You’re driving through the city, minding your own business, when all of a sudden someone in a car behind you starts flashing their headlights. What do you do?
Urban legends aside, the act of flashing your headlights or high beams at someone can mean a number of different things — which sucks, because usually the person on the receiving end misunderstands your optical horn.
For whatever reason, I have noticed many more drivers than normal driving around the city of Halifax without their headlights on.
When you are driving in the opposite direction as someone in Canada, it’s a lot harder to notice if other drivers have their headlights turned off due to daytime running lights being law here. Before the recent popularity of LED daytime running lights in new cars, most car manufacturers would simply rely on the existing bulbs in the headlight housing to provide daytime illumination. When DRLs first arrived, it was interesting to see how each automaker implemented their own solutions. For instance, most Chrysler products wouldn’t use the headlight itself, instead sending power to the amber signal lights. You could point out a Dodge Caravan from miles away.
However, when you are driving behind someone that doesn’t their headlights on it is much easier to spot. Since taillights are not typically illuminated even with cars fitted with DRLs, if someone’s taillights are off between the times they are riding the brake pedal in the twilight or darker hours, you know for certain their headlights aren’t on.
So, what do you do when you encounter one of these unknowing specimens on your local roadways?
Flashing my high beams at the other driver is a pretty effective way of telling them their headlights are turned off — just a simple double flick of the stalk — or at least I thought so in the past. Only about 1/3 of the unilluminated folks I encounter receive the message as it’s intended. With the others, when I have the chance, I pull up beside them at the next stop sign or traffic light, roll down my window, and attempt to politely tell them their lights are off. That covers about another third of these lightless wonders.
Yet, it’s the final third that seem to not want to be told anything. After flashing my lights and politely rolling up beside them to communicate their candlepower deficiencies, they absolutely refuse to even look away from dead-straight ahead. They are automatons. The act of driving is just a series of instructions downloaded from the Ministry of Transportation into their little heads.
Or maybe not.
Wikipedia has a whole entry devoted to headlight flashing and, before you even get into the meat of the entry, the second paragraph probably provides a hint as to what’s going on in these situations (emphasis mine):
The signal can be intended to convey a variety of messages, including a warning to other drivers of road hazards or of speed traps, and it can also be a form of aggressive driving. The legality of headlight flashing varies by jurisdiction.
Does this last third of drivers not using their headlights think I am being an aggressive driver? Possibly. They typically tend to be the middle-aged, helicopter mom types in three-row SUVs and what looks to be a permanent scowl on their faces. Or, shit, maybe they’re just having a bad day. Who am I to judge?
Yet, the fact remains, headlight flashing can mean any number of things.
Last night, Bozi and I had a short exchange on Twitter about headlight flashing after we both admitted to turning into grumpy old men.
Just unbuttoned my jeans while sitting on the couch watching TV, solely to be more comfortable. I'm now my father.
— Mark Stevenson (@MarkTTAC) August 6, 2015
@MarkTTAC I yelled at some teenagers yesterday for their shitty driving so I know how you feel
— Bozi Tatarevic (@hoonable) August 6, 2015
@hoonable SPEAKING OF, if someone flicks their high beams at you, what does that mean?
— Mark Stevenson (@MarkTTAC) August 6, 2015
@MarkTTAC based on what I learned in the old country it always meant cops ahead
— Bozi Tatarevic (@hoonable) August 6, 2015
@hoonable what if the person flicking their lights is behind you?
— Mark Stevenson (@MarkTTAC) August 6, 2015
@MarkTTAC too slow*
— Bozi Tatarevic (@hoonable) August 6, 2015
So, Best and Brightest, what does headlight flashing mean to you? It also might help to tell us where you live, as I am guessing flashing your headlights in Virginia means something entirely different than in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
In England at least, people warn each other if there are the rozzers up ahead waiting to give you a speeding ticket. That’s honestly the main use I ever saw.
As a Brit, I’m proud of the absurd degrees of courtesy manifested through flashes of head lights (and indicators) in the UK
As Piro says, a wink of the lights on the open road warns another driver of a speed trap ahead. This is technically illegal, and you can be fined for doing it, although that’s a bit odd given Police forces are legally obliged to publish the location (but not the time) of mobile safety camera van checks in advance online and in local newspapers.
At night, a flash of headlights, or full beam for a few seconds longer, is a reminder that you’ve left your brights on and that you are a douchebag.
On a dual carriageway or motorway, when a HGV or bus overtakes another long vehicle, the driver of the truck being passed will flash to indicate they’ve cleared enough space to pull back in safely. This helps judging distance when driving a long or articulated vehicle. Most western European truck drivers seem to do this too, or at least they do when they’re in the UK.
