Around here it seems to be a newer driver and/or immigrant driver thing, not sure if they are teaching this in driving schools or what? You'll see people driving with them on in the rain now like it's some sort of requirement. They often have those yellow "New Driver" stickers on their cars too.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Hazard lights are not permitted to be used while driving in WV where this occurred, or Florida where the car was from, in this situation.

AAA disagrees with you re: Hazard Light usage in BOTH of those states!

I use them every time a highway lane stops due to traffic. I put them on because I don’t want to get rear ended. Many times I’m in the right most lane so I can take a highway overpass. This/these lane(s) will stop because people are fucking stupid. I can take the overpass at 80 mph in my truck but people will slow down to ridiculous shit like 25-30 mph and/or they jam on the brakes for no reason. In virtually any vehicle it’s safe to do so at 55-60 mph provided we are not in inclement weather. But they jam on the brakes, drive ridiculously slow, and it causes a traffic jam of 1-2 miles. Once there are a few cars behind me to block getting rear ended I turn them off. I feel it a necessity because I’ve had people coming up on me at 70 mph and I’m stopped, cold, due to the lane stoppage. The driver behind then gets far too close and has to jam on the brakes. I’ve had so many times where they go into the service road because they cannot stop in time. The hazards are at least a warning to the fucking idiots. “Hey dipshit, this lane is stopped completely so slow your dumb ass down!”

People cannot drive in a turn either. In a straight line sure they’ll blast away, driving at ridiculous speeds for their talent or skill level. Once a turn comes they park it and do stupid shit.

Same goes for inclement weather. The other night we had a slight impact to visibility. It was slightly raining, but it was so light your intermittent wiper setting could be on, and your wiper blade would make that awful noise as it sweeps raw glass with no moisture. I was turning the intermittent wiper setting on/off due to this. Visibility was mildly impacted yet people were driving like there was snow and sand on the roads. Highway was backed up in both directions due to this. It was cold but not freezing, and there was moisture present but not enough to cause traction issues unless you were going WFO for no reason. No hazards were used I just point it out because like this idiot Florida driver in the OP, well it’s the same here. If it’s raining they act like it’s snow on the ground. If there is any fog with light rain they act like there is ice on the road. And when it’s really snowing or actual ice, you don’t even want to be on the road at all because people are fucking stupid. Many of them don’t even have all seasons or proper tires for either. Yet they are out on the highway doing 20 mph, constantly braking for no reason. Inclement weather driving here is awful because the drivers are so bad. TX and FL drivers could swap their stupidity and bad driving with each other and you’d never know the damn difference.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:

AAA disagrees with you re: Hazard Light usage in BOTH of those states!

Not while driving down the road. Unless there's very limited visibility such as in heavy fog.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Hazard lights are not permitted to be used while driving in WV where this occurred, or Florida where the car was from, in this situation.

AAA disagrees with you re: Hazard Light usage in BOTH of those states!

Allowed in FL, it's stupid, yes, but someone put up a bill and changed the law!

quote:

Yet they are out on the highway doing 20 mph, constantly braking for no reason.

I believe part of the problem is people driving with their right foot on the gas pedal and simultaneously with their left foot on the brake pedal. I've watched cars accelerate after a stop light changes to green with the brake lights still on. Gotta wonder how often they have to change their brake pads.

From what I read it's allowed only in "extremely low visibility" from heavy rain, fog, or smoke, thanks to a 2021 law; however, safety experts still advise against it, as it confuses other drivers.

I hate to break this to you but heavy rain in the southern states certainly qualifies as “very limited visibility”.

These threads come up every so often and it’s kind of funny. These threads seems to say that in poor visibility and bad conditions a) people drive too slow and b) flashers somehow make a bad situation worse.

I think both these are non starters to me. Bad weather, low vis, slick conditions, do you know what the last thing is that I find to be irritating? People slowing down, turning on their headlights, and gasp using their flashers as the speed of traffic slows.

How is the use of flashers to signify a change in conditions a bad thing? Usually I’ve seen people doing this when traffic goes from freeway speed to slow speeds. It’s to let traffic coming up that everybody is slowing. There is a lot of benefit and very little negative about this practice.

I’ve lived from Maine down to Maryland and I gotta tell you Florida plates aren’t the ones I routinely saw off the road. It was locals, it was people who should know better.

This whole thread reeks of complaining about someone driving appropriately for conditions, using their flashers in lowered visibility and you just wanted to go faster. So who exactly are we supposed to think is wrong here?

Slow down and everybody gets home alive. Relax about flashers. For every state that disallows there is a state that allows. This ain’t settled science. lol

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
I hate to break this to you but heavy rain in the southern states certainly qualifies as “very limited visibility”.

You're not breaking anything to me because that's what I said. Fog probably would be the most frequent around here sometimes you can't see more than 20' past the front of your car.

My rant was people in general, such as the one I had to follow, driving with their flashers on when visibility is perfectly fine. Your lights are on, we all SEE YOUR CAR, turn off your damn flashers. It's annoying and illegal.

I just interpret the Hazards-on-While-Driving as a warning that the driver likely doesn't know what (s)he may do next.

quote:

Originally posted by Some Shot:
I just interpret the Hazards-on-While-Driving as a warning that the driver likely doesn't know what (s)he may do next.

Probably so..... "I don't know what I'm doing so I put my bright ass LED flashers on to irritate everyone who does, and also to make it a surprise if I take an exit."

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Hazard lights are not permitted to be used while driving in WV where this occurred, or Florida where the car was from, in this situation.

AAA disagrees with you re: Hazard Light usage in BOTH of those states!

