I have been wondering about this for quite some time. When can I use the highbeam of my car headlights?
I know they are not supposed to be used in town driving, especially when you have traffic from the opposite direction( causing glare and all). And I have no problems with that either since town streets are generally illuminated and the speeds are not high.
But what about highways? Am I not supposed to use the highbeams there either? I ask because last night I put my high beam on and really liked the way the road ahead was illuminated. But not very long after, I came up behind a car, who then moved aside to let me pass, but then came up behing me and blinked his head lights as if trying to tell me that I was not following traffic rules by having my highbeam on. Was he right in doing that?
And if I am not supposed to be using highbeams on highways, then when and where do I ever use them?
Out in the middle of nowhere, where tree-lined roads and thick shadows soak up the little ambient light available, highbeams are very useful. But if you’re in an urban area, it really doesn’t come up much in my experience. The only exception I can think of is signaling other drivers.
I agree with Soul on where to use them–where there no illumination *and *no traffic. Now, where *not *to use them:
He was right in doing that. Most states have laws that prohibit the use of high beams when approaching another car within some distance, usually around 500 feet. That’s either facing them or coming up behind them. Having someone come up behind you with their high beams on is very distracting and annoying.
I assume you know that you should not use the high beams when another car is approaching you from the opposite direction. You should also not use your high beams when following behind a car. The high beams in the rear view mirror or side mirrors can make seeing quite difficult. I assume the other driver was in fact signaling just this to you by analogy with blinking your high beams at an approaching car being a reminder/request to turn your own high-beams off.
Depending on where you live and do your driving, you may or may not ever have occasion to use the high beams. The times when they really come in handy are when there are no other light sources (including other cars) around.
I cant find actual rules here for Aus, but about 4 years ago we had a tv show about driving laws in Australia - it was a game-show every viewer could take part in. Anyway, following the show, there were lots of debates about a couple of questions, ONE: that you DONT need to give way to busses if they are simply changing lanes. and TWO: that when overtaking a car (at night), you should SWITCH ON your highbeams then overtake signalling. This casued a bit of arguments here, as most people believed that you would be blinding the driver in front - which in a sense is true, but by doing so, you give them a clear signal that you ARE behind them.
You don’t use them when there is other traffic that will dazzled by them, either cars ahead of you in the same carriageway who will be dazzled from behind, or on-coming cars in the other carriageway.
Whether its a highway or not is irrelevant. I regularly use them on highways out in the boonies with no other traffic, but when other cars appear you dip them Actually its best to dip them before you are both directly visible as by then they are already dazzled (you can see the light from their headlights coming at night long before they are directly visible).
I’m guessing that the OP recently got a driver’s license and forgot this rule from learning it in driving school. Either that, or he lives in a place where the people are so polite that he never had someone behind him with the high beams on, because if that had ever happened, I bet he would have figured it out pretty quickly!
I like that you spell “busses” the same way I do. But, I don’t understand the point. Busses are just other vehicles; why would people think they must be treated specially (although, school busses have special no-passing rules that don’t involve right-of-way).
Also, the high-beams usually have a “flash-to-pass” feature. I could look up the law here, but irrespective of the law, the “polite” thing to do when passing a vehicle on a two-lane road is to flash the vehicle you are passing, in order to let them know that you’re doing so. However so many Americans are downright dumb, many of them will think you’re being aggressive, and then show you a naughty finger-sign as you pass them.
The rude thing to do is try and blind the car infront of you to let him know you are passing.
I let the car in front of me know I am passing by changing lanes to the left. If you are on a two lane road and a car comming up behind you changes into the other lane and you can not figure out that they are passing. Just pull over to the shoulder stop leave the driver’s seat and if someone else is in the car let them drive. If not use you cell phone and have someone pick you up.
If you pass me on high beams when you pull in front of me Il will use my high beams to let you know that I saw you pass me.
