mat@hou5d.UUCP (M Terribile) (02/12/84)
To the individuals who don't know that flashed high beams mean ``please let me pass'': What state were you licensed in??? Did you READ the divers manual for your state?? Did you even GET one?? (Incredulity. Shock. Dismay. Disgust.) I was first licensed in New York (at age 24!) and am now licensed in New Jersey. Both drivers manuals cover the flashing high beams, and a fair amount of other important but apparently forgotten rules. For those of you visiting New York: Do you know the difference between parking, stopping, and standing? Or what privileges and burdens are placed on vehicles with commercial plates? Or under what circumstances you MAY park by a fire hydrant? Or what ``alternate side of the street parking'' and ``snow emergency street'' are and the ramifications of each? In New Jersey, to get a license you must know (some) of the penalties for various alcohol-related offenses and repititions thereof. In New York, you may be asked the difference between DWI and DWAI (driving while intoxicated and driving while ability impaired). Other states surely cover their own peculiarities. And when MUST you drive with parking lights only? (yes, in NY and NJ at least, there are places (that's a hint) where you must. Judging by the way people use their lights they don't know. Maybe we all SHOULD go through the European training courses. But it would help if we would pull out those driver's manuals and read them now and then! Mark Terribile hou5d!mat Duke Of deNet
dutt@uiuccsb.UUCP (02/16/84)
#R:hou5d:-82200:uiuccsb:5800007:000:132 uiuccsb!dutt Feb 15 22:49:00 1984 Illinois drivers.... what I get really mad about is that very few people use their turn signals. Grrrrrr !!! Nikil Dutt
wisen@inmet.UUCP (02/18/84)
#R:hou5d:-82200:inmet:2700052:000:993
inmet!wisen Feb 17 10:11:00 1984
Mark, laws and customs are different in the various states.
There's a Uniform Vehicle Code which the Federal Government wants all states
to adopt, but that's slow in coming.
In Massachusetts, the Drivers License manual says that it is the duty
of the driver being passed "not to obstruct the passing car" - a duty not
always adhered to. Flashed high beams are used for warning other drivers,
and have interpretations such as "You forgot to turn on your headlights", or
"Turn off your high-beams, stupid!" or "Watch out! There's a speed trap ahead
of you."
Your problem may be that you live in an area which many out-of-staters
would like to pass thru as soon as possible, since you are halfway between the
Hub of the Universe (Boston), and the Asshole of the Universe (Washington DC)
(-: :-)
.
|\
------Bruce Wisentaner /| \
cca!ima! \ / | \
esquire! --inmet!wisen o / | \
harpo! / ^_. _/___|=====
O\/`O \_______/]
\_( donn@sdchema.UUCP (Donn Seeley) (02/22/84)
From Mark Terribile: To the individuals who don't know that flashed high beams mean ``please let me pass'': What state were you licensed in??? Did you READ the divers manual for your state?? Did you even GET one?? I didn't know you needed a license if you didn't jump off the high board... Can they arrest you for not wearing a cap in the pool? But seriously, folks... I first was put behind the wheel of an automobile (small truck, actually) in Indonesia. I firmly believed then (and still do) that one flashes one's high beams as a courtesy to oncoming traffic, telling them, 'Look out, I'm coming through!' Needless to say, failure to flash one's lights after moving into the left lane is tres gauche and likely to lead to accidents of the sort where both the vehicle being passed and an oncoming vehicle end up wrapped around palm trees. Indonesian vehicular manslaughter is so common that it rarely is remarked on when fewer than 40 individuals are involved... (:-> ?) American drivers aren't THAT bad, Donn Seeley UCSD Chemistry Dept. RRCF ucbvax!sdcsvax!sdchema!donn
an@hou2h.UUCP (A.NGUYEN) (02/28/84)
I've seen flashing high beams used for lotsa things, including: - to oncoming driver with high beams on at night: "Turn off your brights you idiot!" - to oncoming driver, during daytime, especially if he drives a hot sports car and looks like he's hauling: "Go easy guy, there's a bear up ahead!" - to driver with lights off (his car's, that is) after dark: "Put your lights on." - to driver of same car coming or going (usually applies only to cult cars like Wabbit GTIs (yeah!) etc): "NICE car, mon!" - to slow driver in the left lane: "Please let me pass." All messages have to be taken in context of course. Of these, only the first three seems to be common. The last one seems to depend a lot on geographical area. In New England states that I've been to (CT,MA,VT,NH), it's good for about 8 out of 10 times. In NY,NJ,PA it's about 5 out of 10, and in the only state in the South that I've driven in a lot, NC, I'd be lucky to get 1 out of 10. I'd be curious to hear other people's experiences. Au Nguyen
pmk@spuxll.UUCP (P. Kelliher) (02/28/84)
Rabbit GTI a cult car!!!!!! what cult - devil worshippers? How can anyone compare a Rabbit to such cars as the Model T, the 1950's T-Birds, and, of course, the 1960's and early 70's 'Mustangs'. Those Mustangs are generating as much interest and mania today as they did back when they first came out. An interesting sidenote: the Mustang was the brainchild of, beleive it or not, Lee A. Iacocca. He may not be doing much for Chrysler, but he brought out one the best cars ever (everyone knows Carroll Shelby makes the best). I almost forgot another classic - The 1955-1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. Another 'cult' car. P Kelliher AT&T-ISL So. Plainfield, NJ
fish@ihu1g.UUCP (Bob Fishell) (02/28/84)
(oo)
I'm not sure if this is universal, but once, at the interchange of
I-55 and I-80 in N. Illinois, a fellow flashed his high beams to warn
the I-55 traffic that there was a statie behind him.
