A bloke here in Australia said the worse thing you can do driving in your car in the US is flash your headlights to other motorist as it will be misconstrued as a message that you want to challenge them to a fight or duel or fisticuffs or something … not good nor recommended nor approved anyway, put it that way… furthermore, if its the wrong type of person, they are more than likely to turn around, chase you down, and then proceed to beat the living crap outa ya!!! Mate, Not Cool!!!
Here in Australia we flash our headlights for four main reasons…
to warn oncoming motorist that there is an obstruction or accident up ahead.
2.to warn oncoming motorist that the coppers are up ahead so slowdown, do your drugs, or turn around if you don’t want to get in trouble with the law …mostly on this occasion the oncoming motorist will flash their headlights in return as a sign to thank you for the warning…
to let motorist overtaking you that its safe to move back into the flow of traffic without hitting anything… usually we do it with trucks who have a long load on board… as none one wants to be crushed by b-double semi of course, so we do it for our own safety mainly.
simply to say Hi to someone we know, usually accompanied with a beep beep.
On no occasion does it mean Fight, I Hate You and I Wanna Get You…
Is this bloke for real? Or is he Bullshittin me! Set me straight USA…
You are being bullshitted, my experience for the northwest of the US:
At night I’ll flash my lights to someone who has inadvertently left theirs off, or flash my brights at someone who doesn’t realize they left theirs on.
Flashing is sometimes used to warn the cops are ahead, but rarely so most of the time I don’t realize it before I see the cop.
That’s really all I can think of, there might be a few more reasons.
America on the whole is not as dangerous as all the urban legends you might encounter would have you believe.
For example: our spiders? Tiny. And there’s only one or two that might have an outside shot at killing you. And that’s only if you’re already a pretty fragile person.
In addition to what sitchensis said, we often flash our lights here (in the Montana countryside) as a signal to oncoming traffic to slow down because there are deer or other animals on or next to the road.
Well there is a bit of truth in it. The deal of coming up behind someone in the fast lane and flashing lights to say “Excuse me sir, I am in an awful hurry, could you please pull to the right lane and let me past” that some countries do, isn’t normal here. If you do come up behind someone and flash your lights there is probably a 48% chance they will take the message as “Hey you fat ugly fuck, get the fuck out of my fucking way, and your momma is a whore”
Someone actually starting a fight is very very rare, but I have seen a fair amount of passive-agressive retaliation like matching speed to the slowest left lane car and blocking the road for ten miles or more. Or letting the past then tailgating them at .2 inches while laying on the horn for 10 minutes.
I would never flash to get someone to pull over because the way I figure it, the chances they understand and actually pull over(remember these are the clueless brain-dead fools who constantly drive the left lane without intending to pass to start with) 2%. Chances they understand, but don’t do it, 38%, chances they just don’t understand 50%, chances they get pissed and make the situation worse 10%. Its just not a good percentage move generally.
Flashing someone coming towards you is usually just a friendly warning of an upcoming speed trap, or road obstruction.
Coming up behind someone and flashing them is generally considered a jerk move, as in “you’re going to slow - let me by” or, more rarely, “there’s a serial killer in the back of your car.”
Other than notifying oncoming traffic of obstructions ahead, or letting another driver know that they should turn on or dim headlights, the only time I see people flash their lights commonly is to let semi trucks know that they have safely cleared your vehicle when passing. (In the US, most multi-lane highways require 18-wheelers to drive in the rightmost lane or two.)
I’ve seen a tiny handful of people who flash at vehicles in an attempt to pass, and I usually let them. I assume that the driver is either responding to some emergency, or that he’ll get a ticket while I fly under the radar (gun.)
Sometimes, karma bites people (like a recent afternoon when hubby and I were driving home from something, in our personal vehicle. Just as we crossed the county line into the police jurisdiction where Tony works, a guy in a luxury sports sedan came zooming up behind us, using his emergency flashers. We were doing 80 on the rural stretch of interstate, but he passed us at a crazy speed. Tony just called the deputy working that zone, and Mr. Sports Sedan soon learned a bit more about local traffic ordinances. He was clocked at 92, after he got off the interstate onto a 55mph surface highway - charges included reckless driving, no seat belt, DUI, and violating the state’s Super Speeder law, which adds a hefty extra fine on top of all else.)
There was one occassion (this in the Netherlands, where I live) when I flashed my lights at someone in front of me.
I was driving on the highway, doing roughly 120 km/h, when I saw that the car in front of me (a station wagon) had its hatch completely open. The back of that car was completely empty. Apparently the driver and his companion hadn’t realised that their car’s hatch was open!!
I decided to warn them, but instead of using my horn, I flashed my lights at them a few times. After a few seconds, the station wagon quickly switched lanes to the right until reaching the shoulder. I imagine that, when he looked on the mirror to see what the hell that jerk behind him wanted, he saw that his hatch was fully open.
The only reason why people flash their lights around here is if;
There’s a cop up ahead for the driver.
Their brights are on, or lights are off.
Or some dumb ass is coming up behind me in the fast lane and even though I’m already going 20 over the speed limit on an empty stretch of highway he want’s to go faster. So instead of changing lanes and passing me, he’ll drive up right behind me and start flashing his lights like he’s playing his last game of Galaga until I move.
In my experience, flashing is also used to signal that there’s room to merge or change lanes in heavy traffic. Or, less commonly, when someone on the main road is slowing enough to allow traffic from the side streets.
As far as I know there’s no universally understood meaning to the flashing of headlights.
Back in the 1970s, American BMW customers were encouraged to flash headlights at each other; I don’t know how that started, or if any other auto manufacturer did the same thing.
Flashing your lights can actually get you a ticket in most places in the US that I know of. Police officers consider it a distraction to other drivers that is potentially dangerous.
Or when passing then returning to the right lane at night (left in countries where applicable, obviously.) In this instance you already have your lights on and quickly turn them off and back on. I first read about this habit in one of Douglas Adams’ books (one of the Dirk Gentlys I believe) and have taken it up. It’s primarily (from what I assume) used with semi trucks or buses which might find it tricky to judge just how much room they have. The handful of times I’ve done it I’ve gotten say, 80% no response but every so often the driver will wink their lights at me in acknowledgement and in the greatest instance of all I flashed my lights at a Greyhound bus passing me to let them know they were in the clear and somehow they managed to make every light on the bus ripple off and on from front to back. My friend in the passenger seat at the time gasped and said “HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!”
I’ve seen this as well. Also sometimes when I’ve been a pedestrian waiting to cross the street at night at one of those crosswalks that’s just in the middle of the road, a driver will flash their lights at me as they approach to indicate that they see me and it’s safe to step out in front of them.
In New Zealand we use it exactly the same way they do in Australia.
In Singapore it is a somewhat agressive signal - akin to “this is my road, sit the fuck where you are and don’t move” or “can’t you see me coming you moron…stay where you are”