Likewise, on a dual carriageway or motorway, if a joining vehicle approaches the end of an on-ramp, a flash of the lights from a car already on the motorway means “I see you, go ahead” and shows that they’re either slowing or about to change lanes to accommodate the joining traffic.
(Incidentally, all of the above can prompt an acknowledgement from the receiving driver using their blinkers… either a flash of the hazards or a left-right-left of the indicators)
Finally, at any kind of junction or intersection, a flash of the headlights means “after you.” If you both flash each other, you can expect to enter a stalemate that will either end when one of you dies of literal boredom, or you both simultaneously proceed and collide mid-junction.
“At night, a flash of headlights, or full beam for a few seconds longer, is a reminder that you’ve left your brights on and that you are a douchebag.”
I agree, but I can’t figure out if all these new Audis are just like that on low beam, or if they are all douche bags?
I don’t know about England, here is my code
A single steady flash – it is too dark outside for you moron to drive with no lights. Or, get the hell into your damn lane.
A single quick flash – your high beam is bothering me
A quick double tap – hey people, cops are waiting in the bush
A quick triple (or more) tap – slow down, behind this curve or a hill, there is/are deer in the middle of the road, or a fallen tree, or a sinkhole, or a broken down car.
I sometimes use mine to tell oncoming traffic to slow down or pay attention – the other day there was a truck stopped around a blind curve on a two lane road in the opposite lane, so I flashed oncoming traffic once I was past it to let them know to slow down. I’ll sometimes use it to alert oncoming drivers of deer in the road, etc. I’ll also occasionally use them to alert oncoming traffic of a speed trap or to tell slower drivers in the passing lane to move over.
Also at least in rural Texas we warn others of cops ahead.
Here in Michigan when someone flashes their lights at you it depends on where you are driving. On the city streets it usually means they are coming towards you and they are telling you that your lights are off, or you may have your bright lights on. On the interstate it’s someone behind you that wants you to move over to the right lane because you aren’t doing 80 – 85 mph.
“On the interstate it’s someone behind you that wants you to move over to the right lane because you aren’t doing 80 – 85 mph.”
If on 696, it’s because you aren’t doing 90+.
Some of my favorite driving is out that way!
Also on M-14! Had my Adaptive Cruise set to Vmax (90) one Sunday afternoon, and still was passed! No po-po present!
This is my understanding, with one addition:
If they just cut you off, and especially if you never saw them look, it seemed a more polite thing than holding down the horn – more like one quick flash asking incredulously if they even bothered to check the blind spot.
90% of the time, it’s because some oncoming dumbass has their brights on and it’s searing my retinas.
The other 10% of the time, I’m signaling to someone that it’s OK to merge in front of me.
Depending on context, I’ve seen the headlight flash to mean:
1. Turn on your headlights, moron
2. Turn OFF the high beams, moron
3. Hey, you have the same, rare cool car as me
4. Cop ahead looking for speeders
5. Dangerous situation ahead.
6. From behind – get out of the left lane, slow poke.
This is a definitive list – for sane people.
That pretty well sums it up.
Also, increasingly prevalent since the recession:
7. Not actually flashing you. That’s just the low beams pitching and heaving over our cracked and cratered roads.
Add, you can complete your pass, Mr. Semi.
I know, nobody here will need to use that, but that is what that means.
I do flash lights at tractor-trailers as a “thank you” or “OK” when I’m sharing the road with them.
Good add.
Ahh yes…do this all the time and forgot. I always let them know they can move over.
Actually, that one depends on the type of flash. Even at night, most semi drivers will do the “complete your pass” to other semi drivers (and occasionally to passenger vehicle drivers) by turning their headlights off and then back on quickly. So it’s a flash, but it’s not the typical low beam-high beam-low beam type of flash. Years ago, on a road trip from New York to Florida, I did that same kind of flash to let a semi drive know that it was clear to complete his pass and I often got a taillight flash “thank you” in return.
Nobody seems to get #1 anymore, so I’ve taken to going off-on-off-on with my headlights when signalling an oncoming driver.
What is it with the amazing number of people driving around without their headlights on these days anyway? I’m blaming modern instrument panel backlighting – in the old days, not being able to see the speedometer was a dead giveaway that you needed to turn your headlights on.
Only ticket I’ve ever received was for driving with my headlights off. I was borrowing my brother’s car since mine was being worked on, and I didn’t turn the switch all the way, being unfamiliar with the vehicle. I did have the parking lights on, so the display was lit, and I was in an urban area so I could see in front of me just fine without the headlights.
Cop chuckled and handed me a ticket. Wasn’t a moving violation, so I just paid the thing.
If I may..
1. One flick is usually to speed up or move over (moron).
2. One flick can be for high beams.
3. Cops! I almost never warn anyone, figuring if you’re going more than 9 over, you’re going too fast. (Know that I do go more than 9 over occasionally, too.)
