It's dark out. Put your F#%@&! lights on!

[jyl]

If I am forced to drive well below prevailing speed, I will turn on my flashers regardless of the law.

Reason - flashers are supposed to indicate a vehicle stationary in an unsafe place. But if I am limping along at 40 mph on the freeway where prevailing speed is 70-75 mph, then for all practical purposes I may as well be stationary. Gettiing clobbered from the rear is going to be very bad, for me and for the other guy, just as if I were stationary. And the correct action for the other guy is to notice me and change lanes quickly, just as if I were stationary.

Obviously I'd ideally be limping along on the shoulder rather than a regular lane, but in urban areas freeways frequently have no shoulders.

[DasBoot]

The BIGGER problem is if people become acclimated to seeing mo-mo's driving with their flashers on. What happens when, eventually, someone is actually STOPPED on the roadway with their flashers on due to an emergency? You will think they are just ignorantly/blissfully driving along and BANG! Read-ender.

Don't drive with your flashers on, folks. It ain't smart.

[DasBoot]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

The use of flashers during low visibility conditions does improve one's ability to see the cars (using flashers) ahead. This was very common practice in FL when a sudden downpour occured. It's fine if you don't like it Boot, but many others do.

And the people driving with their flashers on are typically geezers or third-worlder's. If you're that freaked out or can't see, then you should pull over. NOT slow down and put on your flashers. You/they are creating a danger to everyone else on the road.

Doesn't matter if I don't like it. It's illegal and dangerous.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by DasBoot

Yes.

How about people who activate their emergency flashers when driving in heavy rain. WTF? What third-world country did they learn that from?

Here in Houston, we have a new brand of idiots that run their flashers when on the freeway at full speed at night. I've heard that they do it when a car is following another car so they can see the lead car. I've seen 3-5 cars in a row on the highway going 70 all with their flasher's on. They look like a flashing serpent snaking their way through cars.

I think it's mostly kids.

[DasBoot]

Originally Posted by jyl

If I am forced to drive well below prevailing speed, I will turn on my flashers regardless of the law.

Reason - flashers are supposed to indicate a vehicle stationary in an unsafe place. But if I am limping along at 40 mph on the freeway where prevailing speed is 70-75 mph, then for all practical purposes I may as well be stationary. Gettiing clobbered from the rear is going to be very bad, for me and for the other guy, just as if I were stationary. And the correct action for the other guy is to notice me and change lanes quickly, just as if I were stationary.

Obviously I'd ideally be limping along on the shoulder rather than a regular lane, but in urban areas freeways frequently have no shoulders.

Then pull over and stop (or exit the freeway). Don't continue driving if it's not safe.

[imcarthur]

Illegal or not, there are 2 instances when you are crazed not to use 4 ways. Florida torrential downpours are certainly one that qualifies. A snow whiteout on a highway is another. And don't tell me I shouldn't keep driving because in those conditions you can't stop or pull over safely because you can't see the side of the road or exits. And you have no idea where all of the other traffic is. Proceeding slowly with 4 ways is the smart thing to do.

I will take the ticket & live, thank you.

Ian

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by DasBoot

And the people driving with their flashers on are typically geezers or third-worlder's. If you're that freaked out or can't see, then you should pull over. NOT slow down and put on your flashers. You/they are creating a danger to everyone else on the road.

You really need to spend more time outside of Oklahoma. Maybe you'll learn to be a bit less opinionated.

[on2wheels52]

I just happy brake lights aren't manually activated.
Jim

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

Illegal or not, there are 2 instances when you are crazed not to use 4 ways. Florida torrential downpours are certainly one that qualifies. A snow whiteout on a highway is another. And don't tell me I shouldn't keep driving because in those conditions you can't stop or pull over safely because you can't see the side of the road or exits. And you have no idea where all of the other traffic is. Proceeding slowly with 4 ways is the smart thing to do.

I will take the ticket & live, thank you.

Ian

Agreed. The people that pull off to the side are in a great deal of danger in these conditions. Same with suddenly entering an area that's fogged in.

[DasBoot]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

You really need to spend more time outside of Oklahoma. Maybe you'll learn to be a bit less opinionated.

