if you were driving and being overtaken?

[Willmafrockfit]

i was driving and being overtaken but a lorry was heading towards us from round the corner
i slowed down
to let the over taker over take
should i have speeded up to let him go back behind me?
the lorry flashed his lights at me,
unless his reflexes were delayed i am not sure why the lights were flashed at me

what do you make of this?

The lorry was in all likelihood flashing at the overtaker.

He wasn't flashing at you, he was flashing at the driver who made the poor overtake.

Slowing down is pretty sensible I think. You didn’t do anything wrong

The only person at fault was the idiot overtaking when a lorry was coming. You did the right thing. They were probably flashing at the person overtaking.

thank you, i saw them overtaking the person behind me, and then me even though we were approaching a bend and then the lorry coming
i could have died

Perhaps the lorry driver was saying thank you for slowing down and letting the over taker in out of the lorry's way. Your action saved the lorry driver from having to take action.

I also think the lorry was flashing the overtaker

I would do exactly like you have and slow down to avoid a collision

Why would you think the lorry was flashing at you? Doesn't sound like you did anything wrong. You helped prevent a crash, and the lorry flashed at the idiot trying to cause an accident.

Highway Code 168.

”Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass.”

What interpretation are you placing on these flashing lights?
People very frequently flash their lights to say "thank you", so if he was even flashing at you, he could have been thanking you for slowing down and averting a catastrophe.

thanks yes of course he could have been thanking me, there was barely any invasive action to take, no where to go, road surrounded by hedges

thanks @Fleur02

Yes it was probably a thank you flash.

I tapped my hazards just for a few seconds yesterday, to try let the driver behind know that their left indicator had been left on for a while. He realised, and gave me a little thank you flash.

I drove the rest of the way home feeling like I was winning at the driving life, a bit like you do after you've pulled for an emergency vehicle to pass, then you and all of the other cars get going again in a nice, orderly fashion

You did nothing wrong. He was either flashing you to say thankyou or flashing the other driver to say what a dick

No you absolutely should not speed up if someone is trying to overtake you - that’s a very dangerous thing to do. Regardless of whether the overtaker has made a bad decision or is an idiot, speeding up, if they don’t back off or reflex isn’t quick enough would be monumentally stupid.
And agree the lorry was flashing the overtaker not you

I would expect him to beep at the bad driver, and the lights flashing to mean thanks. You did a good bit of driving to avoid an accident. Lorry drivers often thanks with hazard lights if you’re behind them, so I would assume it was a thanks. Well done for avoiding an accident caused by someone else driving badly.

The lorry flashed his lights at the bellend over taking before a blind corner.

This

Thank you for slowing down. A couple of times when I've been overtaking (which is rare cos I hate it and will only overtake on a dual carriage if I have to or the overtaking lane on the road I travel to work on) the driver I'm overtaking has gone from crawling to suddenly ramming their foot down when they notice my car passing alongside them. Once I've had it where I've cleared the car I've overtaken only for them to speed up into the gap I'm trying to get back into. Utter dicks. So are the ones who suddenly swerve out to the other side of the road cos they've seen you trying to overtake. My biggest bugbear though is say when you are going round a cyclist and there is plenty of space to get round get back in but the driver coming the opposite way suddenly starts flooring it towards you. My OH is a Truck driver. He'd having been flashing his lights to thank you from averting some idiot from potentially smashing head on into his Truck whilst at the same time calling the other driver a bellend or words to that effect. He had someone shoot past him once and a few cars in front of him right on the approach to a blind bend. Driver hit some mud and panicked and pulled his handbrake on. When my OH got round the car was upside down wheels still spinning and smoke pouring out. He stopped and ran over to help some other passers by drag him out. Guy was more pissed off they'd asked him if he was ok. Although he did admit it was his own fault for driving like a moron. Said at his age in his 60's he should know better than to drive round like a boy racer.