Safety flashers

As I am one of those big rig drivers, in Oregon the rule is 25 MPH hour under the speed limit ..and its our company rule also They MUST be on. SO.... The speed limit is 55 for trucks in Oregon so I am required to use 4ways At 30 MPH or less by Law. Im sorry some of you dont like the law ,but you would not believe the inattentive people that come up on me at high speed and almost hit the rear of my trailers .. and thats with the 4 ways!! I and other truckers do not generally go that slow unless we are climbing a hill .. DO NOT follow me that closely if you cant tell if im braking ( unlikely going up hill ) or moving over ( when the lane ends at the top of the hill) Pass or stay back. Sorry but its just a pet peeve of us slow truckers.
I am on the road ever day ?night and the 4 ways do raise attention to the slow movement .. you would not believe how transfixed most drivers are that they dont realize until too late .. As i said it happens every day to me without fail. 4 ways are meant to signify a hazzard and trust me if your going 25 mph under the speed speed limit you are a Hazzard !!

Their use for slow moving vehicle should be outlawed in every state. In most cases, it overrides the vehicles turn signals. If you are along side a big rig, and he flips them on, it appears as if he is getting ready to turn into your lane. This may cause you to take evasive action and cause an accident. And as Dave said, it can also cause an issue with brake lights. If you are behind a truck that has the hazards on, and the truck hits the brakes, that extra second it takes for you to realize they are no longer blinking could also cause an accident.

A safer and more effective alternative for vehicles that routinely must drive much slower than the posted speed would be for them to require one of those amber rotating lights; the same kind that snowplows and utility trucks use. That way, you still know to take extra caution when you approach one, yet it does no affect the turn and brake lights, so you still know what they are doing or planning to do.

Kris

Only time we use them is when we come up on stopped or rapidly slowing traffic, from an accident or whatever, up ahead.
Turn them on just long enough, to make sure those, after us slow down and don't hit us. One mountain the heavy semis will be creeping along, and wife insist on getting trapped behind them. They turn on theirs. Sometimes we d if the traffic is closing fast on us but not for long.

I thought they were named hazard warning flashers. There for if u become a hazard u apply them, such as below min safe speed, or stopped on the side of the highway, or no marker or stop lights on rear at least that's what fed dot on scale stop told me. In SC when they found out my stops didn't work at the scale house, when I stop for axle weight measurement.

Emergency flashers should be used for emergencies.... hence the name. Not buying enough truck or overloading your RV does not constitute an emergency (felony stupid yes, emergency.... not so much). :S

Florida Statutes prohibit use of flashers unless stopped or disabled.

Emergency lights
"(7)?Flashing lights are prohibited on vehicles except:
.....(a) As a means of indicating a right or left turn, to change lanes, or to indicate that the vehicle is lawfully stopped or disabled upon the highway;

Discussion came up when Gainesville Sun paper advocated that drivers on I-75 slow to 4o-45 mph in heavy rain, turn their flashers on and restrict traffic flow in both lanes for safety.. FHP and Legislature disagreed.

I do agree, there are times that using the flashers to alert traffic you are a slow hazard is sensible...

And all this time I thought (safety or hazard or 4 ways) were to warn others of (slow vehicle, collision ahead, etc)

Yes, the point is speed differential. If there is no speed differential, there is no reason to use your flashers.

On the other hand, if the rest of the traffic is doing 70 and you are doing 45, yes, you need to warn people, and that is what flashers are for.

Using flashers when everyone is going slow, or in stop and go traffic actually creates a hazard. The flashing is distracting and you could easily cause the guy behind you to miss something important farther down the road. Not only that, but you actually loose reaction time as one must differentiate the flasher turning on, and actual brake lights staying on. Probably loose over a full second of reaction time.

Unless you are the emergency, you should not be running your emergency flashers.

wny_pat wrote:

Daveinet wrote:
IT should not have anything to do with the speed limit relative to your speed. If the speed limit is 70 and all the traffic is doing 35, it would be extremely annoying if you turn your flashers on.

The point is, you should only use your flashers if you are doing something very unusual or unexpected. If you are generally flowing with the rest of the traffic, regardless of your speed, do not turn you flashers on. All you would be doing is being obnoxious to those behind you.

Maybe, but below the posted minimum speed limit on I-90 in NYS without flashers on would get you a traffic ticket. Does not matter if you are being obnoxious or pulling a hill.

Out of context....read the WHOLE post again

I think the most common posted "Use flashers below..." speed I've seen is 40 MPH, but other than that, I use mine in any unusual speed situation where I feel warning the vehicles behind me is safer than not using them, since I know they usually can't easily see what I'm seeing down the road. I also use them any time I have to travel below the minimum posted speed except in heavy traffic.