# people with high-beams on **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 9, 2002, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602 "2002-09-09T02:47:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chekmate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@Chekmate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chekmate)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/1 "2002-09-09T02:47:29Z")
we all know that to signal someone _in front_ of you that they have their brights on, you flash yours at them. What should I do to let the person that is _behind_ me know that they have theirs on? ---
**Author:** ![broys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@broys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broys)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/2 "2002-09-09T03:33:25Z")
Huh, good question. I’d probably tap my brakes a couple times and maybe they would notice my brake lights and think, “hey, my brights are on.” ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/3 "2002-09-09T03:33:25Z")
Slow down until they’re forced to pass you. When they pull in front of you, proceed to blind them. Or, you could adjust your mirror so the beams don’t bother you so much. ---
**Author:** ![broys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@broys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broys)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/4 "2002-09-09T03:39:24Z")
Huh, good question. I’d probably tap my brakes a couple times and maybe they would notice my brake lights and think, “hey, my brights are on.” ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/5 "2002-09-09T04:04:39Z")
Tap the breaks and gesticulate wildly in the mirror. If that doesn’t work, they’re drunk. ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/6 "2002-09-09T04:37:12Z")
OH! You meant _headlights_. Right. Uh… adjust your mirror. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/7 "2002-09-09T05:25:20Z")
Try wiggling your rearview mirror so that it shines the line back into the driver’s eyes. Sometimes they will actually get the message and dim the lights. Or try a trick I heard about once. Mount a couple of really bright lights on the rear deck of your car, aimed to hit the head of a following driver. Have a dash-mounted switch to control them. This could also be helpful with a tailgater. ---
**Author:** ![LolaBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@LolaBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaBaby)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/8 "2002-09-09T12:06:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary T \* > \*\*Try wiggling your rearview mirror so that it shines the line back into the driver’s eyes. Sometimes they will actually get the message and dim the lights. > > Or try a trick I heard about once. Mount a couple of really bright lights on the rear deck of your car, aimed to hit the head of a following driver. Have a dash-mounted switch to control them. This could also be helpful with a tailgater. \*\* **GaryT** , are you joking? If you’re not, is that legal?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/9 "2002-09-09T12:21:54Z")
Just deploy the oil slick and be done with it. ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/10 "2002-09-09T13:46:31Z")
I normally pull over so that the car can pass, and then flash my high beam at them once or twice. Hopefully they think “geez, what an idiot! Their high beam is right in my - oh!” And then at the very least _I’m_ not getting blinded anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/11 "2002-09-09T13:52:12Z")
Wow, totally not what I thought this was going to be about. -waiting for cooler weather- ---
**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/12 "2002-09-09T14:56:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary T \* > \*\* > Or try a trick I heard about once. Mount a couple of really bright lights on the rear deck of your car, aimed to hit the head of a following driver. Have a dash-mounted switch to control them. This could also be helpful with a tailgater. \*\* My brother and I used to use a similar trick. We had an old flatbed truck that we used to haul hay. Since there were plenty of days where we finished a job after dark, we had loading lights mounted all around the bed and up on a rack. If somebody didn’t dim his headlights after being blinked with our hi-beams, we’d give 'em a shot of the loading lights. Everbody got the message then. Since we had lights pointing towards the back, it worked just as well for tailgaters with hi-beams. ---
**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/13 "2002-09-09T15:06:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary T \* > \*\* > Or try a trick I heard about once. Mount a couple of really bright lights on the rear deck of your car, aimed to hit the head of a following driver. Have a dash-mounted switch to control them. This could also be helpful with a tailgater. \*\* My brother and I used to use a similar trick. We had an old flatbed truck that we used to haul hay. Since there were plenty of days where we finished a job after dark, we had loading lights mounted all around the bed and up on a rack. If somebody didn’t dim his headlights after being blinked with our hi-beams, we’d give 'em a shot of the loading lights. Everbody got the message then. Since we had lights pointing towards the back, it worked just as well for tailgaters with hi-beams. ---
**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/14 "2002-09-09T15:14:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary T \* > \*\* > Or try a trick I heard about once. Mount a couple of really bright lights on the rear deck of your car, aimed to hit the head of a following driver. Have a dash-mounted switch to control them. This could also be helpful with a tailgater. \*\* My brother and I used to use a similar trick. We had an old flatbed truck that we used to haul hay. Since there were plenty of days where we finished a job after dark, we had loading lights mounted all around the bed and up on a rack. If somebody didn’t dim his headlights after being blinked with our hi-beams, we’d give 'em a shot of the loading lights. Everbody got the message then. Since we had lights pointing towards the back, it worked just as well for tailgaters with hi-beams. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/15 "2002-09-09T16:26:08Z")
Mooch is not on his own. My car (an early 90s Hyundai) has a switch specifically for this! It’s an extra set of tail lamps that can be flicked on and off via a dashboard toggle. The button is marked by a crossed out set of blaring lights. No, it doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/16 "2002-09-09T18:50:55Z")
Do you mean car’s or NHO’s? ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/17 "2002-09-09T19:11:13Z")
I assume NHO=THO. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/18 "2002-09-09T20:05:57Z")
_Nipple Hard On_ ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/19 "2002-09-09T21:51:36Z")
Yep. Same thing. _Titty Hard On_ ---
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602/20 "2002-09-10T02:08:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary T \* > **Try wiggling your rearview mirror so that it shines the line back into the driver’s eyes. Sometimes they will actually get the message and dim the lights.** I have done this. It works. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-high-beams-on/127602.md?page=2)