Driving with Hazards On!

[Gau_8]

Please allow me to vent.

A couple of days ago I had to drive in a toad strangler of a thunderstorm in South Florida. Visibility was bad and made it unsafe to drive more than 20 MPH.

IT IS ILLEGAL AND UNSAFE TO DRIVE WITH HAZARD FLASHERS ON!!!

It renders your turn signals inoperative and makes it hard to tell if you apply the brakes. Plus you can't tell if the vehicle is moving or stopped.

Hazards are for vehicles parked or disabled along the roadway. Turns your headlights on and leave the flashers off. If it is too bad, try to pull well off the roadway and only then turn on the hazards!

The number of people driving with the flashers on created a very scary and dangerous condition.

[wanderingbob]

I worked auto insurance claims for 32 years in Florida ! When considering the right or wrong of an action ask yourself what a jury would decide ! I once had to appear in reference to a driver who was driving with his PARKING LITES on in the rain . The jury decided that the fellow who pulled out in front of him had a right to assume that the auto was parked. What are your actions signaling to other drivers ?

[chevor]

wintersun wrote:
It is illegal in California as well to use flashers while moving. Doubt most people actually take time to review the DMV guide and once they have their driver's license renewal is for the most part automatic.

Danger is that motorists will come to think that when approaching a vehicle that it is simply moving slower than other traffic when in fact it may be at a standstill. Most highway patrol casualties are from motorists that are not paying attention and drive into the back of a patrol car that is parked beside the road.

Second officers are often used as spotters and they will stand far away from the patrol car and the car/motorist that has been pulled over so that they are out of harm's way and can shout out to the officer if another car appears to be headedd their way. It is also why the officers in California at least now stand on the passenger side of the car.

I think California is backwards on so many Topics. If you dont know enough to slow down SHOW RESPECT for slower traffic you shouldnt be on the road.

[Francesca_Knowl]

wintersun wrote:
It is illegal in California as well to use flashers while moving.

Here's a link to the California code- where does it say that such a use is prohibited?

[rhagfo]

Well great theory, but not much Common Sense out there any more! Way too many think their vehicle will save them with gizrmos, traction control, roll control etc. if flashing Hazared Warning lights do that all the better!!!

[wa8yxm]

Though they do render the turn signals in-op, they DO NOT render the brake lights IN OP.

(*) ( ) (*) ( ) means 4 ways on
(***********) is brake lights

[wintersun]

It is illegal in California as well to use flashers while moving. Doubt most people actually take time to review the DMV guide and once they have their driver's license renewal is for the most part automatic.

Danger is that motorists will come to think that when approaching a vehicle that it is simply moving slower than other traffic when in fact it may be at a standstill. Most highway patrol casualties are from motorists that are not paying attention and drive into the back of a patrol car that is parked beside the road.

Second officers are often used as spotters and they will stand far away from the patrol car and the car/motorist that has been pulled over so that they are out of harm's way and can shout out to the officer if another car appears to be headedd their way. It is also why the officers in California at least now stand on the passenger side of the car.

[remoandiris]

Dakzuki wrote:
Looks like Fla needs to get their act together as they are in conflict with federal law. LINK

Did you read the article you linked to? Here are the final 4 paragraphs;

But Lt. Jeff Frost of the Florida Highway Patrol does not believe the conflicting language should cause confusion, as long as drivers remember that flashing emergency lights mean a vehicle is sitting still.

Frost said all drivers who see flashing emergency lights should immediately assume a vehicle is broken down in, or beside, the road and should take appropriate action.

After spending years on the open highway, truck driver Rick Long is adamant that drivers of passenger vehicles pose a danger when they drive with flashers on.

Long said too many drivers use flashers when they are moving slowly. Other drivers approaching from the rear might stop in the road when they see flashers, thinking the vehicle is stopped, and that could trigger a pileup.
-----------------
As for the OPs comments, I also hate it when people drive with their flashers on in Fla rain storms. It is illegal in Fla.