4. Two flashes is MOVE OVER or get the Hell out of the way! It can also advise the opposite lane to slow for impending issues (a wreck, icy patches).
5. Wave/nod- is always another Wrangler/CJ
6. Turn headlights on and off- Turn your lights on (moron)!
7. High beams STEADY-ON- WTF? You a. cut in front- in my cushion (moron), b. turned in front of me so I had to brake (moron), Made some other unadvised maneuver.
I do it for pedestrians in parking lots waiting to cross in front of me.
I give them about 0.5 of a millisecond and then I am going regardless, no flashing, no waiting. Not because I am trying to run them over, just that I will be out of their way much faster than they will be out of mine. Women with small children may be excepted.
Pedestrians have the right-of-way and are at much greater risk of injury than you – this is a dick move on your part, IMO.
Agreed. When you are piloting a giant cage of steel and glass, the burden is on you to drive properly, and—short of someone literally running out in front of your car before you can see him—that means yielding to pedestrians. Don’t be a jerk.
They have the right of way where? On a busy street where I have a green light? Outside of a cross walk? I think this is a retarded comment on your part, IMO (I could be wrong, but I believe “I think” and “IMO” are redundant).
Thanks for clarifying, you seem like a really well-adjusted human being.
They have the right of way anywhere, in the sense that if you hit one when you possibly could have prevented it, you will be cited (and possibly charged with a crime depending on the circumstances).
You are also probably one of the many, many people that doesn’t understand what a “crosswalk” is. Legally, there is one at every intersection edge, regardless of whether there are white lines on the road or not, unless there is a sign or barrier specifically forbidding pedestrians from crossing. I have to cross an un-signed intersection every morning to get to the bus stop, and almost no one ever stops, although legally I am in a crosswalk.
In Philly, if you’re at a Stop sign and are letting the other driver go before you, you quickly flash your lights once or twice.
If you’re on the highway and someone is camped in the passing lane going 50 in a 55, and the right lane beside them is clear, you flash your lights to tell them to move over.
Honking, tailgating, swerving, and gunfire are also commonly used in this situation.
I appreciate gunfire, it’s concise and clear. Flashing highbeams could mean anything.
Context is everything.
If it’s oncoming in daytime, it usually means a cop/deer/elk/wreck ahead, but most likely cop.
If it’s oncoming at night, it usually means, “hey dork, you’ve got your brights on, would you please kindly dim them?” (Though it could mean deer crossing ahead as well, so heads up)
If it’s behind you and the driver has been there a while and is a little close, but not shoving their nose up your tailpipe, it means, “Hello there, I’d like to pass, and I see there’s no traffic in front of you, would you mind hopping into the lane to the right of you so I can scoot by?”
If it’s behind you, and all you can see is a grill and headlights of the car that is almost nerfing you, and you’re camping out in the left lane at the speed limit with no traffic ahead of you, it means “!@#%, you, get out of my way, I’m an idiot who has no respect for anyone, and I’ll ride your bumper till the chrome’s gone if you don’t get the $%^&$#% out of the way” (Please don’t camp. Most people don’t deserve this treatment, it’s unbelievably unsafe)
This is not a complete list, YMMV according to many variables.
Tailgating is a horrible thing to do, and it will eventually result in an accident. But someone driving at any speed in the left lane, refusing to move right, while faster traffic comes up behind them, is also an idiot who has no respect for anyone. I’m very happy for anyone who wants to drive more slowly than me to do so, but it would be nice if they could do it in the right lane, traffic permitting. (Edit: I am also happy to get out of the way of anyone who wants to drive faster than me.) Also, while unenforced, those “slower traffic keep right” signs are laws, and all the pendants following the speed limit because It’s The Law! should maybe follow all the laws, since that’s so important.
Where I live there’s no law against passing on the right. On my former morning commute, virtually everyone on the 50-mph 4-lane secondary highway between my bedroom subdivision and the interstate leading into the city needed to be in the left lane to turn onto the entrance ramp, so everyone moved left early. Every now and then some oblivious but aggressive speedster would come up behind the line of cars in the left lane and tailgate, flash lights, etc., trying to get the car immediately ahead to move right — and lose his place in line — just so the speedster could gain a one-car-length advantage, when all the while there was plenty of passing room in the nearly deserted right lane.
My Toyota has automatic high beams and in certain circumstances will flash other drivers unintentionally.
Coincidentally, a cop flashed his headlights at me last week and I have no idea what it was supposed to mean. We were passing each other in daylight on a rural highway, I was doing about 5mph over, so I assumed it was a warning, but who knows?
I’ll flash my lights at oncoming traffic because their: lights are off and should be on, high beams are on and should be off, there is a cop ahead, there is wildlife on/near the road ahead.
Typically, yes, police officers flash their brights as a warning to slow down.