You tell the slower vehicle “I am passing” with a single flash of the high beams, which should be available by pulling the turn indicator back towards you. If you do this more than once, in California, it means “Please follow me me to my house for a fist-fight!”
Yeah, what you say. Snnipe 70E, the flash-to-pass lights are on a momentary switch. It’s not the same as turning on the high beams. That’s why it’s “flash” and not “blind.”
I agree with **Snnipe **. It’s very aggressive, and I’ve certainly never considered it “polite” to flash to signal passing. I realize that you’re trying to be safe, but I’ve never had any difficulty realizing that someone was behind me at night (even when towing, etc.), but I’ve certainly been dazzled by other drivers flashing their high-beams unnecessarily.
It’s almost as bad as the “beep-to-pass” mindset, who then buy ridiculously loud airhorns and lay on them while passing. Causing other drivers to bleed from the ears (or eyes) is neither polite nor safe. It’s also illegal in many places (Washington State, at least, and I’m sure other places as well).
If you can’t pass safely, don’t. A driver who doesn’t realize another vehicle is behind him at night already has problems that you can’t solve. If one comes up behind another vehicle at night and flashes their lights, I think a finger gesture is the best they could hope for. If they are really downright dumb (and/or drunk)they will tailgate for miles with their high beams on, or move to prevent you from passing.
Sorry, I meant to say that flashing high beams at other drivers was illegal, although I implied that only beeping while passing was illegal. It all depends on where you are, of couse.
That’s been my understanding as well. Knightrunner, are you saying this isn’t legal or safe?
In many countries it’s illegal to pass on the outside lane. (And it’s dangerous to do so everywhere, or at least dangerous for it to become commonplace IMO.) If you want to pass a car that’s already in the fast lane, the standard practice is to flash the high beam, which is a request for that car to move over to the slow lane.
Is traffic on a divided highway considered to be oncoming? It’s on a different road, usually offset enough so the glare is not too bad (and the danger of a head on collision is much lower).
Reason I ask is that the speed on a divided highway is usually too fast for low beams. I don’t want to be an ass and blind other drivers, but I really don’t mind high beams on cars on the other side of a wide median. I have noticed that truck drivers seem to mind the most.
I originally took “two-lane road” to mean a single carriageway with two-way traffic, but the same would apply to a multi-lane dual carriageway, perhaps to a lesser degree.
Yes, in many places (including Washington and Idaho) it is illegal both to flash other vehicles and to overtake on the right. I don’t actually know what the legal options are if you are behind someone puttering in the far left lane, but I think they are pretty limited. When this occurs, in my experience, the vast majority of drivers either wait until the guy moves over, or illegally pass on the right.
I personally (like most people) would move over to the right if someone came up behind me, following both the law and common sense. Actually, if the right lane were clear I would already be there. There are some exceptions (left exits, such as are common in Connecticut), but every driver should know to travel primarily in the right hand lanes (obviously this applies only in right-hand drive countries). I automatically assume that a person who doesn’t follow this rule is an inexperienced driver, intoxicated, or deliberately trying to be a jerk (possibly all 3).
That being said, is it safer to flash behind someone is travelling slowly in a far left lane or to pass on the right? I’d say it probably depends on the situation. I know that police in some places consider this to be aggressive driving, and I personally find sudden flashes in my mirrors to be distracting and irritating (imagine a camera flash temporarily ruining your night vision). In fact, I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t find high beams behind them to be annoying. Someone who falls in the intoxicated or deliberate jerk category would not be likely to respond well to this (hence the rude hand gestures). Even a driver that’s simply inexperienced could get flustered. It’s even worse when the flasher decides to tailgate while flashing.
I don’t think the flashing is very likely to cause an accident due to sudden night-blindness, but it’s likely to provoke a negative response.
California and Nevada law is the same. When I took CA drivers ed, we were told to just memorize these two numbers. The multiple choice questions are set up so that each number only appears once in the two questions.