I grew up and learned how to drive in New Jersey and moved to Ohio about 15 years ago. I’ve noticed that when I am turning left at an intersection, sometimes the oncoming drivers who are going straight will wave me on. This seems dangerous to me but is this just Midwestern nice?
– C. Shaw
Having lived in Ohio my entire life, I know all too well about the charming wave to turn left. You see it at four way stops, stoplight intersections or leaving the parking lot of the supermarket – even I fall into this behavior on occasion. The unconscious feeling of allowing the other driver to go ahead as a pleasantry.
Maybe it’s just “Ohio culture” or “Midwest culture” to allow others the right away?
According to State Highway Patrol Lieutenant Drew Untied, you are “absolutely allowed to do that. However, you’re taking a chance and putting the law in your own hands. … Anyone turning left has to yield to traffic straight on or any intersecting road that doesn’t also have a stop sign, red light, etc. Yes, you certainly can give hand signals and go by them. However, you’re doing it at your own risk.”
Untied said he experiences the “wave” daily when turning into the Ohio State Highway Patrol Granville Post at 3855 Outville Road SW. The intersection is fairly active, he said, and the “wave” keeps Untied from “waiting forever.”
“On the safe side, don’t go until you know it’s safe. Regardless if anyone waves you on, it is totally your responsibility to ensure that that intersection is safe, if you feel like they are doing you a favor by allowing you to turn left when they would be going straight again,” Untied said. “Check your right and left, make sure you guys are on the same page, and make your turn. If they do decide to go straight and you strike them, it’s still your fault, even if they waved you.”
Untied said the main exemption to the “wave” is when cars have traffic backed up behind them; stopping in the middle of the roadway is illegal and has a higher risk of accidents.
But the laws differ from state to state, and places like New Jersey have unconventional traffic laws – including laws that prohibit drivers from pumping their own gas.
Since 1949, it has been illegal for people to pump their own gas under the Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act. Being the only state in the county with such a law, the practice has now been boiled down to simply being “Jersey culture.”
Coincidentally, a friend I met at Denison University has similar sentiments as someone who learned to drive in New Jersey.
Leo Wisnefski and his parents moved to Granville, Ohio, in the winter of 2024 from Campford, New Jersey. He learned to drive with his mother in a local community college parking lot, though most time was spent trying to figure out how to properly park.
Wisnefski explained that in New Jersey, drivers “have to be a defensive driver because people will be super aggressive on the road. I feel like part of it is just in the nature of New Jerseyans. It’s very densely populated. People are always in a rush, so they feel like they need to assert themselves on the road and everything. And I feel like that just leads to bad decision making.”
Wisnefski admitted that Ohio drivers seem more friendly than most. He could count on one hand the number of times someone has honked at him in Ohio – usually for good reason, he joked.
“I never honk if someone’s going too slow, which in New Jersey, happens if you’re going slow, people will honk … if you are at a red light for a little bit, or at a green light for a little bit too long, if you just wait a little bit too long, people will honk at you. If you’re going too slow, people fly past you, honk at you because they’re mad. I think Ohioans are more reluctant to use their horns than New Jerseyans.”
Wisnefski hasn’t experienced the left-turn wave but has noticed a higher number of people allowing him to drive out of parking lots of stores. In New Jersey, he said, you could be stuck waiting for just enough of a gap to join traffic for a really long time.
Through my conversation with Wisnefski, I understand the Jersey hesitancy to follow the direction of a stranger’s waving hand while on the road. The “wave” is legal, within reason of course. Proper driving should always be followed after the “wave” to ensure safety.
Maybe give the “wave” a try, to give the courtesy right back, just don’t block traffic. Try being “Midwest nice.”
Thanks for asking away!
Tyler Thompson writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.