A friend of mine is coming to visit me in February and I plan to let him use my car. Other than insurance, am I legally responsible for him in any way? (He has his DL and has had experience driving here)
Thanks
Quasi
No.
Are you gonna let a German drive your car? Any idea how fast they drive there?
You should disable your the bright light toggle on your steering column. 
In Germany, it’s a perfectly acceptable way of telling someone to “please move into the proper lane, as you seem to be in my way”, but here it’s often taken to mean “I wish for you to follow me to my destination, where we can have a fight since I flashed my lights at you.”
Just so I know, what part of the US are you in, DMC? Flashing before passing is common enough to even be in the vehicle code in California, and I don’t want to send the wrong signals if I drive elsewhere.
i had an international driving permit ( issued in India ) which was valid in the United States, and allowed me to drive legally without any further paperwork.
Quasi, from the DMV site :
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/faq/dlfaq.htm
however, my unc. insisted that the way insurance works in the U.S. is that the driver needs to be insured for the car he drives ( or something to that effect ) in order to successfully claim insurance. so he refused to let me drive his car.
so please specify your state, as i believe the laws differ from state to state.
panamajack, i was told during my trip to California that it was considered rude to flash lights on overtaking. however, here in India this is perfectly acceptable.
http://www.caldrive.com/ has interesting information on conventions and driving codes, etc.
Tell your friend to not be surprised if he sees people passing on the right.
(This is absolutely verboten in Germany. German drivers will drive through you before they pass you on the right. And flash their lights. And turn on their left turn signal.)
[rant]
In the U.S., I get really ticked when I’ve just finished passing someone and am preparing to slide back into the right lane, but before I can do so, someone approaching at high speed has already slid into the right lane and cut me off. At least give me a chance to get over!
[/rant]
panamajack,
Since returning from Germany, I have lived in Kansas City, Wichita, Phoenix, and Sioux Falls. In all of them, I have noticed many people get a bit pissed about the flashing of lights. It doesn’t bother me a bit, but in some of these places, there are people who get pissed just for being passed.
Strangely, I felt much safer on the Autobahn, with people going any speed they wish, than on many freeways here, even though the speed limit is 55-65. Traffic keeping to the right and no passing on the right makes a huge difference.
I’d say remind him to drive more carefully than he’s accustomed to. In my experience, Germans are much better drivers than Americans so he should be prepared to respond to things that he’d never have happen at home.
I believe it can also mean “please suddenly jam on your brakes so that I can test my driving reflexes by narrowly avoiding rear-ending you.”
Don’t sweat anything. They drive on the same side of the road in Germany and the only place where the speed limit is any different is on the Autobahn. They even have the “free right-hand turn” and “from a one-way to a one-way” rules there.
Nope. Take a peak at snopes and search on ‘flashing headlights’. Yet another urban legend.
lawoot,
Snopes only refers to the “Gang initiates driving without lights waiting for you to flash your lights at them and then killing you” legend.
We were referencing the use of flashing headlights as a way of letting the car in front of you know that you are approaching them and wish to pass. They are then expected to move to the right. In Germany, this usually prompts the driver in front to think “Oops, I’m in the wrong land, my bad”, while many drivers here seem to think “You rude bastard, no way are you passing me now.”
I’m not saying that there has never been a German that didn’t get annoyed by it, nor that every Midwesterner thinks it’s fight-worthy, but it does seem to be a fairly accurate generalization.
And “wrong land” should of course be “wrong lane.” 
On the other hand, I also can’t stand folks that are driving 10 mph below the speed limit, firmly entrenched in the left lane. These are people who haven’t passed anyone since the Nixon administration! They also don’t seem to mind the line of cars held up behind them, waiting for their chance to get around them on the right.
Gee, you think these two rants are related?
It really makes me miss driving in Germany, where people follow the rules. (Also, cruising at 115 mph is a blast.)