Use of hazard warning lights

Car_54

AdrianC wrote: »

Hazard lights aside, filtering is perfectly legal. Rule 211 tells you to watch for motorcyclists doing it. No part of the HC says they can't.

In law, filtering is no different from any other overtaking. The HC forbids overtaking on the left except in defined circumstances.

AdrianC

Car_54 wrote: »

In law, filtering is no different from any other overtaking. The HC forbids overtaking on the left except in defined circumstances.

I think you might have forgotten this, from rule 163...

Highway_Code wrote:

If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left

Richard53

lister wrote: »

Surely what the brake lights are for? If a following driver for whatever doesn't see your brake lights as you slow and stop, why would they see your hazard lights?

The problem with all incorrect usage of warning equipment is that it devalues the correct use. Can you imagine how many flashing amber lights there would be if everyone put their hazards on when they were waiting to turn right or behind someone else who is waiting?

What if Mr/Mrs/Ms Impatient behind you thinks you have broken down and commits to going around without due consideration. Risks with oncoming traffic or the right turning vehicle suddenly increase dramatically.

Believe it or not, when people write laws and guidance, they think about a great many possibilities, far more than the average driver on the street thinks about, so in almost all cases, following official guidance is the safest overall approach.

Because they are flashing, and the brake lights are steady.

I used mine today for exactly this reason. Fast main road, car ahead of me turning right, taking up the whole lane. It was bright sunshine, and that section of the road was shaded by trees. I braked and came to a halt a good distance behind the other car, looked in my mirror, and there was another car bearing down on us very quickly. I put my hazards on, the car behind immediately slowed down, and all was well.

It's a habit I developed through 40 years of riding motorbikes. Last in the queue on a fast road makes you feel very vulnerable.

I would have thought a temporary obstruction such as this is exactly what hazard lights were for.

mchale

Richard53 wrote: »

Because they are flashing, and the brake lights are steady.

I used mine today for exactly this reason. Fast main road, car ahead of me turning right, taking up the whole lane. It was bright sunshine, and that section of the road was shaded by trees. I braked and came to a halt a good distance behind the other car, looked in my mirror, and there was another car bearing down on us very quickly. I put my hazards on, the car behind immediately slowed down, and all was well.

It's a habit I developed through 40 years of riding motorbikes. Last in the queue on a fast road makes you feel very vulnerable.

I would have thought a temporary obstruction such as this is exactly what hazard lights were for.

Really :eek:, did anyone overtake you thinking you were broken down, cause I would have thought you had, in my mind a car turning right in front of you is "not a temporary obstruction"

AdrianC

mchale wrote: »

Really :eek:, did anyone overtake you thinking you were broken down, cause I would have thought you had.

Oh, you're incapable of looking further ahead than the car directly in front, are you?

mchale

AdrianC wrote: »

Oh, you're incapable of looking further ahead than the car directly in front, are you?

no I often look at cars 4/5 spaces ahead of me to plan my route:rotfl:

the point being some one sat in a live lane with their hazard lights on waiting for a car to turn right ahead of them does not help other road users

DUTR

Supersonos wrote: »

My understanding is that hazard lights are there to warn other drivers on the very rare occasions you're stranded and are causing an obstruction/hazard.

But it seems I've been wrong all these years - they're actually to cancel out illegal activity.

The other day in heavy traffic on the M5, a motorcyclist would put on his hazards every time he decided to overtake on the left. I guess this thinking is that if it causes an accident, it's not his fault because he was warning people that he's a temporary hazard...

Then there's using them to make illegal parking legal.

And putting them on so you can drive in a bus lane.

And, of course, the new phenomenon of using them to "apologise" for cutting someone up.

That must be very new as far as I've recalled people do that to signal a thank you for letting them out.

AdrianC

mchale wrote: »

no I often look at cars 4/5 spaces ahead of me to plan my route:rotfl:

the point being some one sat in a live lane with their hazard lights on waiting for a car to turn right ahead of them does not help other road users

Great. So when your attention is drawn to the fact that the car in front isn't just braking gently, but is slowing rapidly, you'll look further ahead, realise what the hazard he's drawing your attention to is, and not overtake.

Car_54

AdrianC wrote: »

I think you might have forgotten this, from rule 163...

I said “except in defined circumstances”. That is one of them.

mchale

AdrianC wrote: »

Great. So when your attention is drawn to the fact that the car in front isn't just braking gently, but is slowing rapidly, you'll look further ahead, realise what the hazard he's drawing your attention to is, and not overtake.

So you agree it is good driving skills to sit in a live lane with your hazard lights on waiting for the car in front of you to turn right???