Most of the time when I think someone is flashing lights at me it is just the angle of their headlights varying making them look brighter for a sec.
Other than that, the 2 or 3 times it’s happened to me it’s just been some giant idiot who seems to want me to merge over, usually in really heavy traffic, so they can get that one more car length ahead of me, but no extra speed. I do it when I can, but I try not to make a big deal of it. Stresses me out, though. Aggressive driving indeed.
Oncoming cars will mean that there is a speed trap ahead or if raining or at near dark, your headlights are off. Driving with headlights off is more common now thanks to those old style daytime running lights, which inevitably illuminate the gauge cluster and provide just enough light for drivers not to notice their full headlights aren’t on.
From behind it means you are a left lane bandit, move over so I can pass.
I’ve found that the low brow import drivers assume 4 lights mean highbeams. So I usually get flashed in the mustang or the E classes at nights. So I usually flash to show the dumbasses what highbeams on a HID car actually look like.
Those grille lights on the Mustang *are* complete overkill, and they are annoying to oncoming traffic. But the E-class never did nothin’ to no one. My friend’s E-Class (2010 E550 Coupe) has automatic high-beams
Auto-high beams and lights that turn with the steering wheel are glorious.
I still miss real cornering lights (last seen on my ’89 SHO, where they were the only thing that didn’t break). The LS has low beams that turn with the wheel, and they’re nice, but they don’t shine the same way around sharp corners and light up pedestrians in your A-pillar zone the same way.
The high and low beams on the MkT turn with the wheel. I don’t know how much more or less they turn compared to the cornering lights on the SHO. All I know is they are super helpful on the curvy 55 MPH roads I often drive on the weekends. They have helped me not hit deer on a few occasions.
The SHO cornering lights were at their best turning into city driveways/alleys while crossing sidewalks. They shone light to the side of the car, and were located in the side of the front bumper.
The LS adaptive headlights are best at exactly what you describe — lighting up the roadway around higher-speed curves. They are too far forward and can’t turn far enough to light up a driveway at a right angle.
Cornering lights sound pretty cool. I am a big fan of the adaptive headlights though. I wish it was an option on more cars.
My Golf SportWagen has separate bulbs aimed at the corners that come on when you either turn on the respective indicator or start turning….like some eighties American cars had. I think they’re great.
If you are driving with fog lights on and it is not, you know, foggy, you are an idiot. Especially REAR fog lights.
The fact that modern “fog lights” are just decoration is proven by the fact that in most cars they won’t come on unless the low beams are on. The two times I’ve really needed fog lights, it was to crawl my way through super-dense fog in a dark place, where the low beams just create a wall of glare. In both cases I was in a car that could turn on fogs with parking lights (once in dad’s Audi V8 and once in my G8 GXP) and it was really, really helpful to have that light low and to the sides and no glare.
The ones in the grille are a little overkill but they’re referred to as driving lights, the bumper mounted lights are fogs. They do help illuminated the lane markers better than the headlights but their more heritage than function.
As you say, it’s totally context dependent. If you’re following someone who’s driving stupidly, then it’s “aggressive” telling them to quit being stupid: wandering around the road, camping out in the left lane below the speed limit, etc. For that it’s the step before the horn. For people going the other direction, it’s usually “your lights are off and they should be on.” Or “Your high beams are shining in my eyes”.
On that second-last point, I think that the rise of DRLs + automatic headlights + completely lit dashboards is contributing to the spate of people driving around with no lights after dark. Nearly every night, I see someone driving around with no lights. It used to be that you got that visual cue that you couldn’t see your dash because it was all dark. But since they’re all lit all the time now, that’s not a cue. Plus having DRLs makes it seem like you have some headlights on, and many times there’s enough street lighting that you can see ok. I really think that vehicles with automatic headlights should have some warning when the switch is set to ‘Off’ while the car is running that “Hey, it’s dark enough that I would turn the lights on, but the switch is off.”
I don’t know of any cars whose dashboards light up when the lights are off. I suppose if you have a bright LCD in the instrument cluster or center stack, it could cause you not to notice. Me, I just leave the switch on Auto. As far as I’m concerned, automatic headlamps should be standard in every car. It’s just a photoresistor, an extra notch on a dial, and the programming to interpret it all…the amortized cost per car is probably less than a dollar, yet automakers will use it as incentive to upgrade to the next package. I will have serious props for the first (non-premium) automaker to make automatic headlamps standard.
A bunch of Honda’s do this, and I know I’ve driven an Infiniti that does this too. When the car is turned off, you can barely see the instruments at all, so they are lit every time the ignition is on. That means the morons don’t notice when their lights are off, because the DRL’s light the road in front of them, and the dash is lit all the time.
