Rant: Idiots that flash their highbeams in attempt to get you to move over...

So I'm driving the Turbobrick up I75/I71 through Northern Kentucky towards Cincinnati this evening, as usual, I'm in the far left lane. I say as usual because I'm usually moving a little more swiftly then others. I'm going about 70, couldn't go any more due to a line of traffic in front of me, which was slowly passing the traffic in the next lane over, which also was full of cars. Couldn't go around anyone without executing some dangerous passes and cutting people off. If the lane was free and clear, I would have been going faster and as soon as possible, moved over. Not only is it courteous (if someone wants to go faster than me, hey, have at it!), but I've always felt if you are driving in the fast lane all alone you stick out like a sore thumb for revenue enhancing peace officers.

As I'm driving along...some D-Bag in a mustang cobra convertible starts flashing his lights behind me about a 1/4 mile away, all the way up till the point he gets on my rear bumper.

Not really sure what idiots like this are thinking, I mean surely he has to see that there are about 5 cars in front me and that even if I wanted to move over, I couldn't since there were cars all around me. Surely he could see that as painful as it was, the line of traffic I was in was making progress in overtaking the cars in the next lane over?

Even when someone is clearly blocking the fast lane and they could easily move over, I don't even bother anymore with the whole light flashing thing. I did when I was younger but all it did was confuse people and/or piss them off. I know it pissed me off mainly because I never let myself get into the position where I'm holding someone back. I will gladly mover over for you, in fact, because I'm always scanning my rear view mirror, I will see you coming so you won't have to flash your lights. But traffic is traffic, no matter how fast we want to go we all get stuck in it sometimes. That light flashing kind of thing might make sense on the Autobahn I suppose, but I don't see the point when the person you are flashing your lights at has really nowhere to go.

After figuring out that his high beams weren't magic, I watched the moron drop back, swerve over three lanes, and then come up upon some other cars and repeat the whole routine, but this time he went ahead and cut everyone off around him, all to get a couple cars ahead of me. So after all of the theatrics and dangerous maneuvers, he ended up about 50 feet in front of me, stuck in the same line of cars I was stuck in to begin with.

Good job mustang dude!

If I'm closing on someone who can move over but hasn't, I will give them 2 quick flashes from 100 yards back or so. Just to help them notice me in case they had not yet. If they don't move over after this, I initiate a pass on the right. Some people get pissed, others don't. I don't see it as something to get pissed over, and I don't get pissed when it's done to me.

Now, riding my bumper and flashing, yeah - that pisses me off.

Maybe he got a phone call from someone saying "come as fast as you can, your (insert loved one here) is getting ready to pass on." Probably not but just a thought.

I use the flash to pass from time to time, but I always am looking 2 cars ahead when I drive so I won't do it unless there isn't a second car ahead for a while.

I do it occasionally, but only when there are no other cars around and the person has plenty of room to move over. Passing on the right is dangerous, and illegal here. Not to mention people shouldn't sit in the left lane doing 70 miles an hour on the phone eating a cheeseburger yelling at their kids while adjusting the radio.

On the flip-side, I always watch my mirrors and move over at the first whiff of something coming behind me. It gives me hope for driving in America when others do the same, which is a rare occurrence.

You don't know the other driver's situation. He/she may have had a medical emergency and was just trying to get through. I've had that same situation but have been the guy in the rear and had a D-bag that wouldn't pull over. Not being able to get through could have been life threatening.

I had two legitimate instances where I needed to be somewhere as fast as possible. The first was when my mother in law had a stroke and I had to drive my wife 100 miles in a blinding snowstorm. We were told that she was not going to make it much longer so I had my Sidekick in four wheel high and my foot on the floor.

The next time was when a loved one experienced heart problems and I was four hours away and had to run most of the PA turnpike flat out in my Miata.

In both cases I decided that I would go as fast as possible while not endangering others and would only stop if a cop was on my bumper with his lights on. I did break a whole lot of traffic laws in both instances but didn't cause any damage or wrecks. I did piss a few people off when trying to get around them but if they had yielded to me like the law requires, it wouldn't have been a problem.

Bottom line, you never know why somebody is in a hurry. Sometimes it's important and sometimes it's not. I just move over when possible and let them by.

I never really flash or honk, but i'm never in a real big hurry. I guess when I lived in Wisconsin there was hardly a reason (often easy enough to pass someone, except the Illinois tourist rush going north on fridays, south on sundays) and in Boston there is no benefit to being a jerk. Traffic is everywhere, and so are terribly timed traffic lights. Most of the drivers there are so inattentive they wouldn't notice anyway.

Great rant - NOT.

I don't care how fast you're going, you don't own the left lane - the passing lane. Move the berkeley over, and stop talking about courteous

Any opinions on the alternative (supposedly more courteous) method?

I've heard if you're approaching someone oblivious/underspeed in the left lane, keep a few carlengths back and turn on your left blinker (not right, they may think you're signaling you're moving back right). The repetitive light forces them to check their mirrors, but the lack of super bright high beam supposedly makes it less aggressive, plus you don't have to continually hit the stalk, just turn the indicator on and leave it.

Zomby woof knows what time it is.

