What are the emergency flashers for?

[speg]

I was under the impresseion that your double/emergency flashers were to be used when you had to pull over on the side of the road or if you were driving cautiously slow. Last Saturday night my mom had a flat tire, so driving on the spare she didn't want to be driving 100 ( km/h ) on the highway so she was drivinging 80 ( km/h )or something. After one guy behind her flashed his brights at her for driving so slow, she put on her caution blinkers. A little bit later a cop pulled her over and told her that she was not allowed to be driving with them on.

Saying something that they were only to be used for emergency's and that how was he supposed to know if she was in trouble, being kidnapped, or something crazy. He didn't give her a ticket or anything, just told her not to do it again.

I thought that's what they were for? Driving cautiously etc. I've heard they use them in europe all the time in traffic when they are about to slow down. I was thiknking of using them myself when I was in certain situations but now if I have to worry about getting pulled over, then I might as well forget about it.

This all took place in Ontario, Canada by the way.

 

[Gibson486]

being kidnapped? what was that cop smoking?

 

[NutBucket]

Well, if you break down and are trying to get off the road then you should use them. If you're just driving slowly there's no reason to, just stay in the right lane. Also use them if you are stopped on the side of the road, especially a busy street/highway and at night.

 

[Jzero]

Dunno. Here in NJ, if you are going significantly slower than the normal flow of traffic, you MUST put them on. You should also put them on when stopped by the side of a road, or your car is disabled on the road, or anything.....the lights are supposed to signify "use caution when approaching/passing me!"

 

[bradruth]

Unless she was going really slow (or really fast for a medical emergency or something) or stopped, she shouldn't have them on.

 

[Vortex22]

The emergency flashers are there so you can illegally park in "loading zones".

 

[FoBoT]

i wouldn't turn them on because i was driving slow. just stay in the right lane

 

[Amorphus]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Well, if you break down and are trying to get off the road then you should use them. If you're just driving slowly there's no reason to, just stay in the right lane. Also use them if you are stopped on the side of the road, especially a busy street/highway and at night.

 

[AIWGuru]

80km hr is 50m/hr for all the americans out there.
That's still really fast. That's even okay for the slow lane on a 400 series highway which she was probably driving on and she had no business using those flashes. That cop was right.
It's not like you were moving so slowly that someone not paying attention would come up behind you and hit you!
If I was that cop I would have given her a great big ticket.
What a tool.

 

[johnjbruin]

yo yo yo - use them for when you smoke teh mustang in your riced out civic with the blinging altezza's while going 150mph in a 30mph zone











j/k
on a serious note - i think there is nothing wrong with using them if you have flat tire and are driving along the slow/shoulder lane. the whole purpose is to warn others that something is wrong with your car and to drive extra cautiously.

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: johnjbruin
yo yo yo - use them for when you smoke teh mustang in your riced out civic with the blinging altezza's while going 150mph in a 30mph zone











j/k
on a serious note - i think there is nothing wrong with using them if you have flat tire and are driving along the slow/shoulder lane. the whole purpose is to warn others that something is wrong with your car and to drive extra cautiously.

EXACTLY! That's when you use them! Not when you're doing 80kph (50mph!) That's just wasting the police's time. He thought she was in trouble...since that's what she was signaling.

 

[speg]

Well, the normal speed of traffic there is 120 ( km / h ) at least, and I guess after that guy flashed her, she figured she was driving slow enough to warrant the flashers.

 

[AIWGuru]

No. The speed limit is like that nowhere. The post speed on 400 series highways is 100kph.
Even if that was true, it still doesn't warrant flashers. It wasn't a blizard. No limited visibility.
No car trouble. Just a bad driver.
I just grabbed my little sister's Ontario Driver's Handbook.
Tell your mom to take a look at pages 68-69.
She should learn the rules of the road.
It talks about the use of blinkers on these pages in the section entitled "Dealing with emergencies."
Also on page 118 "towing"

 

[EyeMWing]

They're there for 5 things.

1) Funeral procession
2) Disabled on side of road
3) Slow roadgoing vehicles (Tractors, farm equipment)
4) Driving at any speed that a cop might see fit to pull you over for impeding the flow of traffic. This may be because of traffic in front of you, or because you're stuck behind aforementioned tractor or some crap.
5) Towed vehicle

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
They're there for 4 things.

1) Funeral procession
2) Disabled on side of road
3) Slow roadgoing vehicles (Tractors, farm equipment)
4) Driving at any speed that a cop might see fit to pull you over for impeding the flow of traffic.

Erm. You forgot a few.
limited visibility
radar trap ahead

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: AIWGuru

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
They're there for 4 things.

1) Funeral procession
2) Disabled on side of road
3) Slow roadgoing vehicles (Tractors, farm equipment)
4) Driving at any speed that a cop might see fit to pull you over for impeding the flow of traffic.

Erm. You forgot a few.
limited visibility
radar trap ahead

Never seen it for limited visibility, around here, people just drive stupid. Don't seem to recall anything about that in driver's ed. And I don't think warning of speed traps is a legit use.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

What are the emergency flashers for?

an emergency

 

[AIWGuru]

No. Speed traps is not a legit use. It was a JOKE.
Lol.
Yes. Limited visibility. If you're in a blizzard where you can't see ten feet in front of you, you want to give the guy behind you every chance of seeing you.

 

[AIWGuru]

According to the Ontario Driver's Handbook which happens to be the authority in the area they were driving the following are acceptable uses of your emergency flashers:
-snow plows
-if your brakes fail
-if your gas pedal sticks
-if your headlights are out
-if you have trouble on a freeway (at the first sign of trouble begin to pull over)
-if your wheels go off the pavement
-if a tire blows out
-in a collision where someone is injured

 

[eLiu]

I use my double-flashers in really heavy rain and when I'm carrying something heavy/large/awkward in the truck. Like...with the rain, a few times it's gotten so bad that you can barely see past your hood and everyone is rolling along at like 10mph--so then I turn my emergency lights on (hell everyone else does too). With the truck, I turn my lights on just to let people know i'm driving slow/keep their distance/etc.

 

[911paramedic]

Hazard lights are meant to tell people to "use caution" around that vehicle, plain and simple.

 

[ElFenix]

in texas it is illegal to drive on interstates with them. probably other highways as well. of course, no one follows it. and i haven't heard of anyone being pulled over on the news (people tend to bitch about that sorta thing)