15 Shocking Differences Between Hawaii And The Mainland

If you’re a pedestrian crossing the street in Honolulu, you’ll usually wave “thank you” to the driver who’s waiting at the stoplight — yes, the driver is required by law to wait for you to cross the street, but in Hawaii, waving is the polite thing to do.

And unlike a big city like LA, for example, drivers will usually yield to incoming cars who are trying to merge into their lanes. I noticed that in California and New York, people aren’t going to wait for you to merge, and you’ve got to be a pretty aggressive driver in order to switch lanes and get off those freeways.

It’s also less common for people to honk their horns in Hawaii compared to other places. The only times people do that is when someone is really holding up traffic.