If there's one in front of me, I might flash-to-pass. If there's two, I forget it and slow down. If it's five pm and I have a two lane highway, I give up all hope and just cruise with traffic.

IIRC when I lived in Germany you would just pull up behind someone and turn your headlights on and they'd pull over and let you pass.

Germany seems to also train the hell out of their drivers. Too many angry people here.

I live in california, and passing on the right is pretty much normal, the main time when people will flash the high beams is when there is someone in the left lane passing a semi truck or whatever and they dont have room to move over (usually in a big truck 2 feet from someones bumper). I think its pretty pointless anyway, and rather unsafe. I had someone lock up their brakes infront of me on in the left lane of a 2 lane freeway becasue i was about 1 car length behind them trying to pass a truck with a horse trailer waving all over the road, and I imagine flashing lights at people like that would only make the situation worse.

I usually see flashing the brights as the height of shiny happy person-ishness. There are times when it is acceptable, but for the most part when it has happened to me, it is just a dick. I'm in the left lane because it is the passing lane. That means that I am passing someone. If I haven't moved over yet, its because I can't. I'm checking my mirrors, I know you're there. Don't be a douche.

I actually think that I've posted a similar rant on here before.

I guess that I should also note that I do realize that there are strikingly different driving styles from region to region, and I'm not an expert on any of them and am familiar with only two or three (that aren't that different). I know that my great aunt has lived in places (can't tell you where, she's lived in 16 states in her life) that if you aren't honking the horn nobody will move over. Around here in Chicago, where she has most consistently lived for the last 40 years, she would get shot if she would do that.

Zomby woof wrote: I don't care how fast you're going, you don't own the left lane - the passing lane. Move the berkeley over, and stop talking about courteous

In general, yes, but I think you should reread my original post. Common sense and looking ahead should prevail.

Zomby woof wrote: Great rant - NOT. I don't care how fast you're going, you don't own the left lane - the passing lane. Move the berkeley over, and stop talking about courteous

copied from the OP's first posting for you convenience seeing as you couldn't read it yourself.

"I'm going about 70, couldn't go any more due to a line of traffic in front of me, which was slowly passing the traffic in the next lane over, which also was full of cars."

carguy123 wrote: You don't know the other driver's situation. He/she may have had a medical emergency and was just trying to get through. I've had that same situation but have been the guy in the rear and had a D-bag that wouldn't pull over. Not being able to get through could have been life threatening.

I hear you, but sometimes to go fast (and get through traffic) you have to have some patience. Every situation is different of course but... in this case, I got off on the 12th Street Exit, where there is a hospital at that exit that is visible for several miles in each direction, did the mustang turn off? No.

mtn wrote: I guess that I should also note that I do realize that there are strikingly different driving styles from region to region, and I'm not an expert on any of them and am familiar with only two or three (that aren't that different). I know that my great aunt has lived in places (can't tell you where, she's lived in 16 states in her life) that if you aren't honking the horn nobody will move over. Around here in Chicago, where she has most consistently lived for the last 40 years, she would get shot if she would do that.

I think you might win some kind of prize here, your response couldn't be more accurate, especially true where I live.

aussiesmg wrote:

Zomby woof wrote: Great rant - NOT. I don't care how fast you're going, you don't own the left lane - the passing lane. Move the berkeley over, and stop talking about courteous

copied from the OP's first posting for you convenience seeing as you couldn't read it yourself. "I'm going about 70, couldn't go any more due to a line of traffic in front of me, which was slowly passing the traffic in the next lane over, which also was full of cars."

I don't care: I want drama!

The flash is a last resort for me, since about 50% of the time it pisses off the other driver.

carguy123 wrote: You don't know the other driver's situation. He/she may have had a medical emergency and was just trying to get through. I've had that same situation but have been the guy in the rear and had a D-bag that wouldn't pull over. Not being able to get through could have been life threatening.

If its an emergency use the EMERGENCY flashers, Thats what they're for?

carguy123 wrote: You don't know the other driver's situation. He/she may have had a medical emergency and was just trying to get through. I've had that same situation but have been the guy in the rear and had a D-bag that wouldn't pull over. Not being able to get through could have been life threatening.

just like any of the 20-50 drivers who are in front of you trying to do the exact same thing. So they are no longer important, and no longer am I?

Why is the guy behind me more important than the drivers (all of them) in front of me, and myself?

I've been tailgated, so that I get over when there is a chance, only to have the idiot go by me MAYBE 1 mph faster than me.

Zomby woof wrote: Great rant - NOT. I don't care how fast you're going, you don't own the left lane - the passing lane. Move the berkeley over, and stop talking about courteous

Says the person who does not commute in traffic.

Very simple, and quite incomplete, answer, Zomby.

Say, when I want to do 75, but the fast lane is doing 70, how do I know when the guy behind me only wants to do 72- I should get out of his way no matter what? Especially if there are cars in both of the lanes to the right?

My personal favorite is the moron who does that, and then weaves in and out of traffic for 10 miles to just move back a few more places. When they are being a moron, I try to help them.

99.9% of the time, the flash means "my life is more important than yours", and I always answer- no, it's not.

Eric