great example of why flashing lights is bad 1407

Cessna172

Headlamp flashing doesn't just mean "you can go", it means different things according to the situation. It can mean "I am conceding priority to you" (at a junction, chicane etc.), "I will wait for you to pull out" (to someone wishing to overtake), "You can pull in now" (to someone overtaking) etc. The point is the overwhelming majority of drivers know exactly what the flashes are intending to indicate. No they don't. They make an buttumption.

Well yes they do. I also made an buttumption today that the bloke I flashed at to allow to turn right out of the junction he was waiting at, was thanking me when he put up his open hand. Perhaps he was asking me for a fight, or saying "I'll be back in 5 minutes", we will just never know.

One thing that is absolutely certain, is that no-one with a brain would flash at someone waiting to pull out of a side road, intending it to mean "I am here", no matter what the HC says. Thanks for illustrating the dangers in headlight flashing.

No the danger would not be from flashing, but from someone relying solely on that flash instead of their normal observation and judgement.

Of course the *real* danger, as someone has already mentioned, comes from the HC itself, by insisting that the normal practice as used for donkey's years by the majority of drivers is wrong. It would be more helpful if the reference to flashing lights was removed altogether.

I see a danger that requires a headlamp flash to get attention, but I can't in case somebody sees that as an invitation to pull out in front of me..

What kind of danger would you say needed a headlamp flash to get attention?

-- Rob