# Someone flashes their high-beams at you. Your high-beams aren't on. What do you do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 9, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-flashes-their-high-beams-at-you-your-high-beams-arent-on-what-do-you-do/709413 "2015-01-09T17:04:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-flashes-their-high-beams-at-you-your-high-beams-arent-on-what-do-you-do/709413/41 "2015-01-10T23:14:02Z")
This has literally never happened to me. Either I drive in the wrong (perhaps right) places after dark, or my lights are actually aimed correctly. Or both. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-flashes-their-high-beams-at-you-your-high-beams-arent-on-what-do-you-do/709413/42 "2015-01-11T06:47:58Z")
What **TheFaerie** , **elbows** , and **Leaffan** said. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-flashes-their-high-beams-at-you-your-high-beams-arent-on-what-do-you-do/709413/43 "2015-01-11T14:16:35Z")
Check to make sure my own headlights are on, because last I checked, I wasn’t perfect. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-flashes-their-high-beams-at-you-your-high-beams-arent-on-what-do-you-do/709413/44 "2015-01-11T16:33:10Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > As for those that mention police, deer, etc, I thought the tradition was turn blink the lights on and off, not low to high. Never heard of that. I’m with all the others who say flashing high beams = cop ahead. Also I see the “going over bumps looks like high beams” all the time, too. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-flashes-their-high-beams-at-you-your-high-beams-arent-on-what-do-you-do/709413/45 "2015-01-11T17:28:22Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > If my high-beams aren’t on when someone flashes theirs at me, I’ll flash my high-beams once to demonstrate that they were/are off. That is the response I would hope to receive if the situation were reversed; there have been cases where I suspected other drivers of running their high-beams, and after flashing my high-beams at them and receiving no response of any kind, wished them a painful death. Here in California, the CHP is moving to SUVs and getting rid of the Crown Vics. The problem is as an SUV, their headlights are higher, and they have a lot of gear in the back which angles the front of the car up, making their headlights worse. I’ve spoken with officers who drive them, and they say they get headlights flashed at them a lot. Which, as I discovered when I flashed my high beams at a car that was blinding me, gives them a wonderful excuse to pull you over. The officer who pulled me over stated he does it a lot. He didn’t ticket me, but I do note it gives the officer a reason to stick his head in your window and check for any shenanigans. ---
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-flashes-their-high-beams-at-you-your-high-beams-arent-on-what-do-you-do/709413/46 "2015-01-11T17:36:28Z")
There is “something” ahead… Speed trap/accident/loose cattle/emu/ sinkhole… They’re trying to warn you and maybe save your ungrateful life! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-flashes-their-high-beams-at-you-your-high-beams-arent-on-what-do-you-do/709413.md?page=2)