Hospitality

Bless their hearts, but Tennesseans just can't seem to get their turn signals to work! I have seen people turn corners, change lanes at high speeds, exit the highway, and attempt to merge without so much as a blink from their blinkers. This is not an occasional incident, but daily and even mile-ly (as in, I see it once a mile), and I have seen a police car as the culprit.

As I understand it, hospitality is all about intentionally making someone feel welcome and comfortable. Unfortunately, it seems that Southern Hospitality doesn't extend to the highways-- I personally feel much more welcome and comfortable when the person who is pulling in front of me has at least warned me that he or she may be about to do so.

Why do Nashville drivers, bless their hearts, come to an almost-complete stop when they're turning right?  I don't mean at a red light-- I mean into a driveway, a side street, any time.  Of course, with no turn signal, the person behind these drivers have no idea what they're doing and just assume they're stopping in the middle of the road for no apparent reason.  It can appear to be sudden, causing the person behind the right-turning driver to slam brakes, not to mention the person behind him/her.  Then they turn.  Slowly.  It is not hospitable to the entire lane of traffic behind them to have held them up for a simple thing as a right turn.

Nashville drivers, bless their hearts, are also not good at merging.  FYI, the on-ramp is for gaining speed so that you can be going about the same rate as the traffic that is already on the highway. On the other hand, if you're driving on the highway already, and an on-ramp is about to merge into the highway, it is very polite to move into the lane on the left of you to let that person merge without fear for his or her life. It is about making that person feel welcome traveling the same highway as you, comfortable blending into the speed and direction of traffic.  It is about hospitality.