I wish every car would have parking lights + DRLs come on with the ignition and low beams come on when it’s any dimmer than broad daylight. The LS has a custom setting to make the threshold when the auto lights come on brighter, and setting it was one of the first things I did when I brought the car home. Now they come on when there are dark clouds or rain, and are always on when it’s near sunset or sunrise.
flashing lights at oncoming traffic:
1) double flash – your headlights are not on
2) left on – your highbeams are in my face and mine are now in yours until you stop it or pass me
3) repeated flicker – speed trap coming your way
4) single flash at an intersection – you have the right of way
Flashing lights when following behind:
1) double flash – you have the right of way,space cleared in front of me for you to take (very much appreciated by truckers needing to change lanes in dense traffic)
2) single flash from behind in left lane – please move
3) double flash from behind in left lane – please move NOW
3) repeated double flash from behind in left lane – traffic is bearing down behind me this is dangerous and you’re still not giving up the left lane – MOVE NOW
4) non stop high speed flashing from behind in left lane – move now or by all that’s holy I’m going to follow you to wherever you’re going, drag you out of your car, shove your cellphone sideways though your sphincter break your fingers with a ball peen hammer and then scoop your eyes out with a serrated grapefruit spoon.
^^^^ This is pretty much it. Very extensive. I forgot about the obvious, your brights are on from oncoming and the flash from or too truckers I learned while driving a Budget rent-a-truck halfway across the country. It really does help them and you.
I was taught to quickly turn my headlights off and on a couple of times to alert someone that his headlights are off. Of course, my father was drunk most of the time, so his teaching may not be the best advice.
Mine was sober, but taught me the same thing. His reasoning was that seeing lights come on was more likely to trigger the “oh, crap, I forgot to put my lights on” response.
It means they don’t like my HID’s.
I could care less.
Do you have factory HIDs?
Please don’t tell us you put HID bulbs in your halogen light housings. Because that really can be very blinding.
Crabby wouldn’t do that.
I would totally do that.
I also know how to adjust my cutoff line accordingly, so they don’t blind people. I’ve driven around my own car at night. It’s fine. People are nerds, and want to self-righteously complain about anything.
A stock Sequoia illuminating my entire interior while he’s behind me is far more irritating than any ricer HID install I encounter on the street.
“A stock Sequoia illuminating my entire interior while he’s behind me is far more irritating than any ricer HID install I encounter on the street.”
This is a fair point.
One of my favorite features on my MkT is that the high beams automatically turn on and off at night. Since I drive in rural Northern Michigan very often, it’s a handy feature.
@Crabspirits – How much can you adjust a headlight down? Not much I guess. A slammed Acura was behind and besides the glare, the HIDs were projecting light upward at a sharp angle.
This was a 4 lane highway, just the 2 of us and no reason for him to be tailing me for some time. So I lit up all rear facing work-lights on my work truck. He got the message and blasted off. He showed no additude as he passed either.
To be honest, I think you’re delusional. Most of the blinding lights I see at night are aftermarket HIDs in reflector housings. Those reflectors are designed for a very small light source (a filament) and when you put in a much bigger glowing bulb they reflect light in all kinds of incorrect directions. There usually isn’t a cutoff anymore to adjust. Projectors handle changes in light source better.
I have one of the rare cars with factory reflector HIDs (’13 Subaru Forester Touring) and the reflectors look VERY different from those on the same cars with halogen low beams.
It seems that at least once a month I accidentally flash the highs while turning on my turn signal. I always feel bad…
Here near the city, I rarely see anyone flash their highs. Back home in the mountains though, it’s pretty frequent. There are no cops there for the most part, so a flash means, “Pay attention, danger ahead.” Either a rock slide, deer by the road, broken down car, tree limbs down, etc…
From me it’s generally either:
-a high-beam flash (daytime) or quick light shutoff (nighttime) to a vehicle that’s in front of me and 1 lane over but signaling into my lane, to let them know they can fit into the space in front of me.
-a quick flip of the headlights off & back on toward an oncoming vehicle, at night, because they’re using inadequate or no(!) lights
VoGo made a very comprehensive list.
I do not feel flashing high beams is a very effective form of communication. Getting people to 1) pay attention and then 2) correctly interpret the flashes is nearly impossible.
From my experience, I would estimate the following success rate in each situation.
1. Turn on your headlights, moron -10%
2. Turn OFF the high beams, moron – 10%
3. Hey, you have the same, rare cool car as me – unknown
4. Cop ahead looking for speeders – unknown
5. Dangerous situation ahead. – unknown
6. From behind – get out of the left lane, slow poke. – 0 freakin percent
>I do not feel flashing high beams is a very effective form of communication.<
I guess it depends on where you are. The road to my hometown is a windy narrow two-lane with a steep cliff to one side and a drop off to the river on the other. There are frequent hazards along the 30-mile stretch, and everyone flashes, and everyone knows that getting a flash means to slow down now.
