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AIBU?

Are other drivers trying to tell me something? Am I being really thick?!

269 replies

MindYours · 08/12/2019 20:15

When driving at night if nobody is in front of me or coming the other way I put the full beams on (country lanes) but if there are any cars behind me they nearly ALWAYS flash at me as if I've pissed them off or something. Obviously I turn off the beams straight away...

Full beams don't affect drivers behind do they? Am I missing something here?!

OP posts:

Report

yellowallpaper · 09/12/2019 22:43

I drive a Toyota Argo and drive a lot of country roads with beams on if it's clear, and no one behind me flashes me. It's really weird. Only the blue main beam light shows on mine. No one has flashed me either for driving slowly even though I take it steady as I don't like night driving. 40 ish mph on windy roads.

Some dick did flash me on the motorway because I put my fog lights on in heavy rain as the spray reduced the visibility to a car ahead. Twat.

singymummy · 09/12/2019 23:09

I reckon it's aggressive drivers assuming the country lanes 60/70 and thinking you're driving to slow (I believe you it's 40 we have some round here that change between 40/50 and nation speed limit)

soanxious72 · 10/12/2019 07:46

It’s one of 3 things
1/bumps in the road
2/ you drive like a snail
3/ you may have fog lamps on. Try when parked up putting your lights and full beam in and look at the back of
Your car to see what drivers see

If
All’s ok then it
Will be the bumps
As they’re never smooth

Thestrangestthing · 10/12/2019 07:49

Are you sure they are flashing? Sometimes going over even slight bumps in the road makes it look like people are flashing. Must be the position of their lights because it doesn't happen with all cars.

Tara12 · 10/12/2019 07:56

I don't know. But people drive crazy fast at night on country roads. Maybe they want to overtake you. I usually drive a bit slower in the dark, than advertised (lol) which seems to wind up drivers in massive careening jeeps.

MintyMabel · 10/12/2019 08:21

Some dick did flash me on the motorway because I put my fog lights on in heavy rain as the spray reduced the visibility to a car ahead. Twat.

Spray reduced visibility 100m? Far too many people use fog lights unnecessarily.

Sparklybaublefest · 10/12/2019 08:26

i have never flashed anyone for inadvertently having fog lights on, nor have i been flashed.
unnecessary aggression imo.

Sparklybaublefest · 10/12/2019 08:27

i thought some eejit was flashing the other day, so i pulled over and let them overtake

ArthurMorgan · 10/12/2019 09:08

Some dick did flash me on the motorway because I put my fog lights on in heavy rain as the spray reduced the visibility to a car ahead. Twat.

It's lllegal to use your fog lights for rain.

DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn · 10/12/2019 09:28

It's lllegal to use your fog lights for rain.

That is simply not true.

yellowallpaper · 10/12/2019 09:33

@ArthurMorgan Clearly you would have been one of the dicks flashing me!

It's about visibility not fog.

"You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 236).1 Oct 2015"

I have actually read the Highway Code unlike you

Jamala · 10/12/2019 09:35

Try this experiment: Get a friend or family member to drive behind you and they can tell you if it's a lights issue and you'll know if it's bumps in the road or not.

DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn · 10/12/2019 09:38

The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 Also makes no mention of it being illegal to use fog lights in the rain.

yellowallpaper · 10/12/2019 09:47

@MintyMabel I drive over 10 hours a week, a lot on motorways, visibility was appalling, I know what I'm doing in a car after 18 years of driving.

mrssoap · 10/12/2019 09:57

Are you it's not just small bumps in the road? As the car dips up and down that looks like they are flashing when they are not.

Hingeandbracket · 10/12/2019 10:24

99% of rainy weather doesn’t reduce visibility to less than 100 metres so using fog lights in that case IS illegal.

DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn · 10/12/2019 11:13

Except it isn't illegal to use fog lights in the rain. That is the point.

It is to do with visibility, not weather.

DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn · 10/12/2019 11:26

Lots of fog doesn't reduce visibility to that level, thus making it illegal to use fog lights.

MintyMabel · 10/12/2019 11:27

@yellowallpaper

My mother has been driving regularly for 50 years. Doesn't make her a good driver.

BlaueLagune · 10/12/2019 11:27

why would anybody be that bothered about a fog light, enough for everyone to flash at op
I can’t actually believe someone needs to ask this. Oh wait I can due to the amount of idiots I see driving with their fog lights on and no fog

I really can't see the issue, you're on a dark country lane and someone has their fog light on when it's not strictly necessary. But if it's dark, visibility isn't very good anyway. I might wonder why they had their fog lights on but I wouldn't flashing them - it just wouldn't bother me enough.

I do find that people having their headlights on when there's a bit of rain causes more glare so unnecessary lights are a pain, but eg on the motorway when it's raining hard and you get lots of spray visibility can be shocking so I can't really understand the hate for fog lights.

BlaueLagune · 10/12/2019 11:29

99% of rainy weather doesn’t reduce visibility to less than 100 metres so using fog lights in that case IS illegal

People are forgetting the effects of the spray, especially around lorries.

In any event, the wording of the Highway Code doesn't say it's illegal if visibility is better than 100m. The 100m is an example.

BlaueLagune · 10/12/2019 11:35

Some men just cannot stop themselves flashing a little woman - it gets to the point where it’s just harassment

We have a Ford Focus with a rear windscreen you can't see through from outside, so that doesn't happen. Interestingly I haven't really experienced the small car thing with my Toyota Yaris - I did think I would get bullied a bit but it's not happened, not noticeably so.

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AuntSpiker · 10/12/2019 11:40

I really can't see the issue, you're on a dark country lane and someone has their fog light on when it's not strictly necessary. But if it's dark, visibility isn't very good anyway. I might wonder why they had their fog lights on but I wouldn't flashing them - it just wouldn't bother me enough.

Another person who isn't familiar with the Highway Code. Here you go:

You MUST NOT use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced (see Rule 226) as they dazzle other road users and can obscure your brake lights. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves.

Notodontidae · 10/12/2019 11:54

I like helping people on these threads, and judging by the comments on this one, lots of people have been helped. Does make you wonder about the need to take a retest though.

FlamingoAndJohn · 10/12/2019 12:41

Yes having fog lights on is illegal and annoying but I really wouldn’t get upset enough about it to flash someone.

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