I run on roads fairly often, but I almost never can actually see drivers inside their cars. Increasingly, I’m quite sure they can’t even see me (more and more t

I run on roads fairly often, but I almost never can actually see drivers inside their cars. Increasingly, I’m quite sure they can’t even see me (more and more truck’s hoods are above my level of vision). The researcher seems surprised that people still give a curtesy “thanks for not killing me” wave, but my impression is that it’s always been a cultural formality. Maybe even one born out of a pretty extreme power imbalance. Not being able to actually interact with drivers and not having anything to earnestly thank them for, it comes with very little surprise that a habitual formality continues to play out despite the researchers feeling that he is hidden.