In the Uk, its fairly obvious to most common sense drivers what the flashing headlamp means,
To the trucker passing you, two quick flashes is "your tailboard is past and I am comfortable for you to move in"
Ditto two quick flashes with a quick wave of the hand and lots of eye contact is "I am letting you out, (and you had best be pretty sharpish about it I wont hang aournd all day"
The long Eyeball burning main beam on for several seconds is always "Watch yourself cowboy I am coming through"
Its all about "body language (or light language)
Abroad however, Flash your lights in whatever way always means "watchout I am here and you dont want to be"
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< Ulla>
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>>Well I've been driving for far longer than I care to remember all over Europe and do not
>>recall a single instance of confusion with headlight flashing.
I've only been driving 17 years, and I can recall many.
I would add that the person outside the Bahnhof in Zurich last week seemed to understand that my flash meant 'please do come out of your parking space that nobody will let you out of, because I'd like it so I'll give you space!'
I virtually never flash my lights unless I am virtually stationary so as to avoid confusion. Even then I seldom flash, owing to the two divergent views as to interpretation. Equally, I virtually never interpret somebody else's flash as 'go on' unless they are nearly stationary.
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When two cars meet on a single track road, and one driver prepares to reverse to the previous passing place, a quick flash of the headlights obviously means come on, I am going back. At night, it is courteous for the other driver to turn his headlights off as he advances, to make it easier for the reversing driver to see where he is going.
When the passing car is nearly level and about to pass, turning the lights on again, or a quick flash, or a tiny toot signals thank you.
It works well in our neck of the woods, apart from 4WD and women over 50. The former cannot drive off the metalled road, the latter cannot reverse.
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Headlamp flashing is still a matter of common sense, as, like said above, its only official meaning is a warning of presence.
Flashing lights to let someone go can be dangerous because the 'flashee' might assume the road is clear when all you meant is that you are prepared to let them go, but the kamikaze motorcyclist who's since appeared round the bend behind you isn't!
Also one has to be aware that flashing one driver to convey one message - like to an overtaking lorry on a dual carriageway, can be mistaken by another (possibly stupid) driver, like perhaps one on a slip road beside you, and they pull on in front of you just as lorry pulls in!
Edited by Sofa Spud on 11/12/2007 at 17:39
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Going off track slightly, bus travelling along a road, indicating to pull into bus stop which is just (20 feet) after a junction on left hand side. Car is at junction waiting to turn right to travel in opposite direction to bus. Car driver see indicator on bus and assumes he is turning left into junction - he's a stranger and isn't aware of the bus stop.
Car and bus inevitably meet with horrendous noise and observers saying "oops".
Personally, I try never to assume things like that - I always wait until I actually see a vehicle start turning before I believe his signal - probably spent too much of my life watching trilby hats in Volvo 340s and Nissan Micras who never shut off their indicators, and being amazed at the accidents they left behind..............
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Have you witnessed this grumpyscot, or is it just a fantasy?
If you have witnessed it, I hope you gave evidence against the incorrectly signalling bus driver instead of sitting there saying 'oops'.
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By no means complete, but here is a list of possible interpretations of headlamp flashing, garnered from my 25 years of driving...
1. After you
2. DON'T...!
3. Idiot.
4. Nice car!
5. Wow, an Armstrong Siddeley, haven't seen one of those since Suez...
6. Y'all right, Fred? Day off, then?
7. "Mutual recognition" of one Eddie Stobart lorry (bus, ambulance, Royal Mail van, MG, Alvis, Morgan, etc..) to another
8. Speed trap round the next bend!
9. Thanks!
10. (In response to 9.) Not at all, my pleasure
11. (In response to 10) erm,thanks for, erm, thanks... (continue sequence at will)
12. You've left your headlights/indicator/foglights.. on
13. Hey! You've got flames/smoke/sparks shooting from your engine/exhaust/boot...
14. TRY not to cross the double white line, you're very close!
15. Safe to pull back in front of me
16. Switch lights on, it's dark!
17. You're on main beam, so I'll do the same
18. You've just dazzled me on main beam so I'll just dazzle you when it's too late to retaliate
19. I'm not flashing, I'm a Volvo driver going over a road hump.
20. It's dark and I'm driving a flash German car with HID lighting and I'm also going over a hump.
21. Not flashing - it's a 1970's Leyland car with Lucas electrics...
22. Stupid pedestrian! - I nearly didn't see you! Wear something white, d'you hear?
23. French/Italian tourist on holiday - about to overtake lorry
24. Phwoarrrrr !
25. You've got a door open/petrol leak/trail of blood/miscellaneous almost impossible-to-communicate-intelligently mishap in progress...
26. It's not my car! It's the wife's Kia and I went to wash the windscreen. Just as well I'm not in that classic Peugeot or I'd be blasting you with air horns instead.
27. I am being kidnapped, please phone the police immediately.
28. Brakes failed - runaway car (horn won't work without ignition!)
29. I really want to blast my horn at you for some reason, but it's 11.30 pm in a built up area, so a flash it will have to be...
30. How much have you been drinking? I'm driving a train and you're parked across the level crossing, MOVE IT !!
31. I'm an American driver not used to manuals; I'm trying to change gear!
I have to admit the last five are whims of my imagination - have I missed any?
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32. My headlight dip stalk is combined with the flasher, so when I turn the headlights on for the first time I never know whether they are going to be on main or dip. Sorry - don't blame me, Volvo made it like that. It's probably a safety feature.
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33. For use in the New Forest : there is a pig / cow / horse / pony / wilderbeest in the midlle of the road round the blind bend you are about to negotiate, best slow down old chum.
Edited by SpamCan61 {P} on 12/12/2007 at 13:57
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Well well Bliboman I have to say you lead an excting life.
I have always had a kidnapp fantasy, whats it like?? and were you driving the train or the guy on the crossing?
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< Ulla>
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I can think of at least one set of circumstances when I'd rather people didn't flash headlights.
There are quite a few single track roads with passing places in my neck of the woods and when I pull into one of them after dark to let someone pass I always switch my headlights off to avoid dazzling them. (Such courteous behaviour from a 4x4 driver - astonishing!)
What is the last thing the advancing driver does before passing me? Right - a headlight flash - instant dazzlement. I don't like to complain because I know they're only saying "thank you", but this could be acheived at night by momentarily switching headlights off and on.
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For those of a curious disposition, there's a shot in the Terrorflag today of two buxom gels flashing their headlights at the Heir to the Throne...
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