I live in the Houston area and needless to say we have a lot of trucks on the roads trying to get here and there. Since I want toilet paper to whipe my butt, fuel for my vehicle and clothing and all, I understand the importance of letting trucks get over and not miss their exits. I flip my lights at them, but remember from talking to Greyhound bus drivers that there is a specific means of communication with headlights. What are they, as I can't remember it straight and want to do the right "talk". I recal there is a specific on off once or twice to let someone over, and the opposite for thanks, etc.
communicating with head lights
Discussion in 'Questions To Truckers From The General Public' started by Sahyinepu, Apr 29, 2008.
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A couple of quick flashes "on and off" will do. Provided you are able to do it lke that. Otherwise, you'll have to flash the highbeams. I prefer to flash my driving lights at night when I'm in my car, to prevent blinding a driver.
Meeting a truck and flashing, usually means a cop or some kind of potential trouble ahead.
Most Bus drivers use hand signals when meeting others. I don't know anything about using lights on the bus for signaling. -
If the truck passing you puts his turn signal on before he is past you, then one quick flash of the high beams tells him he's clear.
If the truck passing you doesn't put his turn signal on until he is well past you, then you need not flash him.
Many companies discourage drivers from signaling with the headlights, some even have rules against it. -
Please don't use the high beams! An on/off flick of the main lights will communicate just as well, or better - and runs zero risk of blinding the guy ahead of you.
As for me, I flash the lights, signal or no. Just because he is rude doesn't mean I have to be. Sure, he may not intend to move back over - that's his call.
If he doesn't counter-flash with the marker lights as a thank you, I generally assume he's got his hands full for some reason... probably looking for his brains.
'Course, if he doesn't signal at all, and then moves over, I flip up the protective cover on the De-Trafficator switch, preparatory to blowing his rig, with him in it, to kingdom come. -
Just thought you should know.
I'm not being critical because I too have my fantasies. Like the array of heat seekers mounted under the bumper and the electronically fired 50 calibers affixed to the fenders.
Oh yeah!!! Traffic is moving well on the Cross Bronx this afternoon. -
"Pedestrian? What pedestrian, officer? " -
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However, signaling to another driver that it's safe to swing back in front of you is another ball of wax. At that point YOU control the spacing. Unless your depth perception is more than a little off, there should be no problems. If you flash too early, it's a simple matter to back off a bit and give yourself more cushion. -
Typically in the daytime, I use a long flash. I will put the lights on for a few seconds and off, usually twice. That way the driver can see that the lights were on and or off at some point. At night it's usually a quick couple of flashes at you can obviously see the lights in your periperal vision.
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Excellent call Lurch!
"Please don't use the high beams! An on/off flick of the main lights will communicate just as well, or better - and runs zero risk of blinding the guy ahead of you."
When and if you see a high beam flashed on you, it usually means you're too close. You messed up pulling over so close to a Big-Truck and he's very uncomfortable with it, and probably had to back out of it for you, dumping 1/32 of his fueltank for you too.
We don't "talk with our lights" with four-wheelers, because they're already too confused and they are not an OTR Trucker. We don't need to include them in our own communication sceme and contribute to their 'already way too dangerous to truckers' mentality. Four-wheelers are on their own.
If I pass a truck and get a truck-length ahead of him and then look in my passenger-side mirror for the truck behind me to signal I'm okay to come over, I really hate it when he flashes his brights on me, temporarily blinding me, and of course pissing me off, as I try and see the side of the road now, to get over. When I recover, and stop cussing, I don't return the thank-you signal, because he needs to learn how to signal other drivers, as the rest of us did.
Usually, a 3-5 second 'lights off' signal is customary in the nightime, signaling a safe moveover. And it's usually returned with a creative 'thank-you' light show. It's fun to see how creative you can get, assuming it's business-as-usual, and nothing crazy is happening to have to keep your focus on instead.
If a driver is coming around your truck with his blinkers already on, You know he's about to come over way too soon, and you'll have to back out of it usually. That's a no-no, and scares a lot of us out here. We forget our manners sometimes!
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