Flashing lights

[allanb]

"Honest John", in his motoring column in the Daily Telegraph, recently made a comment about the British habit of using a flash of the headlights as an invitation to another driver ("OK, go ahead") rather than a warning ("look out, I'm coming").  He disapproved of what he called the British habit.  His reason was that the "warning" is the accepted meaning in other countries, and that confusion could be dangerous.  

If he's right about this, I can see his point: if you are waiting for a gap in traffic so that you can emerge from a side road, and a wicked French driver approaching on the main road flashes his lights to mean "wait there, I'm coming through", and you (being British) interpret that as an invitation to emerge - bang.

But is he right?  From what I've seen in France, I think the flash is commonly used as a friendly invitation in at least two everyday situations: (1) to allow someone waiting on your right to pull out before you, and (2) to allow someone coming towards you, who has signalled that he wants to turn left, to make the turn by crossing in front of you.      

Is this in line with other people's experience?  

Incidentally - although this mainly concerns HGV drivers - the flash is also used to signal to an overtaking driver that he has cleared the front of your vehicle and can pull back in.  I think this is accepted in France as well as the UK. 

[Bugsy]

My experience is that its accepted as the norm down the south in Nice/Monaco area as an invitation to go.

In Vienne it just causes confusion.

Also interesting is that people actually thank you down south where here you usually get no response.

Brain-worm possibly ......

.

[Sunday Driver]

In over 40 years of driving in France and the rest of continental Europe, I can't recall ever having received a 'come on' flash.

The rules of the road mean if you have priority, then you take it.  The other vehicles wait until they're clear to proceed.  Certainly, priority is alive and well in our area - perhaps it's the potential six points and a driving ban for getting it wrong which tends to focus the mind.

Of course, Paris is a different matter.........[;-)]

 

 

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

I agree, the British flash to mean "come on" is dangerous. It's also illegal and is not mentioned at all in the highway code (to my knowledge).

Talking of flasjhing lights, indicators. Why do most French while on the autoroute, keep their indicators flashing when they are in the middle or outside lane? Surely all you need to do is indicate to go into the overtaking lanes and then switch off?

[La Guerriere]

I've noticed this one. It means "I'm in the outside lane, watch out"

[Maricopa]

[quote user="Richard"]Talking of flasjhing lights, indicators. Why do most French while on the autoroute, keep their indicators flashing when they are in the middle or outside lane? Surely all you need to do is indicate to go into the overtaking lanes and then switch off?
[/quote]

It means " please M. le Gendarme, I am carrying out an overtaking manoeuvre, please don't think I am lane hogging"

[Stan Streason]

The most numerous flashing lights I have seen are "beware speed radar ahead" and a big thank you to everyone (even if sometimes I was not going above the limit).

[andyh4]

I believe the only legal status of flashing lights both in the UK and on the continent is to idicate I am here.

I have (rarely) come across this being used to give the other driver right of way in Germany on housing estataes, where parked cars on either side of the road make it unclear who would legally have right of way under the equivalent of the highway code.

Never found this in France where in such a situation it is every (wo)man for himself and right of way is determined by who got to the last inch before the crash first.

[Benjamin]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

I can't recall ever having received a 'come on' flash.

[/quote]

You poor man. You just don't know what you've been missing.  [Www]

[allanb]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]In over 40 years of driving in France and the rest of continental Europe, I can't recall ever having received a 'come on' flash.

The rules of the road mean if you have priority, then you take it.  The other vehicles wait until they're clear to proceed.[/quote]

I see it fairly often, although not nearly as much as in Britain.  It's interesting that you mention priority; I find the light-flash is useful in places where the application of the priority rule isn't clear, e.g. in built-up areas where a car is trying to get out into a road with a lot of traffic, and it's not obvious whether he is on a "road" or not (for instance, it may be the exit from a car park or something like that where priorité à droite doesn't apply.)  

I think if you're on the "main" road, and you slow down a bit and flash your lights, the meaning is fairly clear, i.e. "I don't care who has priority here; come on out."  In some of the places I'm thinking of, if drivers didn't occasionally do this, the poor fellow waiting to emerge could wait all day. 

