hey it's raining - let's all put our hazard lights on!

[Jeeebus]

I swear 1 out of 5 cars on I-95 in Miami this morning had their blinkers on. Idiots. I should have stood my ground.

 

[Imp]

Most people don't even turn their rear lights on during a storm... Thank goodness for mandatory day-time running lights out the front at least.

 

[jagec]

They are just using the hazard lights for their intended purpose...alerting other drivers to a possible hazard that they should be aware of.

Namely, that you should use caution when passing them since they clearly are awful drivers.


And yes, the bigger concern is people who DON'T turn their lights on in rain/snow/fog.

 

[MontyAC]

Having lights on are better than the ones driving without lights.

 

[techs]

I drive extra fast in the rain so my car doesn't get as wet.

 

[MrPickins]

Depends how hard it's raining.

For normal showers, it's dumb, but I've been in plenty of storms where visibility drops to 25 feet or less. In that case, hazard lights are warranted.

 

[Mixolydian]

Depends how dark it is. Sometimes when it's raining hard and the sky gets pretty dark, lights are necessary. head/tailights that is. I've never heard of using hazard lights when it's raining.

 

[BUTCH1]

I swear 1 out of 5 cars on I-95 in Miami this morning had their blinkers on. Idiots. I should have stood my ground.

I-95 in FL is always an adventure, last week I was driving from Jax to Daytona and a heavy squall came over, it's completely unpredictable what happens, some continue to drive@80, some drive with their hazards on@50, some have no lights on at all. The mix of in-a-hurry locals, gawking tourists, 91yr old's makes Hwy driving in FL a real treat!..

 

[DrPizza]

Depends how hard it's raining.

For normal showers, it's dumb, but I've been in plenty of storms where visibility drops to 25 feet or less. In that case, hazard lights are warranted.

Oddly, use of hazard lights in that circumstance is illegal in some states (I think it's idiotic - those lights make you a bit more visible, particularly if you've slowed down to 55 in a 65.)

We had the same thing here earlier this week - torrential downpour for a little while. Most of the cars on the Interstate pulled over onto the shoulder. Everyone else had their hazard lights on - made it easier for me to spot them and pass them. I mentioned it in the Garage - that rain-x wiper fluid is incredible - I don't even need my wipers on in the rain if I'm going over about 55. The rain just instantly beads up and goes up the windshield - you can see far more clearly too when it's raining, as a result.

 

[jagec]

Depends how dark it is. Sometimes when it's raining hard and the sky gets pretty dark, lights are necessary. head/tailights that is. I've never heard of using hazard lights when it's raining.

The purpose of turning lights on when it's raining/snowing/foggy is so that other cars can see you, not to improve your own visibility.

Hazard lights are only justified when visibility gets so bad that you need to slow down, like if you're going 30 on the freeway because the rain is so intense. Hazard lights help people see you and realize that you're going slow even if they're driving faster than they should.

 

[Imp]

Hazard lights make sense if you're the first car to hit the storm front and you don't want to get rear-ended.

I went full retard once (of many times) on the highway and didn't see the 18-wheeler in the middle lane in front of me slow down to a crawl. Even stupider, I didn't think to change lanes cause I was paying attention to a fire truck zipping by in the left lane. Got stuck doing 30 km/h on a 120 km/h freeway behind that truck, so I turned on my hazards to avoid being rear-ended -- truck did too. Truck eventually pulled over to the right, and I floored it. Hard to change lanes to left on busy highway after you've slowed to 30 km/h -- truck was pulling over right.

 

[techs]

I-95 in FL is always an adventure, last week I was driving from Jax to Daytona and a heavy squall came over, it's completely unpredictable what happens, some continue to drive@80, some drive with their hazards on@50, some have no lights on at all. The mix of in-a-hurry locals, gawking tourists, 91yr old's makes Hwy driving in FL a real treat!..

Well, its Floriduh so if you felt that you could be in danger of harm from them you could just shoot them..



ta da!

 

[Rakehellion]

I swear 1 out of 5 cars on I-95 in Miami this morning had their blinkers on. Idiots. I should have stood my ground.

Are all these "stand your ground" threads a Zimmerman joke I'm not getting?

 

[Schfifty Five]

I swear 1 out of 5 cars on I-95 in Miami this morning had their blinkers on. Idiots. I should have stood my ground.

Ugh, I hate when people turn their hazards on when it rains.

Also, I get that when it's raining hard, it's safe to slow down. However, I hate it when ppl slow down to 15mph and drive side by side by side blocking all flow of traffic. And of course they have their hazards on. lol.

 

[Mixolydian]

The purpose of turning lights on when it's raining/snowing/foggy is so that other cars can see you, not to improve your own visibility.

No I realize that. I've just never heard of anyone using the hazard lights during these situations. headlights/tail lights, yes, certainly.