Allowed in FL, it's stupid, yes, but someone put up a bill and changed the law!

IF you can't see 100' in front of the car, but people use them in normal rain.....they're NOT legal for that. only in EXTREME LOW visibility issues

Legal Use of Hazard Lights: As of July 1, 2021, Florida law permits the use of hazard lights while driving in conditions of "extreme low visibility." This change was made to enhance safety during severe weather events, allowing drivers to signal caution to others on the road.
3
Specific Conditions: The law specifies that hazard lights can be activated when visibility is significantly reduced due to weather conditions like heavy rain, fog, or smoke. This is particularly applicable on highways where the posted speed limit is 55 mph or higher.

Yea but did you die?

Rain?

Seriously, if you can't drive in rain without flashers you might want to hang it up.

We get some rain here in the PNW. Occasionally.

Now ice, snow, fog, those can represent some hazards that may warrant using flashers.

Typically if around here if I see flashers there has been a wreck. People are stopped, or almost. It's a cautionary thing.

My worst incident was coming into Phoenix late and it was raining. Come in through downtown in multiple lanes and people are running flashers. WTF - took me a bit to figure out there is no wreck. Just rain. Ugh

Cheers~

Oh brother. Come down here to the south and drive when the bottom falls out of a thunderstorm. Visibility drops to feet. Then a truck sends a solid wave of water across your windscreen.

Heavy rain is as bad as it gets from a visibility standpoint. You can go from barely seeing the car in front of you to zero zero instantly.

Since this comes in the form of squall lines it also means you are driving 70 in light rain and in seconds vis plummets and everybody starts dramatically slowing down, hence the flashers. Which is why here in Florida they are legal because contrary to everything above, when visibility drops additional lighting helps. Contrary to the “it hurts my eyes” commentary.

It’s snowing…already figured that out. But while you’re at the red light with your hazards on from the opposite direction, I can’t tell that you’re trying to turn left. So I obstinately sit there too with my left turn signal on after the light turns green, now I turn on my hazards and throw my hands up until you drive around me because I pulled into the middle of the intersection and stopped because you are a dumbass. This was 3:30pm Saturday. Stoopid sheeple drive with their hazards on. Don’t do it.

Well there are a couple conversations going on here. Driving on freeways, driving in town, low visibility, and then just light rain light snow good visibility and just having your hazards on.

Some of you think low visibility isn’t a good reason to have hazards on. Ok. Well, some states are ok with it some aren’t. Take your pick. Cops won’t pull you over anywhere for using them in low visibility or rain or snow so don’t expect help there.

If traffic changes speed suddenly some of you don’t think flashers are warranted. Once again, states vary but I believe common sense says that is a perfect time to use them. As mentioned above, once you are ensconced in a deep layer of cars all traveling the new slower speed they should probably come off.

Just driving around town in snow/rain but normal visibility? I don’t think anyone in this thread is a fan. The caveat being your interpretation of low visibility isn’t a scientific metric, it’s just your opinion. The next guys tolerance may be higher or lower than yours. (See jimmy’s definition of “extreme” low visibility whatever that means lol)

As in all things common sense should prevail. Up to and including breaking traffic laws if it is safer. Would you really sit at a broken red traffic light on an empty road forever or would you use common sense and solve your problem even though it’s against the law?

If you use flashers and you can articulate why you felt it was safer then I’m on your side. If your flashers are on because you forgot you turned them on? Not so much. Is it worth this “it burns my eyes” nonsense or turn signal argument? Probably not especially since around here turn signals seem to be optional on a clear blue mid summer day.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Oh brother. Come down here to the south and drive when the bottom falls out of a thunderstorm. Visibility drops to feet. .....hence the flashers. Which is why here in Florida they are legal because contrary to everything above, when visibility drops additional lighting helps. Contrary to the “it hurts my eyes” commentary.

You completely miss the point when you try to justify driving around with your flashers on in good visibility, to using flashers when visibility is only in feet.

Come here to the mid Atlantic and drive in good visibility, at night, when you can see everything lit for a mile, with light snow falling, the ground and road are covered in white stuff we call snow, and follow some idiot driving with their glaring LED flashers. Besides the Florida flasher, the only two vehicles that had their flashers on were the 2 trucks that were stopped, and hung up off the road (proper use of flashers). No other vehicles traveling in either direction had flashers on.

quote:

People driving with their flashers on

When inappropriate. That picture, if truly indicative of the driving conditions at the time, is a gray area (double entendre intended). The driver, being from FL, may have been using the flashers out of abundance of caution.

I wrote out a response but am about to delete it and replace it with this.

I’ve reread your account. I’m using your descriptions. You are actually the problem here not that guy with Florida plates. I say that having lived 30 years cumulatively driving in Maine, Rhode Island, and Maryland when I was in the military. I’ve seen more local plates in various medians than southerners by the way.

You are irritated because initially you are on an interstate (let’s say 55-70 posted speed limit) and come up on a driver going 35mph with his flashers on. Your words, the interstate is down to one plowed lane and the other lane has four (4”) inches of snow. It’s actively snowing, it’s nighttime, it is not what anyone considers “normal” visibility. It’s restricted visibility. If you hadn’t wanted to exit you would have gone around him going some speed above his stated 35 and probably gone even faster once you passed and were back on a plowed lane and actually could see the road, markings, etc.

You are pissed that he had flashers on, yet you were exhibiting the exact behavior that caused him to put his hazards on in the first place. Guys like you driving fast for conditions and he doesn’t want to be rear ended when you speed up on him in the snow, down to one lane, lowered visibility, and the other lane has four inches of snow.

So all that, and we are supposed to agree with you that he’s the problem? Don’t think so.