[Clair]

[quote user="allanb"]In some of the places I'm thinking of, if drivers didn't occasionally do this, the poor fellow waiting to emerge could wait all day.  [/quote]

In these instances, I usually find that leaving a large enough gap is enough of an indication. If any encouragement is required, an appropriate (!) hand gesture seems to be universally understood.

I only ever use a quick flash (steady WB!) of the headlights if I want to attract a driver's attention (to indicate an upcoming road obstruction for instance).

[Sunday Driver]

As per Clair, if someone is coming out of a car park and I'm sitting in a traffic queue, then I'll use my hand to indicate that I'm offering to let him out when the traffic moves off.  A quick flash to draw their attention to your hand gesture would be seem to be reasonable, but I'd expect them to be already alert to such an offer.

On the other hand, if you're rolling on the main road and you flash your lights, then the meaning is 'Caution, I'm here so don't drive out in front of me'.  I think you really need to be stopped for a flash to be regarded as a 'Come on out'.

 

[Cendrillon]

Doesn't flashing from a French driver mean that the gendarmes are round the corner / at the next roundabout / at the cross roads?[8-)]

Edit: I see Stansreason has already mentioned the radar alert.

[Clair]

[quote user="Cendrillon"]Doesn't flashing from a French driver mean that the gendarmes are round the corner / at the next roundabout / at the cross roads?[8-)][/quote]

I stopped doing that a long time ago. Speeding/drunk drivers need to be stopped.

[Araucaria]

About twenty years ago in the UK, my father-in-law was waiting to pull out of his drive onto a main road, when an oncoming driver (in a Jaguar) flashed his lights. My father-in-law pulled out (as you might) and got hit hard by the Jaguar. Fortunately he was in the (works) beat-up old Landrover and was unhurt (and the Landrover was hardly dented, unlike the Jag). The Jaguar driver called the police, who had my father in law charged with dangerous driving - he was convicted, too. We all thought this highly unfair, but the police view was that a flash of the headlights was like hooting the horn - "I am here" rather than "come on". And yes, the charge really was dangerous driving.

It made it very difficult afterwards pulling out of the drive, as 19 drivers out of 20 do mean come on, and are surprised and annoyed if you just sit there waiting for them to pass after they have slowed down to let you out.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

I was at a roundabout the other week, and a car came on to it, stopped and then flashed their lights to tell me to go out in front. I was amazed. I looked at them like they had a screw lose and shook my head. They have right of way and I wasn't prepared to drive out. Esp if any gendarme was nearby watching.

[allanb]

I've never had an actual problem with this signal, but since there are obviously differing interpretations I suppose it might be safer not to use it (except for the "you're clear" from one HGV to another - that seems to be universal).

I notice that the signal that tells you you've misinterpreted something is also different: two fingers in the UK, only one in France.

[Judie]

I flashed an oncoming driver today on a tiny lane, with ditches on either side, which wasn't really wide enough to let us pass each other. I had stopped in a place where there was space for him to pass me. He understood exactly what I was saying without the need for hand gestures etc. Maybe the Normans are more British.

[5-element]

As a pedestrian, I have had the flashing lights invitation to cross the road - and remembering that some flashing say "do", and some say "don't", I seldom kow what to do now - and will only cross (in zebra crossings of course) if the oncoming car is very clearly stationary.

The flashing lights inviting me to cross definitely came from French cars - but of course, I have no way of checking that the driver was not British...

[AnOther]

[quote user="Clair"]I stopped doing that a long time ago. Speeding/drunk drivers need to be stopped.[/quote]Not sure how you extrapolated drunk drivers from that Clair but tell me that you never glance down at the speedo when someone does flash you [;-)]

[Clair]

What I mean is that I have stopped giving warning of speed traps to other drivers as speeding or drunk drivers need to be stopped.

I don't need to glance at my speedo when someone does flash. As I do not make a habit of exceeding the speed limit, I don't have to check any more than I usually do.

My one and only speeding conviction goes back to 1983 [:)]