Street Habits

I have to cross to busy street of University at least 4 times a day. During many of these crossings, I have to be a fearless pedestrian and pray that the speeding cars will stop for me. When these encounters occur and the driver stops and waves me by, I find myself actually verbalizing my "thank yous". I don't know why I can't break this pointless habit because it's clear that the driver can't hear my thanks. It's right along the lines of looking both ways before crossing a one-way street. We all do it and there's really no point.