I don’t know what it is about RVs that so enrages other drivers and makes them forget common sense. The person driving the RV is probably not from around there. Therefore s/he is under some stress from the unfamiliar surroundings and wrestling a huge vehicle. Here are some tips for sharing the road with an RV.

1) Be patient. Yes, it can suck being stuck behind a vehicle going below the speed limit, but how long out of your day is it really? Chances are the RV driver is sweating in the front seat and desperately looking for a place to pull over and let you pass. Your honking and tailgating aren’t helping. And if you see me slowing down and signaling towards the curb on a very narrow straight road with no shoulder, chances are I’m telling you, hey, the road ahead is clear, pass me!

2) Think twice before cutting in front of an RV. I was going 55MPH down a hill the other day when the light at the bottom turned red. No problem, there was no one in front of me, so I had plenty of time to gently pump the brakes and coast to a stop. That is until the guy behind me cut around me (see point number one) and hit the brakes when he noticed the red light. I lost three quarters of my braking distance and had to slam on my brakes. Had I run into this guy, I would have been 100% at fault, which is grossly unfair.

3) Give RVers time to merge. It is incredible the number of times I have noticed a gap in traffic, signaled that I was going to merge, began to merge, and the guy behind me stepped on the gas to close the gap. I am getting into the habit of merging very early, but I occasionally miss my exit or turn. Going back to point number one, do you really want to anger a stressed out person in a giant vehicle who is now lost thanks to you?

4) Mirrors only help so much. RVers have giant blind spots. If you can’t see me in my mirror, chances are I can’t see you. So don’t blame me if you pull into my blind spot while I’m underway at a gas station and I end up nicking your vehicle. You should have remembered point number one and let me get out of the way.

5) The motorhome driver towing a vehicle cannot back up without damaging the tow bar or unhook unless both vehicles are in a perfectly straight line. So you really will have to get out of the way even if you were there first (or so you claim).

Bonus tip: Please, no tailgating.