I have never once had ANYONE dim their brights after I flashed at them.
It hasn’t stopped me from trying.
when I flash slowpokes in the left lane, I’d say the response rate (they move over) is about 50%.
Wow. I’d put it at 5%-10%. So much so that I’ve more or less stopped doing it, on the theory that aggressive behavior that doesn’t get results is a loss for everyone.
A couple of weeks ago an oncoming car flashed its headlights to warn me of about a dozen turkeys in the middle of the road about 100 yards ahead. I thought that was cool.
If I’m driving the LaForza, they are telling me that my headlights are off, something I’m aware of but can’t do anything about since the headlights don’t work on it thanks to an electrical short. (I haven’t gotten it fixed yet but now only drive it during the day in good weather).
Normally, I assume cops ahead, unless it’s a merge situation, in which case it means “go ahead”.
You should submit a reader’s ride review of your LaForza…please?
If someone behind me flashes their lights during the day time and behind me, I generally ignore it. If its at night/dusk, then I’ll put my lights on.
Right. I flash my headlights on city streets to alert someone that his/her headlamps are switched off at night. Most people get the message. On the highway, if I’m behind someone in the left lane who isn’t passing, I might flash my headlamps twice to politely ask that person if he/she will either speed up or move to the right so that I may pass. People usually get that one too. Lastly, I may do a quick flash to indicate to someone trying to change lanes or pass in front of me that he/she may do so, if there seems to be any hesitation. Semi-trailer trucks especially appreciate this. I don’t bother to flash my headlights to let people in oncoming traffic know that their high-beams are on; that never goes well. Typically, the perpetrator is behind me anyway, and the reason his/her headlights are so bright is because they’re aftermarket HID units that aren’t aimed properly.
As far as DRLs, most newer cars with bright white LED DRLs will temporarily switch the appropriate DRL off when the turn indicator is flashing, to make it more visible, then turn the DRL back on once he indicator stops flashing. My Golf SportWagen does this.
Mostly it’s drivers flashing by mistake, as they’re too inept or arthritic to just move the turn signal stalk, up or down. Apologies if they have a missing hand and bumping it with their nub.
I really wish the NHTSA would pass a rule that cars with continually-lit dashboards always have automatic lights. Whenever I see a car driving around at night with the lights off, it’s invariably a model with a luminescent dash.
An old-school instrument cluster will have illegible gauges when it’s too dark out, making the act of turning on the headlights automatic.
God yes. I noticed this with the Accord of a few generations ago and it has only gotten worse. Our Altima has a continually lit dash. Thing is, the gauges are absolutely blinding at night with the headlights off because the daytime setting has to be very bright to show up in the sunlight. Turn on the headlights and they dim to an appropriate level. How anyone can drive around at night and not notice their gauges flaring away in their face like an aircraft landing light is beyond me.
^ This. The 7th-Gen Accords (2003-2007) had electroluminescent gauges, just like in the original Lexus LS.
The community has already covered it.
Tangentially, does anyone know how to convince the geriatric set amongst us to stop running their high beams night and day in traffic? Flashing at them is ineffective. If there’s one great use for the autonomous driverless Google pod, it will be to extend the transportation freedom of the elderly without inflicting the rest of us with their terrified, laggardly driving.
I’m convinced drivers just don’t give a fukk and drive with their high beams on permanently. I don’t even flash them anymore. They refuse to turn them down.
Some of them might not even realize they are on. I’ve turned mine on by accident at least once, although I went “huh, why is this blue light on on my dashboard?” and turned them off.
“…although I went “huh, why is this blue light on on my dashboard?” and turned them off.”
Yep- and that’s the difference. I’m convinced that the complexity of one’s family tree, or more specifically lack of branches in the tree, makes the blue high beam symbol invisible (and the driver also go 10mph under the limit and unable to steer the vehicle within a single lane).
I came here to +1 the first comment that said “context,” but decided what a flash most generally means is “quit playing with your phone/infotainment/kids/e-cig and pay attention to the situation.”
When it’s a cute teenage girl with D-cups working the drive-thru at Wendy’s, it means you’re Jack B in a 911.
*Nineteen
For some reason, here in my suburban New England town, about 10-20% of drivers drive around with high beams on, when driving 30 mph on streets where there’s a streetlight every 200 feet. They get the high beam blast.
The other one is the idiots who have the entire front end of the car lit up (headlights, fog lights, driving lights, Christmas lights, etc.) on a clear night without fog, rain, or any other impairment, driving 30 mph on a street with a streetlight every 200 feet. These idiots also get the high beam blast. I always wish I could ask them “so, where’s the fog? Only in your brain, I guess.”
