Why we shouldn’t flash our lights

[Primus1]

Had a near miss today , driving through the village where I work, cars parked on left, van reversing from their drive, car comes towards me so they have priority, they stopped and flashed their lights which, I assumed was to let me proceed, van driver also thought they flashed at them for them to proceed, I was passing said reversing van and, luckily had the foresight to keep going, the van was still reversing but we managed to miss each other, just…I’m taking the blame on this one as I should have realised what was happening, but it just goes to show how misleading flashing someone out can be…

[Mjolinor]

Too many people out for a quick earner for me to do anything at all based on flashing head lights unless I have legal priority.

I have had some nasty looks from people when I refuse to move but rather that than an insurance claim.

[Pannett]

North Yorkshire has no fixed speed cameras, so occasionally oncoming drivers flash a warning of a mobile speed camera. I know it's illegal but ...!

[Trewithy]

I never flash my lights.  Sometimes I will leave space for a car to pull out from a side road but I let them make the decision weather to do so or not.

[Primus1]

Yes I never flash my lights so you would think I wouldn’t fall for it..

[Cyker]

It's worth remembering the flash is just another signal but it's still up to you to figure out a) What it's signalling and b) Whether it's safe to proceed or not.

I've had people flash me as if to say go, then they've gone anyway where you'd expect the flash to mean they'll wait for me (Apparently only a single nanosecond in that case!).

I try not to flash people now, as I've done it before when I've left a massive gap for them to emerge into only for them not to move, so I feel obliged to stop because I'm worried they'll try an emerge right as I get there (Which is often what they do - I don't understand this behaviour in humans. Drivers and Pedestrians both! They don't emerge/cross when I'm miles away with a big gap in front, but do when I'm in collision distance! Why!?!? ).

So now I leave the gap without flashing, and if they don't take it I don't feel I need to wait. And when people flash me, I still check as if they hadn't before manoeuvring (Which has probably saved the life of a few cyclists who came out of nowhere and just sliced through apparently oblivious to the dangers around them!)

 

[Benzowner]

Highwy code, Flashing headlights should only be used to show you are there. We have taken it to mean after you and I am equally to blame. It does become a problem when, as in the OP's case there are tow driver who think it applies to them.

[Mushu84]

I normally flash, but I also use a hand gesture to make him understand what I want him to do.

 

It happened to me someone flashings and doing the opposite as I was expecting

 

By the way, in east Europe if they flash you is the other way around most of the time, it means they want you to stop moving so they can pass. They also flash for police nearby like all the time. 

[Strangely Brown]

18 hours ago, Trewithy said:

I never flash my lights.  Sometimes I will leave space for a car to pull out from a side road but I let them make the decision weather to do so or not.

This ^^^

A headlamp flash has one meaning and one meaning only: it means "I am here". To infer any other meaning from it is to assume that you have some sort of telepathic ability and, as demonstrated by the OP, it can get you into trouble.

[Strangely Brown]

1 hour ago, Benzowner said:

Highwy code, Flashing headlights should only be used to show you are there. We have taken it to mean after you and I am equally to blame. It does become a problem when, as in the OP's case there are tow driver who think it applies to them.

Exactly that.

[Kental]

Many years ago I saw two buses approaching on a built up road near a T junction. The buses flashed each other as a greeting. A car pulled out of a side road in front of one and how there wasn't a crash I'll never know. I didn't realise a heavy bus could slow so quickly. 

[Rhymes with Paris]

There is another aspect to flashing to let another driver out of a side road,as I have seen people do in slow moving traffic.

A driver flashes to let out a right turning car, the right turning driver assumes all clear and ok.

An overtaking motorcycle, not necessarily at speed, just carefully passing stopped or crawling traffic gets tboned.

A bad situation, even if no one is injured (or worse) who's fault is it?

I'm guessing the right turning driver relying on the stopped driver flashing him out, and not waiting until he could see all was clear to pull out.

 

[Haliotis]

I have flashed my lights for emergency service vehicles, including police cars, and they have always taken the opportunity to proceed.  So what do we take as the truly correct procedure.

I did have one occasion where a near miss has made me cautious.  I was approaching a side road to my left when a car pulled out on me at the last minute, and a collision was narrowly avoided.

During the approach I passed over a speed hump, and the waiting driver took he sudden raising and lowering of my dipped headlight beams to indicate that I had “flashed” him to proceed.  So I have learned that, if you are approaching a junction where you have precedence and there is a speed hump in front of you, be prepared for another driver acting under a false impression.

