I personally will tell people I love them fairly quickly and I dont always mean "im in love with you" it just simply means that I do love the person. I say it to all my male friends and they say it back, I even have some coworkers that I've told It too. Especially if they are going through a hard time or leaving work for a while. But I know so many people that are scared to say it to/hear it from the opposite sex. Im not super clingy nor am I looking for anything long-term but when parting ways after a date (not a first or second date obviously) I think it should be totally acceptable to say "drive safe, love ya" but that seems to be a way to make someone you've gotten to know quite well ghost you.