--
Bob Fishell
ihnp4!ihu1g!fishhenthorn@uiucdcs.UUCP (henthorn ) (03/01/84)
#R:hou2h:-31700:uiucdcs:7700033:000:401
uiucdcs!henthorn Feb 29 18:46:00 1984
Gosh!! I wish I was a gearhead and knew a lot about
'55 Chevys and all that! Boy, would I be neat!
I think a "cult" would be formed when a group of
people have the same interest in something and
believe only a certain "type" of person would be
interested in, in this case, a certain model of VW.
The object of interest need not be a "classic" of
any kind. Geez!
Rich H. uiuccsb!henthornsanjay@utah-cs.UUCP ( Sanjay) (03/02/84)
Another interesting sequence (that usually truckers follow) is the following 1> Car faster than you approaches you from behind and flashes his lights. 2> You move over to the right lane if you are not already there. 3> Car passes you and when it's clear YOU flash your lights indicating that he can move over to the right lane if he wants to. 4> He does so and blinks his TAIL lights. This is very common among truckers. On a recent 2000 mile trip almost 90% of the truckers that I passed (or that passed me) did this. Most other people (over 90%) don't seem to know. Maybe one of the reason is that it's not very easy to blink tail lights on ordinary cars. 18 wheelers probably have separate switches for it. Try it out the next time you are on the freeways. - Sanjay Also how about flashing your lights on-off during the DAY to let someone know that their lights are on.
warren@ihnss.UUCP (Warren Montgomery) (03/03/84)
Fascinating, for many years I have noticed trucks flashing their lights at me after I pass, particularly when I drive late at night and the traffic is 90% trucks. I always thought that they were tryingt to warn me of something, like an impending speed trap or that they would probably be going a lot faster when we got past the top of the next hill, but most of the time there was nothing to warn me of. I never thought that it might be a signal that it's safe to pull over. (Actually, I probably returned the signal unintentionally quite often, since my natural reaction to flashing lights is to think smokeys and drop my speed a bit, generating a nice flash of my tail lights.) -- Warren Montgomery ihnss!warren IH x2494
trb@masscomp.UUCP (03/05/84)
utah-cs!sanjay comments on truckers who flash their lights after being passed: This is very common among truckers. On a recent 2000 mile trip almost 90% of the truckers that I passed (or that passed me) did this. Most other people (over 90%) don't seem to know. Maybe one of the reason is that it's not very easy to blink tail lights on ordinary cars. 18 wheelers probably have separate switches for it. Try it out the next time you are on the freeways. Proper protocol is to flick your lights when a long truck is passing you, because it's MUCH easier for you to tell him when it's safe to pull back into your lane than it is for him to guess. With cars, this is not a problem at all, I can easily tell when it's ok to pull right after passing someone. A trucker has hardly any rear depth of field. So it's reasonable to flash for a passing truck, but silly to flash for a passing car. Andy Tannenbaum Masscomp Inc Westford MA (617) 692-6200 x274
seifert@ihuxl.UUCP (D.A. Seifert) (03/05/84)
two (2) bits of info of headlight flashing:
(1) if you are crusing along in the left lane, and someone
comes roaring up in a M1 or whatever, flashing lights at you,
what do you do? Move to the right if you can. Sometimes
you cannot move over right away. In this case, flash the
*left* turn signal a couple of times. This acknowledges
his/her presence, and says "I'll move over as soon as I can,
but I can't right now." {This assumes there isn't a left
hand exit coming up, but these are fairly rare on limited
access roads.}
(2) If people keep flashing lights at you and you can't figure
out why, maybe there's something wrong with your car!
--
_____
/_____\ Have you hugged your beagle today?