It's not my opinion, it's the law and a matter of public safety. Plus, I lived in Calif. for 20 yrs. and FL for 10 yrs. Been there, done that.

Oh, and some idiots here drive with their flashers on too. We just don't have as many idiots as the rest of y'all.

[Jim Richards]

OK. It appears we're at an impasse.

[DasBoot]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

Proceeding slowly with 4 ways is the smart thing to do.

I will take the ticket & live, thank you.

Ian

And what happens when you come upon a vehicle that is legitimately stopped (broken down) in the middle lane with their emergency flashers on?

Hasn't happen to you yet, has it?

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by DasBoot

If Brian couldn't see due to the heavy rain, he shouldn't have been driving (or driving at such a speed where he couldn't see ahead). THIS behavior causes the messy, deadly accidents you see every night on the news.

Boot, this is exactly like what you've been saying in this thread, except you've been blaming the guy with the flashers on for causing people to slam on their brakes or swerve to another lane. It's the guy who's driving too fast who is at fault!

When I have encountered sudden downpours, I slow down and put on my flashers.

And I slow down enough that when I see other people with their flashers on ahead of me, I don't need to slam on brakes.

If a messy, deadly rear-ender accident occurs in heavy rain, it is not because someone has their flashers on... it is because of an idiot who is driving too fast for conditions.

[DasBoot]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

OK. It appears we're at an impasse.

Don't pay any attention to my rant. Just read the driver's manual in your state. They wouldn't make up this dumb law for no reason, correct?

[DasBoot]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

Boot, this is exactly like what you've been saying in this thread, except you've been blaming the guy with the flashers on for causing people to slam on their brakes or swerve to another lane. It's the guy who's driving too fast who is at fault!

You are 100% correct. The idiots that drive too fast in the rain are equally to blame as well. Problem is, adding idiots with their flashers on compounds the problem.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by DasBoot

You are 100% correct. The idiots that drive too fast in the rain are equally to blame as well. Problem is, adding idiots with their flashers on compounds the problem.

Well, it may be against the law in some states to drive with flashers on, but in the overview, everyone is safer if the rear of a car can be seen sooner and from a greater distance.

People here who have mentioned sudden downpours in Florida will tell you that a car going extremely slowly or sitting still on the road with it's brakelights on can't be seen as soon as a car with it's flashers on.

For me and most non-idiots, it's WAY safer to have those flashers on. I don't believe that it would make a difference either way with the idiot drivers... they're more likely to cause a wreck regardless.

I vote for making it safer for the non-idiots.

[DasBoot]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

Well, it may be against the law in some states to drive with flashers on, but in the overview, everyone is safer if the rear of a car can be seen sooner and from a greater distance.

Once again, I have to ask. What would you do if you came upon a car stopped in the middle of the freeway with their flashers on? (This is a rhetorical question, as I already know the answer. You would most likely rear-end it, or swerve at the last minute to avoid the rear-ender, possibly losing control of your vehicle or hitting a car in the next lane.)

I'm not going to debate this. And I'm not about to change people's (bad) habits, just as I can't stop you from smoking or eating cheeseburgers. But I can say, as with smoking & cheesebugers, driving with your emergency flashers on is dangerous to your/my health.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by DasBoot

Then pull over and stop (or exit the freeway). Don't continue driving if it's not safe.

That works in less dense areas. In urban areas, freeways often have no shoulders. There is nowhere to pull over, for miles.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by DasBoot

Once again, I have to ask. What would you do if you came upon a car stopped in the middle of the freeway with their flashers on? (This is a rhetorical question, as I already know the answer. You would most likely rear-end it, or swerve at the last minute to avoid the rear-ender, possibly losing control of your vehicle or hitting a car in the next lane.)

We have been talking about in heavy rain or fog.

I would stop and/or change lanes.

And I would do it safely, because I wouldn't be coming up on this car at a speed that is unsafe for conditions.

And, thanks to that vehicle having flashers on, I would be able to see it sooner than if it were sitting there with just its brakelights on.



You haven't made your point stronger. Cheeseburgers or not.

[DasBoot]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

I would stop and/or change lanes.

Why would you stop or change lanes? The vehicle, with its emergency flashers on in the middle lane of the freeway, is obviously moving, no?