I have not yet figured out what to do with people who are following me on the highway with their high beams on. I think the super-retina-destroying taillights on my car (that are now mandated) keep them from seeing anything I do inside the car (like waving my hands or whatever). I would like to have a zillion-candlepower spotlight aimed back at them and blast ’em, but you never know who is inside the car.
“I have not yet figured out what to do with people who are following me on the highway with their high beams on. I think the super-retina-destroying taillights on my car (that are now mandated) keep them from seeing anything I do inside the car (like waving my hands or whatever). I would like to have a zillion-candlepower spotlight aimed back at them and blast ’em, but you never know who is inside the car.”
It’s rare for me to pull a move like this but I have actually progressively slowed my car down until the moron behind me with the high beams on was forced to pass or pull over.
Of course, there are times when the guy headed toward you in the opposite lane simply won’t turn the high beams off. Back in the 1970s, my solution for that (while commuting at night across the New Jersey Pine Barrens from Philadelphia to Toms River) was to carry a hand-held, general-purpose searchlight in my Ford Pinto. I’d crank down the window, point the search light, turn it on and BAM! Never failed to work and only took a couple of seconds.
My worst experience was in the ’80s and ’90s and being followed by Astro and Safari vans, particularly the first-generation with the single-headlight units! Those things would light up the interior of my car like the sun, and several times I pulled over to let these vehicles get past before my retinas were permanently seared!
People that don’t know what that blue high beam symbol thingie means don’t deserve a quick, courteous flash–and they’re not smart enough to understand what it means anyway–they deserve a continuous blast and I don’t really care if they dip their high beams in response. It’s not remediation, it’s revenge to make me feel better. Of course, if another car is following them then I don’t bother, because that’s not fair to that following driver. Oh, I like the handheld spotlight idea!
Once or twice I’ve been “that guy” who forgot his high beams were on and blinding oncoming drivers. I got the angry blast (not the polite flash), and after fixing my dumb mistake I thought to myself, “yup, I deserved that.”
The vast majority of cars today don’t even have “fog” lights, but rather driving lights. You can’t blame people for using them when they came equipped with their cars. Either way, fog lights or driving lights shouldn’t bother anyone.
Very few cars come with true driving lights, which are like high beams on steroids, with a very narrow straight-ahead pattern meant to light up the road thousands of feet ahead. Stock auxiliary lights almost always have a fog light pattern, which means a low cutoff and wide distribution of light to both sides. You know they’re not actually intended for use in fog, though, because you can’t turn off the glare-generating low beams and leave them on.
I don’t see what’s so hard about interpreting what it means when somebody flashes their lights at you.
As long as you haven’t done anything to tick them off, or mark yourself for a internet-meme gang initiation, the other driver is telling you to be aware. After checking if my headlights are on and the car isn’t on fire, interpret it as there’s reason for caution ahead.
Cops? Traffic jam? Accident? Unspecified danger? Doesn’t matter. Just be aware.
I flash my headlights for the following reason in order of frequency:
1) to opposing traffic to either let them know to turn their lights on at night or that they running with their high beams on.
2) When approaching slow traveler in left lane on a multilane road (Dafuq outta my way)
3) At oncoming traffic due to road hazard or occasionally a speed trap.
…central texas here: daylight flashes warn of a speed trap ahead, nighttime flashes either say check your lights or warn of a speed trap ahead…
I don’t many people using lights as warnings to oncoming traffic though I still do it out of habit after learning from my father back in the days of 55mph. It’s most common on the highway to signal trucks that it’s clear to change lanes, either to pull out to the left lane or back in to the right once the trailer is clear. It requires some situational awareness to know when a truck may need to pull out to pass so they don’t have to change their speed, but drivers are awfully friendly when a car doesn’t put them in a situation my father calls the “Okie box.”
Am I the only one who tries to refrain from flashing his/her headlights whenever possible, simply because it can’t possibly be good for the longevity of today’s Xenon HID headlights? I really don’t think they were designed for quick flashes and I’d rather not have to replace the headlight capsules or ballast modules…
Well, this is my guidebook on flashing headlights
CAR COMING AT ME FLASHING HEADLIGHTS DAYTIME
1) Police ahead slow down
2) Traffic at dead stop and your view is blind to it, slow down
3) Serious obstacles in the road ahead like cows, slow down
CAR COMING AT ME FLASHING HEADLIGHTS NIGHTTIME
1) Your headlights are off – dummy – stop driving on your DRLs
2) Check your high beams – dummy – you’re blinding me
CAR COMING AT ME FLASHES LIGHTS, THEN TURNS ON HIGHBEAMS AT NIGHT
1) You’re high beams are on, or I think you’re high beams are on and you’re blinding me, dim your lights dummy
CAR BEHIND ME FLASHING HEADLIGHTS
1) I’m going faster than you and going insane, for the love of God yield the lane
CAR COMING BEHIND ME AND FLASHING LIGHTS A FEW TIME AT NIGHT
1) Hey dummy, you’re driving on your DRLs, I know because your taillights are off and your car looks dark
CAR IN FRONT OF ME CRUISING ALONG AND FOR SOME REASON TURNS ON HAZARD LIGHTS FOR 5 or 10 SECONDS BUT DOESN’T CHANGE LANE, SLOW DOWN, ETC.
