get the waves.

I wave quite often, but not always. Most farmers don't wave back, and snotty sods look at yer like yer mad or summat.

A couple of days ago, I had someone in a Disco (or Rangie) flash his lights like crazy and wave like he was my long lost brother (I hope it wasn't 'coz he died a year ago.) This guy was so enthusiastic that I stopped just round the corner out of sight to make sure summat wasn't falling orf me wagon!!!!

mikem2te said:

I suspect a large fuel bill may be the only way to go.

Have you considered knocking up a 1 to 1 scale model of a series 3 out of plywood to tow around with you? Should be lighter than a real S3 so cheaper on the old fuel but you'll still get the waves.

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Thats an inventive solution, and one i'll concider! LOL The S3 belongs to a mate and he's restoring it, so i'll let him do that then borrow it on a regular basis to get my wave "Fix"

I'm fed trying round where I live, endless discos but never a wave back.

I get a reasonble number of waves around Basingstoke, but have to pick out the snobs and utility companies to avoid a non response. Best was the guy in a SIIA who stopped and let me out at a T junction, forcing several cars behind him to wait until we had both got up to speed again....

Personally go with my own waving style - leave heel of right hand on wheel, drop elbow and raise palm/fingers. Usually accompanied by a gentle nod of the head.

110woman said:

right - think the wave etiquette for series and defenders is well established but have an add on question.............

in public car parks, supermarkets etc 'fenders & series tend in my experience to gravitate towards each other when parking so you an end up next door to another one.


whilst it is perfectly acceptable to wave at each other whilst passing driving there seems to be a bit of a unclear etiquette when face to face with each other

if you greet him with a cheery wave and a hello you look like you've escaped from the local bin. If you ignore him you look like a surley bad tempered old cow

Then you have to factor in that most of the landies I see are driven by fellas and if you start smirking at strange blokes in car parks they tend to think you're a raving nympho

so come on then - whats the best way to handle this situation

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As long as you're in your Landy there should be no worries as far as waving, smiling/smirking at strange blokes in their Landy's.

However on no account flash your lights, my research suggests this is a dogging invitation