Civility and mobility: Drivers (and passengers) appreciating the actions of other drivers

Abstract

My analysis centres on a dominant aspect of civility between vehicles: appreciation. I examine the intervehicular interaction that precedes and accompanies the 'hand-up', before then widening the analysis to consider the 'thank you' and its role in the intra-vehicular activities of driver and passenger. I differentiate between the weaker expectations of appreciation when vehicles are passing by one another and the stronger expectation involved in 'letting in' or 'letting out'. In considering how rights of way are waived by drivers, I make a contrast with a cost-benefit analysis of request and offers. The article draws upon video recordings of car journeys made by families, friends and commuters.

Intersubjectivity and other grounds for action-coordination in an environment of restricted interaction: Coordinating with oncoming traffic when passing an obstacle

“…12) in turn ritually acknowledges the thanking gesture (cf. Laurier, 2019). This explicit accomplishment of intersubjectivity about the modalities of the successful management of the coordination task is a ritual post-hoc-confirmation of a collaboratively managed passage, whose intersubjective nature had already gradually emerged before.…”

Learning to communicate: Managing multiple strands of participation in driving lessons

“…Firstly, he engages in interaction with ODVR and thanks him for creating space to pass. This is a manifestation of "traffic civility" (Haddington and Raumiomaa, 2014;Laurier, this issue), a social competence that experienced drivers possess. Hence, secondly, this practice has also a pedagogical component because it socializes TDVR into traffic etiquette.…”

“…How instructional sequences occurring in the car relate to what ends up as the car's observable trafficconduct has so far received less attention. Similarly, how drivers communicate with other traffic participants has scarcely been addressed from an interactional perspective (but see Haddington and Rauniomaa, 2014;Deppermann, this issue;Deppermann et al, 2018;Laurier, this issue). Driving lessons allow us to observe how participants manage their engagement in different, though interconnected courses of action, which we might be tempted to identify as pertaining to separate "participation frameworks" (Goffman, 1981;Goodwin and Goodwin, 2004).…”

“…In contrast, interaction between inhabitants of different cars (iii) is neither regulated by the traffic code, nor is it explicitly taught during the driving lessons we collected. It is however an experience of "traffic civility" (Haddington and Raumiomaa, 2014;Laurier, this issue) largely documented in ordinary driving and a crucial ability of competent drivers. Driving lessons are hence a locus in which different concerns are made relevant and prioritized while the car moves through space, such as teaching/learning how to drive, respecting the traffic code, ensuring a safe journey, identifying and avoiding risky traffic configurations, etc.…”

Getting by: The ethnomethods of everyday cycling navigation

“…1 1 Laurier's EM work has often used video data and he has provided useful comment on the collection and presentation of such data (Laurier, 2010a, 2019). Of particular relevance to a focus on mobility is his “habitable cars” project (e.g., see Laurier, 2010b, 2018). …”