1) Hey dummy, your turn signal has been on for six miles and the orange blinking in my rear view mirror is driving me clinically insane
CAR PASSES ME AND WHEN THEY RETURN TO THE TRAVEL LANE FROM THE PASS, CLICK HAZARD LIGHTS FOR A COUPLE OF SECONDS
1) Thanks for not being passive-aggressive and letting me pass you
CAR COMES UP BEHIND ME IN PASSING LANE, FLASHES LIGHTS, I IGNORE IT, AND THEY TURN ON THEIR LEFT TURN SIGNAL AND LEAVE IT ON
1) I’m really not trying to be an aggressive driving arse – will you PLEASE let me pass you
In Alaska it means MOOSE!
@marmot
Maine too! Or deer.
In western Washington where people regularly drive a minimum of 5 under the speed limit on two lane roads, I’ve started giving a flash of the high beams at every speed limit sign in the futile hope that they may see the speed limit sign get illuminated and speed up. It never works for them but it makes me feel better for a micro-second.
All instances of headlight flashing mean the exact same thing, and it’s the same as a dog bark:
“Hey!”
“Hey!”
people here usually only flash people at night if their lights arent on.
on the freeway from behind, id take it as a signal im going too damn slow in the fast lane.
from ahead on the freeway in the middle of nowhere, id assume a CHP is on the median clocking speeders. thats about it, other than were supposed to have headlights on if our wipers are on. not sure everyones onboard with that yet
Usually it is just the guy behind hitting a pothole. He wasn’t really flashing the headlight.
For most of us, the flashing of headlights on the car BEHIND us means, ‘move over, I want to pass.” However, and this is especially true for the females, it could well mean, “Pull over, I want to …”. I would never imagine a vehicle coming up behind me and using their lights in the way the author presupposes. Granted, even here in the States there was a while in which DRL were somewhat mandatory and with some cars they were so bright that the drivers assumed they had their regular headlamps on. I’ll admit I’ve made a similar mistake as I use my fog lamps as DRL on my Wrangler, but even then all marker lamps are lighted as well.
So maybe the reason those women don’t want to talk to you is because they think you’re going to harass them. Try flicking your lamps off and back on instead.
I almost exclusively flash at other people to warn about hazards/cops. I was once driving along at dusk and saw a stealthy cop parked in a typical speed trap spot up ahead. I flashed my high beams at the next car I saw… turned out to be another cop. I saw him slam on his brakes in my rear view, apparently seriously considering turning around and pulling me over, but the winding rural route made him decide against it apparently because he took off. I can normally recognize crown vic/impala/charger lights, but this was in Vermont, home of uniquely rural police vehicle choices (Dodge ram pickup and chevy s-10 in my hometown, for example)
I’ve always used “flash a friend” to warn oncoming drivers for at least a mile after I pass a cop sitting on the side of the road. I’ve also used it to alert people that the are driving without their headlights on.
I will also flash my headlights when I’m the left lane and I notice a car in the right lane approaching a slower moving car. Instead of speeding up, blocking them and forcing them to hit the brakes until I pass, I let them in front of me. Most of them will wave a quick ‘thank you’ which is always appreciated. I just wish everyone else drove this way.
I think drivers education in the US should teach people what it means since so many idiots in the United States are clueless. Usually it means you are driving too slow, your headlights are off, you are high beaming people, the car behind wants to pass you, or you are a terrible driver (if they flash repeatedly). If someone flashes there lights repeatedly at you it means that you’re a bad driver and you need to pull over because the driver behind you doesn’t want their safety put into jeopardy. I have had bad drivers throw bottles at me. My biggest case of ignorance was when I had a driver who drove the same route as me on the way to work every day. I would flash my lights repeatedly at him to alert him that he needs to learn how to drive or take the bus. He has tossed bottles at me and in one case pulled over but as soon as I got out to talk to him about his driving he sped off nearly hitting me and I began again flashing my headlights at him. At the next intersection he stopped and I got out to talk to him and he gunned it through a red light and nearly crashed. Unfortunately the police never removed him from the road or arrested him for throwing a bottle at me and nearly running me over twice when I tried to talk to him about his driving. He also never was cited for running the red light when he blew threw the red light. If someone is flashing repeatedly learn how to drive or take the bus and even though the police won’t do anything to you it doesn’t mean you are driving safely when angering other drivers.