[cbconway]

When I approach a vehicle who's using 4-way flashers, there are two possibilities:

a) He/she is a knowledgeable driver who is informing me of a potential hazard in a legal and proper way, or

b) He/she is not using the flashers in a legal or proper way due to ignorance, incompetence, or DUI.

In both situations I am thankful that the use of flashers provides me with information I need in order to avoid either the hazard or the idiot driver. No complaint here!

[pitch]

Why would NYS post a sign on Rt 13N out of Ithaca stating,"TRUCKS BELOW 45 MPH USE FLASHERS" Why when I prepared oversize permits one of the sentences read,(I am paraphrasing) A yellow flashing light must be displayed on all four outboard corner, Rotating yellow beacons may be substituted for flashing lights. Lights must be no smaller than 4 sq inches.
What I do not understand are the guys that will put a load of mulch or whatever in the bed of their pickup and drive with the flashers on.

[K3WE]

So, we call them hazard lights, right? Not "I'm-stopped-on-the-side-of-the-road-lights".

I'd say that driving unusually slow, whether up a hill or down a hill or dealing with reduced visibility or a mechanical issue, or delivering the mail with stop and go driving, or a farmer driving a tractor on a state road...you are a hazard.

It makes awfully good sense to me to let other drivers know- "hey, I'm driving unusually" That's exactly what those blinking lights convey!

I don't care what the law says- the law and optimum safety are not the same thing- I appreciate someone who's 15 or 20 MPH below the speed limit giving me a heads up as I approach them, I appreciate it when a traffic jam begins to form, and I appreciate it when someone hits a sudden downpour.

I do worry at these folks who blurt out that it's some kind of hazard to run your hazard lights. Informing other drivers that you are not going with the flow is a very safe thing to do.

Now, as to the question of reduced visibility where everyone has slowed down to the same slower speed???...maybe then they don't add much then, but then again, I call bologna that they cause harm.

[rhagfo]

Gau 8 wrote:
Please allow me to vent.

A couple of days ago I had to drive in a toad strangler of a thunderstorm in South Florida. Visibility was bad and made it unsafe to drive more than 20 MPH.

IT IS ILLEGAL AND UNSAFE TO DRIVE WITH HAZARD FLASHERS ON!!!

It renders your turn signals inoperative and makes it hard to tell if you apply the brakes. Plus you can't tell if the vehicle is moving or stopped.

Hazards are for vehicles parked or disabled along the roadway. Turns your headlights on and leave the flashers off. If it is too bad, try to pull well off the roadway and only then turn on the hazards!

The number of people driving with the flashers on created a very scary and dangerous condition.

Why was this Scary and Dangerous situation, was it not already that!
Did you slow when you saw all the flashing lights?
Most people see a freeway or highway as driveable at the speed limit no matter the weather or road conditions! Way too many refuse to drive for the condition, and speed forward into the blindness! Then blame the slower driver for driving for the conditions.
I see the Four ways as a great way to warn the drivers approaching from the rear. Most drivers don't look far enough down the road to recognize danger before it is too late!

[mlts22]

If I have to hard brake, I jam the flashers on so people behind me see a dangerous situation and are able to slow down before they get intimate with my rear hitch.

If I'm pulling to the side of the road, I pull off, flip the 4-ways on, even if the only reason I'm pulling off is to let faster traffic by.

I'd rather people try to make themselves be seen than not.

[Dakzuki]

Gau 8 wrote:
Francesca,

Don't need to look again. I got it right the first time. Pay attention. hazard lights are not to be used while vehicle is in motion in Florida and all but about 7 of the other states. It is clear from the replies that nothing posted here will change anyone's mind.

I said my piece. The situation I described was ,IMHO and that of the law, made more dangerous by use of flashers while still moving. It scared me and I don't scare easily.

Looks like Fla needs to get their act together as they are in conflict with federal law. LINK

There should be a national standard for things like this. The federal CDL rules should trump.

[okhmbldr]

The postman just drove thru the neighbor hood with his lights flashing. I think I'll have him arrested!

Sorry, couldn't help myself.