[Bper]

I sort of grew up with motorists flashing their lights it was very common to do it, I remember certain car owners that used to flash each other as they acknowledge they where driving the same model.I still see motorists doing it on a regular basis to indicate they are letting a driver go regardless of highway code.🚘

 

[Haliotis]

On 9/26/2024 at 4:53 PM, Bper said:

I sort of grew up with motorists flashing their lights it was very common to do it, I remember certain car owners that used to flash each other as they acknowledge they where driving the same model.I still see motorists doing it on a regular basis to indicate they are letting a driver go regardless of highway code.🚘

 

Actually, Bob, I don’t think an act of courtesy is regardless of the Highway Code.  It does advise to proceed only when it is safe to do so, but nowhere does it suggest an act of courtesy is in any way an infringement.  The only thing that has happened to me is to get a blast from an irate driver when I have taken the trouble to give other cars precedence when it has obviously been safer for all concerned.  One of the worst cases of verbal abuse was when I saw an elderly blind lady (white stick) standing at an uncontrolled pedestrian crossing, so I stopped, got out, and escorted her across - this was quite a few years ago.  One driver was really “in my face”, so I said to him, “just hope that when you are old, you don’t need to use a white stick - it could easily happen!”  Response? - just more expletives - but there you go!

[Puglet]

Reminds me of my driving test many many years ago, when my instructor warned me about a very very busy road exciting the test centre and if anyone flashes you, just go, even knowing the correct meaning of flashing headlights. I was worried about being about marked down for hesitancy by the examiner, which you would being a very naive new driver. Thankfully it didn't come to pass as I got a gap.

Saying that I still do flash people to let them go, but as mentioned if they don't move even if I have slowed and given them a reasonable gap, but then traffic priorities change you are worried they may do something unpredicatable. Saying that some people flash you out of some very dodgy junctions etc. and I don't move, they wonder why, but as mentioned you need to be sure it safe to proceed yourself, not just rely on them.

[yossarian247]

I was once on an A-road about to take a left turn into a side road. Coming from the opposite direction was an elderly lady in a Micra indicating that she was going the same way. There was a long line of traffic behind both her and me, so I stopped and flashed my lights for her to go first. She just sat there staring into space. I waited a few more seconds, flashed my lights again and waved my hand to show I was letting her go, and still she sat there staring. After a while I thought sod this, I'm not waiting any longer and began to move, at which point it seemed to suddenly get through to her that I was letting her go and she shot forward into the turning at the same time as me. Had I not braked and swerved she would have bounced her car off the side of mine. Suffice to say I don't usually flash people anymore!

[Cyker]

On 9/26/2024 at 1:26 PM, Kental said:

Many years ago I saw two buses approaching on a built up road near a T junction. The buses flashed each other as a greeting. A car pulled out of a side road in front of one and how there wasn't a crash I'll never know. I didn't realise a heavy bus could slow so quickly. 

Yeah the stopping ability of some large vehicles is literally miraculous.

Your comment reminded me of a clip where a dog walking phone zombie just walks out in front of a fully freighted HGV but the driver somehow manages to stop in a matter of metres and saves her life! : 

I was amazed he could carry on driving; I've had a few close-calls like that and had to pull over into a sideroad for a bit to let my nerves come down!!

At least the woman apologised - Usually I just get cursed at by the phone zombie...! Honestly, you save their life and they give you verbal, some people are so ungrateful!  

[Primus1]

The better term is smombie = smart phone zombie 

[Haliotis]

Another thing that concerns me is where a number of pedestrians - usually teenagers - will walk abreast on the pavement, with the one nearest to the road teetering along the edge of the kerb.  One slip, and they fall into the roadway.  This risk happens frequently on our main road where there are two upper schools.  The road is two-way and narrow.  It carries HGVs and buses, and it is impossible to drive much more than about a foot from the kerb.  Even if your speed is kept down to 20mph - which doesn’t enamour you with following drivers - there comes a point where you are so close to passing pedestrians that a sudden slip by one of them would almost certainly cause an impact before a braking car comes to a stop.

[AndyN01]

Sadly, the message that it doesn't matter who is "at fault" legally or whatever, it's you on the floor, with injuries which may affect you for the rest of your life and which no amount of cash will put "right" doesn't get into their psych.

They'll probably think that they'll get a nice bundle of payout and that'll be great and they can brag about it on social media while waiting for the call up to Love Island.

Only years and decades down the road does the reality kick in, helped along by the arthritis and constant pain and by then..... it'll be too late.

But us 'old un's know diddly squat, whatever, you has been's.... 🙂

It's the reason I wholeheartedly disagree with the "new" hierarchy of fault between pedestrians and vehicles because, IMHO, it massively diminishes the danger awareness and understanding of the likely consequence of any impact in reality.

Reminds me of Jasper Carrot.... About 2 minutes in 😀

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQJn4qX1YHU