In Hebrew, the word for “to drive” is לנהוג, a simple verb. It comes from the root נ.ה.ג, which was all about “conducting” and “leading” thousands of years before the car was even invented.
The same root gives us מנהג – a custom, and התנהגות – behavior. Think about it: whether you are נוהג (driving) a car or מתנהג (behaving/conducting yourself), you are choosing a certain path or “mode” of operation. In Israel, however, התנהגות on the road usually involves a lot of shouting and very little מנהגים (customs) of politeness!
In context:
אני לא יכול לדבר עכשיו, אני נוהג!
I can’t talk right now, I’m driving! (spoken by a male)
The words התנהגות and מתנהג are forms of the התפעל verb להתנהג.
