I have a convertible. It is eleven years old, and we’ve taken good care of it, so it remains in mint condition. As with so many convertibles, the visibility out the back window is marginal, so I only drive mine with the top down. My very favorite season to do this is spring, after a long winter inside, when the air is starting to warm and the sun to gain strength. I’ve been known to drive with the top down on a cool but sunny April day with the heat blasting.

Okay. So there I am on the road, driving around with the top down and a sense of freedom second to none, and I come to a four-way stop. Here in Massachusetts, we have a lot of these now, and I like them. First come, first served. You stop, then proceed in the order in which you reached the stop sign. On occasion, it’s questionable as to who got there first. When I’m driving the convertible, feeling relaxed and benevolent, I usually gesture for the other driver to go ahead, which he always does. Does he wave? Or nod? Or even smile his thanks? Not usually.

Same with when I’m turning off a main road toward, say, the drive-thru at McDonald's for my trusty medium Diet Coke, no ice. If a person is waiting to exit, I wave them on before I turn. Same with most any turn I make when I’m in laid-back mode. I'll confess that when I’m in the convertible, it’s partly self-defense. I’m smaller than most cars and am not about to pick a fight. But I also drive an SUV and many, many times will wave someone on before me. Do they acknowledge this? Rarely.

I do acknowledge another driver’s politeness. If I’m coming from a side street and someone motions me forward onto the main road, I make a point to wave or smile or, at the very least, nod vigorously. This makes me feel really good, like I’m contributing to a civility that we seem to have lost. When I let people go ahead of me on the road, it makes me feel polite and generous. It actually makes me feel more in control.

I’ve often thought that what we need in our high-tech cars is a mechanism whereby we can press a button and light a sign saying, “Thank you,” or “You go first,” or even “What’s your rush, bub?”

Coincidentally, I was in the middle of writing this blog when I paused to watch the Mid-Day News and saw that the Pope has issued a Ten Commandments of Driving. Now there’s an idea, too. Give it some thought.