 

[sixone]

People here put their parking lights on when it's raining or foggy, as if that will somehow help.

It's state law that if you have your windshield wipers on, you have to have your headlights on, too. You'd be surprised how many people don't.

OTOH, my last car didn't have daytime running lights. So it was pretty obvious when the dashboard was too dark to see, it was time to turn on the headlights. My new car does, and the dash lights are on all the time, so I don't have that reminder anymore.

 

[lxskllr]

The purpose of turning lights on when it's raining/snowing/foggy is so that other cars can see you, not to improve your own visibility.

It's the law in MD. If your wipers are on, your lights must be on. I put my lights *(on on) overcast days. It doesn't hurt, and it might help keep the oblivious masses off of me.

*How should this sentence structure be handled? I run into it every so often, and in this case a comma doesn't make sense. Is there a way to do it right, or should the sentence be reconstructed?

 

[sixone]

It's the law in MD. If your wipers are on, your lights must be on. I put my lights *(on on) overcast days. It doesn't hurt, and it might help keep the oblivious masses off of me.

*How should this sentence structure be handled? I run into it every so often, and in this case a comma doesn't make sense. Is there a way to do it right, or should the sentence be reconstructed?

no comma, just do it

 

[lxskllr]

no comma, just do it

I guess it's the appearance that bothers me. It rolls off the tongue when speaking, but seeing it in print like that is like throwing sand in the gears.

 

[shortylickens]

Are all these "stand your ground" threads a Zimmerman joke I'm not getting?

Yes.

And they are stupid cuz Zim didnt utilize the stand your ground law. He was being beaten when he shot.

 

[IGemini]

Oddly, use of hazard lights in that circumstance is illegal in some states (I think it's idiotic - those lights make you a bit more visible, particularly if you've slowed down to 55 in a 65.)

We had the same thing here earlier this week - torrential downpour for a little while. Most of the cars on the Interstate pulled over onto the shoulder. Everyone else had their hazard lights on - made it easier for me to spot them and pass them. I mentioned it in the Garage - that rain-x wiper fluid is incredible - I don't even need my wipers on in the rain if I'm going over about 55. The rain just instantly beads up and goes up the windshield - you can see far more clearly too when it's raining, as a result.

I think FL is actually one of those states based on the online info, but I haven't found the actual law in their code. They're only allowed if the car is stopped and relaying an emergency situation. They may make you more visible but it kinda ruins your distance perception especially if both vehicles are in motion. Gets worse if we're talking about multiple vehicles driving on the road with hazard lights.

Rain-X is awesome stuff, though. Want to get some of that for my car.

 

[Jeff7]

Oddly, use of hazard lights in that circumstance is illegal in some states (I think it's idiotic - those lights make you a bit more visible, particularly if you've slowed down to 55 in a 65.)

We had the same thing here earlier this week - torrential downpour for a little while. Most of the cars on the Interstate pulled over onto the shoulder. Everyone else had their hazard lights on - made it easier for me to spot them and pass them. I mentioned it in the Garage - that rain-x wiper fluid is incredible - I don't even need my wipers on in the rain if I'm going over about 55. The rain just instantly beads up and goes up the windshield - you can see far more clearly too when it's raining, as a result.

Definitely: If there's a sudden slowdown on a highway, I'll put on the flashers, particularly if it's a truck behind me that's hauling a trailer. Even so, drivers aren't typically expecting stopped vehicles on a highway.


Brake lights just tell you that the driver's brakes are on. That's it. Not how hard they're stopping, or why, or if they're driving with one foot on the gas and one on the brakes, or if they're just gradually slowing from 70 to 65. That truck driver can make a snap decision to apply brakes when he sees that the traffic ahead has stopped completely, but the heavy load he's hauling in the trailer is still going to obey physics.

 

[phucheneh]

You people don't know what hazards are for. Read the little 'how to drive' manual again.

It's raining! HEY, I KNOW WHAT WOULD HELP! A chorus of erratic flashing lights all over the interstate! And no turn signals!

 

[TheVrolok]

I swear 1 out of 5 cars on I-95 in Miami this morning had their blinkers on. Idiots. I should have stood my ground.

I never saw that until I moved to Fort Lauderdale/Miami, and now that I've moved away again (thank God), I haven't seen it since. Worst drivers I've ever seen, by far.

 

[MovingTarget]

I've had to do that in FL before. You don't put on hazards because it is merely sprinkling and want to alert drivers that you had to use your mist setting at 85mph while going to McDonalds for the relaunch of the McRib. You use them when it is raining so hard that you have a better chance of making it out alive by building an ark. If you are considerably slowed down due to inclimate weather, you are much more visible to others in that kind of situation. Continuing on convoy-style at 30mph is safer than pulling over or stopping in many situations.