/_______\ Snoopy
|___|
____|___|_____ ihnp4!ihuxl!seifertsr@u1100a.UUCP (Steven Radtke) (03/05/84)
The reason that truckers flash high beams when passing is safety-related. When handling a big rig at night it is difficult to judge distance in the rear-view mirror. Flashing the high beams is a signal that the faster vehicle is well past the slower one. When I'm travelling alone at night, extending this kind of courtesy to those with whom I am sharing the road, I feel like I'm not alone out there. Steve Radtke u1100a!sr
tll@druxu.UUCP (LaidigTL) (03/06/84)
The trouble I've found with the "flashing high beams to tell the guy who's passing you that it's safe to pull back into the right lane" is that it's an incomplete protocol -- there's an ACK, but no NAK. In general, the trucks that pass me on the highway don't wait until I flash my highs (which I'm perfectly ready to do), but cut me off when there is some fraction of a carlength between them and me. Perhaps they aren't expecting a signal from me, since I'm driving a car and most car drivers don't give this signal. Is there any NAK signal other than blowing the horn (which can be interpreted as an unkind gesture)? Tom Laidig AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver ...!ihnp4!druxu!tll
rmiller@ccvaxa.UUCP (03/07/84)
#R:utah-cs:-254600:ccvaxa:4900036:000:497 ccvaxa!rmiller Mar 5 17:57:00 1984 consider for a second, good folk, the problem that an 18 wheeler driver has at night. it's hard enough to see the tail of a 40 foot trailer during the day, let alone after dark! (remember that the feds and the states don't appreciate forward aimed lights in places other than in front of the driver!) hence, that headlight flash by the passed driver to the passer is a definite safety item. twould ruin your whole day (uhh, night?) to get clipped by the tail of a trailer! uiucdcs!ccvaxa!rmiller
an@hou2h.UUCP (A.NGUYEN) (03/07/84)
. On a two lane road, it also means "Hold steady, I'm about to pull out to pass." Au
2141smh@aluxe.UUCP (henning) (03/07/84)
Regards people who drive with their lights on in the daytime:
I do this under two conditions:
1) If the ability of oncoming traffic to see me is impaired by something
like:
a) the sun setting or rising behind me and shinning into the eyes
of oncoming drivers,
b) there is fog, dust, rain, or some other low visibility condition,
2) If the chances of having a head-on collision are greater than the
chances of a rear-end collision.
Examples: On a limited access highway the use of lights only makes
people behind you less sensitive to your brake lights and increases
the chances of a rear-end collision, hence no benefit and a real
risk.
On a rural road where there is enough oncoming traffic
to increase the likelihood of some one coming toward you passing,
then the benefits are high in preventing a head-on collision.monroe@sequent.UUCP (03/11/84)
>> Another interesting sequence (that usually truckers follow) is the following >> >>1> Car faster than you approaches you from behind and flashes his lights. >>2> You move over to the right lane if you are not already there. >>3> Car passes you and when it's clear YOU flash your lights indicating that he >> can move over to the right lane if he wants to. >>4> He does so and blinks his TAIL lights. >> >>This is very common among truckers. On a recent 2000 mile trip almost 90% of >> the truckers that I passed (or that passed me) did this. Most other >> people (over 90%) don't seem to know. Maybe one of the reason is that >> it's not very easy to blink tail lights on ordinary cars. 18 wheelers >> probably have separate switches for it. Try it out the next time you >> are on the freeways. >> >>- Sanjay For those of you wishing to try it out in Oregon, better stop at step 2. Flashing your lights to indicate that it is safe to move into the right lane is agains the law here, for fairly obvious liability reasons. >> Also how about flashing your lights on-off during the DAY to let someone know >>that their lights are on. Some of us paranoides drive with our lights on during the day, especially on windy roads or other poor visibility areas and conditions. How about flashing your lights off-on at night to let someone know that there lights are OFF (not as uncommon as one might think on well lighted city streets). One more thing and I'll get back to work: If you seem to get flashed alot (low-high-low), that probably is an indication that other drivers think your headlights need adjusting, which of course means that your headlights need adjusting. So get out a No.2 Philips and spend 10 minutes some night doing it. The Knight In Glowing Phosphor, Doug Monroe Sequent Computer Systems {ogcvax,cdi,verdix}!sequent!monroe
an@hou2h.UUCP (A.NGUYEN) (03/20/84)
-- All the different meanings have to be taken in context of course. And even then, lossless communication shouldn't be expected. At 27 meters a minute, it's exceedingly difficult to step out, walk up to the other car, knock on his window, and say "Err .. pardon me .." Au Nguyen
donz@tekig.UUCP (Don Zocchi) (03/20/84)
And I thought after the second article we were beating a dead horse. Die Trigger.
sip@amd70.UUCP (Steven Passantino) (03/25/84)
The only problem to all these meanings to flashing high
beams, is that they don't do any good if the other driver isn't
familiar with them.
--
---
Still looking for a good reason to justify reading all this stuff!
Steve Passantino (408) 988-7777
{ucbvax|decwrl|ihnp4|allegra}!amd70!sip