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You do realize that the hazards disable your signals and reduce visibility for other drivers, right?
Your advice goes against common sense. In sever downpour where visibility is reduced to tens of feet ANYTHING that makes you visible helps. Of course you are a hazard if others can't see you. The only way you'd win this argument is if you could produce rules from some DMV.
I get the point that the OP is trying to convey, but I don't really care for the obstinate manner it's being done. The fact of the matter is that there are mainly 3 different ways that state's view the use of hazard lights. 1) The use of hazard lights is permitted 2) The use of hazard lights is not permitted. 3) The use of hazard lights are not permitted except to indicate a traffic hazard. The last statement varies according to state but they're basically the same. Hazard Light Use | AAA/CAA Digest of Motor Laws So there ARE states where it's considered OK, regardless of whether it's right or not in your opinion.
A convoy or funeral procession usually gets an exemption as well.
Although the overuse of hazard lights doesn't bother me personally, I think that a quick 3 - 6 second use of them when coming up on a problem in low visibility can be warranted. I have more of a problem with the insecure folks who freeze or panic in bad driving conditions and won't pull off the road for the few minutes it takes to clear.....but that's most Americans for ya.....always in a hurry to get nowhere.
and what if it takes longer than a few minutes to clear? for instance, driving in the shenandoah national park, there are times when the fog rolls in and stays for hours on end. and most of the times its bad enough to make it hard to see the road, but there is still visibility.
Driving in poor conditions is not an emergency! If the conditions are so poor that driving in them constitutes an "emergency" then you shouldn't be on the road in the first place unless you're going to the hospital or something like that.
Many times you're already in your car when it gets to that point. It's not like someone in Ohio is going to say, "Snow storm today, better stay home." You wouldn't leave your house for 3 months. It doesn't take much to go from normal snow storm to whiteout conditions.
You know that hazards disable your signals and reduce visibility for other drivers, right?
THANK YOU! Now somebody do a search and find out if I ram the snot out of a car driving in the rain with flashers on is it my fault? (where's that angel halo smiley?)
Like so many other behaviors you see the drivers of the US indulging in, it's poor practice to do so, like driving slow in the fast lane. It might be time to tighten up the driving rules in the US and require more actual training. Of course there will be those who will whine and carry on if this were to ever happen. I guess those whiners would assume that they would lose there licenses as they were apparently untrainable.
As the OP and others have mentioned, if you think you are such a hazard you must drive drive with hazards on then you should exit the roadway and leave the highway for the adults.
This, and the fact that flashing hazards make it even harder to see out of the windshield when the wipers are already having trouble keeping up in a very hard rain is what prompted me to start this thread.
Trying to drive on I-95 south bound before the Ft McHenry tunnel last week, I had the hazard patrol switching lanes without signals, and generally making it even harder to see with all the flashing lights going on.
I think it's sweet that you assume those drivers would use their signals if not for interference from their hazard lights. Baltimore drivers are the absolute worst I've seen in my life. Lights are meaningless here, both on vehicles and at intersections. I just assume every driver here is going to cut me off and run every red light.
Only once in my life have I used hazards while in a moving vehicle. Last spring I was stuck in a bank of fog coming down the mountains in NC on Why 421. This was the same day as the huge pile up on I-77. The road didn't have a full shoulder to pull onto. There were only a few feet and a guardrail between me and a 100+ foot fall down the mountain side. Despite having 15 feet of visibility, at best, people were flying down the mountain. So I had few choices - drive slowly without hazards, drive slowly with, or pull part way off the road and create a even greater hazard.
Speed limit 70. Heavy rain, so everybody slows from 75 to 60. No problem until traffic starts backing up. Why??? Idiot in the middle lane driving 45 with hazard lights blinking. Lots of tailgating and brake lights trying to get around the moron.
I think it's sweet that you assume those drivers would use their signals if not for interference from their hazard lights. Baltimore drivers are the absolute worst I've seen in my life. Lights are meaningless here, both on vehicles and at intersections. I just assume every driver here is going to cut me off and run every red light.
Only once in my life have I used hazards while in a moving vehicle. Last spring I was stuck in a bank of fog coming down the mountains in NC on Why 421. This was the same day as the huge pile up on I-77. The road didn't have a full shoulder to pull onto. There were only a few feet and a guardrail between me and a 100+ foot fall down the mountain side. Despite having 15 feet of visibility, at best, people were flying down the mountain. So I had few choices - drive slowly without hazards, drive slowly with, or pull part way off the road and create a even greater hazard.
I hear you on the signal thing, but there is at least a chance they may get used if they are functional... and your example is a good one for the case for hazards under movement. My whole point was based on common sense and "old school" driving technique, applied generally. People shouldn't be driving with their hazards on except under the most extreme examples.
To some others who posted - My favorite comeback so far has been some peoples desperate pleas that I provide links to "win" the argument. Good stuff, as I am not trying to "win" anything. I'm just trying to spread some common sense. Your hazards are confusing (are you broken down? Now I have to worry what's going on with you personally in addition to the rainy conditions?), distractingly bright and now your signals are disabled. No links, just one to grow on
You do realize that the hazards disable your signals and reduce visibility for other drivers, right?
That varies with the vehicle. On my pickup, the hazard circuit and the turn signal circuit have different flashers, are on different circuits, and flash different lights. On my tractor, the turn signals disable the hazard flashers. I activate my hazard flashers any time there is a hazardous road condition that might result in a rear end condition or chain reaction collision.
When operating a service vehicle equipped with roof mounted hazard lights, the lights should be operated any time the service vehicle is not a part of the normal flow of traffic, including when the vehicle is being operated substantially below the posted speed limit.
I downloaded Oregon's driver's manual.
"collisions often happen because one driver does not see another driver.
if a driver does something the other driver does not expect, a collision can
happen. it is important that you let other drivers know where you are and
what you plan to do.
You can let other drivers know where you are by:
• Turning on your headlights.
• Using your horn.
• Putting your vehicle where it can be seen.
• Using your hazard lights when needed.
You can let other drivers know what you plan to do by:
• Signaling before changing direction or lanes.
• Using your brake lights to indicate you are slowing or stopping"
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(where's that angel halo smiley?)
