Using hazard lights to say "Thank You"?

Obukit

KatP wrote: »

Accidents have been caused by misinterpretation of informal light signals. If I flash near a junction am I letting you out, warning you I'm here, signalling to a pedestrian or another road user??? If you pull out and I hit you whose fault is it???? YOURS!

I remember once seeing one of those "Police, Camera, Action" programmes where the police put on their blues and twos just before a junction, which also made their headlights flash. Some dippy person in a Polo ignored the blue lights and two tons of Volvo accelerating towards them and took it to mean "Turn now"... very almost caused a nasty accident!

goldspanners

KatP wrote: »

Exactly!

If someone can't see my wave then tough - you don't drive with the sole purpose of collecting brownie points in the form of thanks from other road users. You should drive courteously whether you get thanks or not.

Accidents have been caused by misinterpretation of informal light signals. If I flash near a junction am I letting you out, warning you I'm here, signalling to a pedestrian or another road user??? If you pull out and I hit you whose fault is it???? YOURS!

My personal peeve is the people who take offence when they flash me out and I decide that I'd actually like to wait and make sure the way is clear myself. Flashing someone out is highly dangerous.

if i cant see you waving then next time i see you i simply wont let you out or in or wherever you want to go.

the only time accidents have been caused due to someone flashing thier lights or hazards is when some plonker has been unable to put that into context and look at the whole situation going on around them and not just thier personal agenda.

CheesedOff

personally i'd rather someone flashed there lights to let me out of a junction, or wiggled the indicators to say thanks since trying to see some hand gesture inside a car/van with tinted windows, or sun in your eyes is near impossible.

I get less and less courteous as each day goes by though since the only people who can tell the difference between 'I'm letting you across' and '!!!!!! kinda maneuver was that, you blind moron' are taxi drivers, vans and bus drivers.

Even on the bike people don't understand when i stick my hand up and wave them across. :rolleyes:

Itsgottabedone

On a slightly different note, does anyone else notice how once you've kindly let another driver join the main road from a side road it's really common to see that driver do the same thing for someone else further down the road? That makes me smile - sort of Car Karma don't you think?

And I wish there was a signal that was universally recognised to say "I'm sorry!" on the (very, very rare) occasions when we do something daft. Any ideas?

Inactive

goldspanners wrote: »

the only time accidents have been caused due to someone flashing thier lights or hazards is when some plonker has been unable to put that into context and look at the whole situation going on around them and not just thier personal agenda.

That " plonker " would not get confused if we all followed the correct and legal rules.

The question that people need to ask themselves is; did you, or would you have done this on your driving test, if the answer is no, then it is wrong.

goldspanners

Inactive wrote: »

That " plonker " would not get confused if we all followed the correct and legal rules.

i very much doubt this, it takes very little to confuse some folk.

dieselhead

I tend to give a wave in daylight hours but at night and usually when I lorry has indicated its safe to pass I thank them with a flash of the hazards, it seems to have become the 'thanks message' around here, I like it personally shows a certain amount of curtacy on the roads.

People with their fog lights on though grrr!

HoofeHearted

I have read this thread and have smiled, laughed and gritted my teeth!

Another 'thing' about lights that really annoys me (and I don't know what it says in the Highway Code about it) is - when the car in front of you stops at the traffic lights, or in a long queue and the driver insists on keeping their foot on the brake pedal until it it time to move forward again. Not too bad during the day, but when it's dusk/dark, I hate having high-intensity lights in my face.:mad:

Is it just me?

peter000

According to the Highway Code, lights should only be flashed to warn others of your presence.

Hazard lights should only be used to warn others of a hazard ahead or for when you're parked in a potentially dangerous/obstructive position. That's why they're called 'hazard' lights and not 'courtesy' lights.:rolleyes:

jackieb

I've never heard of using the hazard flashers to thank anyone. I just wave.

I also don't like it when tractors tell you to pass. I like to pass when I can see the road ahead for myself. I don't like putting my life in the hands of strangers, however good their intentions are.

I also hate it when people flash when they're coming in the opposite direction. I always wonder if something's up with my car, but it's usually to warn me the police are lying in wait up a side road. Which I don't know until I actually see the police, and if I don't see them I still wonder if something is wrong with my car. It's probably just a case of mistaken identity on their part!