[ghodlur]

Well said Eagle eye.

The usage of hazard lights to protect one's car during heavy showers has become so daily routine that even if there is a mild drizzle people dont hesitate to switch on the hazard lights.

In case of poor visibility, its better to put on the fog lamps (Front & rear) along with the headlamps.

[saket77]

Probably we have found a usage for every feature in our cars. I see hardly people using hazard lights when they actually need to be switched on: car dead on road.
But we switch them on while braking, in rains, or the worst: while going straight at a circle/ cross.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by drsingh

I use hazard lights in heavy rain!

Thats cause I drive at 50-60 kph maximum during heavy rain. Its supposed to signal that I am driving a mechanically non ideal vehicle for the weather.i.e. no abs, no rear visibility.

It signals other schumachers on the road to be careful around me and stop honking their pressure horns trying to make me go faster.

Have you thought about what would happen if everyone around you follows the same? . You can only see blinkers all around and can't possibly read the road well.

[drsingh]

Originally Posted by Guna

Have you thought about what would happen if everyone around you follows the same? . You can only see blinkers all around and can't possibly read the road well.

" Hazard light use is not permitted
except for emergency vehicles,
stopped or slowed vehicles to
indicate a traffic hazard, when
traveling as part of a funeral
procession, or traveling slower than
30 mph."

" The use of hazard lights is required
by passenger vehicles that are
stationary on a highway outside of
an urban area at night or when the
vehicle is not visible from 150
meters distance."

" A vehicle that
is travelling at less than 40 km/h,
owing to vehicle impairment, must
have its hazard lights activated."

" Hazard lights may be used when
operating a slow-moving vehicle or
when a vehicle is disabled on the
highway."

Guys I use hazard lights when i am driving very slow as I said, without ABS, not brand new tires, poor rear visibility, to attract attention to my slow moving vehicle in poor visibility, to indicate im moving slow or following slow moving vehicles.And people should be careful around my vehicle.These are all valid reasons for using hazard lights internationally.

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/hazard-light-use/

[sgiitk]

Jokers using Hazard Lights except when there is a breakdown or something similar are a hazard themselves. recently on the Mumbai-Pune expressway I say the hazards being switched on regularly when in a tunnel.

As for signallg you signal your intentions / actions. So a left blinker shows that I am winning to be overtaken. It is for the other chap to finally decide whether it is safe to overtake or not. Courtesy demands that you do so only when you think it (is / may be) safe. A right blinker indicates a lane change, mostly to overtake.

[Sheel]

Headlamps catch a lot of attention without being irritating to other road users. Have found this to be the perfect solution for very heavy rains. Mild rains, its mostly the parking lamps.

It is most irritating to follow a Car whose hazards are switched on.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Jokers using Hazard Lights except when there is a breakdown or something similar are a hazard themselves. recently on the Mumbai-Pune expressway I say the hazards being switched on regularly when in a tunnel.

These jokers are now part and parcel of the Indian roads, and no one can now set the clock back. Look at the fact that even on a site like this, there are people justifying incorrect use.

In the above example, God help you if you have a breakdown in the tunnel, and have to park, even at the side. Putting on the hazard lights is useless, because there is no way a car behind you will know if you are moving or stopped, because of this Indian misuse - so the feature itself has become useless. The only thing to do is get out of the car, and get a safe distance from it so if someone hits you from behind, you are not killed or injured inside the car.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

So a left blinker shows that I am winning to be overtaken. It is for the other chap to finally decide whether it is safe to overtake or not. Courtesy demands that you do so only when you think it (is / may be) safe. A right blinker indicates a lane change, mostly to overtake.

Using left indicator as suggested above is also wrong. The only way one can signal willingness to be overtaken is by hand. Also by moving to the left if possible, and by not accelerating.
On Indian highways, the right blinker is also used to indicate - go ahead and overtake me.
It is a crazy world out there, on Indian roads. Also, extremely dangerous. From poor driving culture to bad road design and poorly maintained vehicles. Result? We have now overtaken China for the highest number of road accident deaths. And still a long way to go before this death count goes down, as vehicles on the roads increase.
A couple of years ago, 300 people died in road accidents in India, daily. By now the number maybe past 400. It is like a wide body passenger jet, fully loaded, crashing every day.
But hey, this is India, life is cheap.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by drsingh

" A vehicle that
is travelling at less than 40 km/h,
owing to vehicle impairment, must
have its hazard lights activated."


Guys I use hazard lights when i am driving very slow as I said, without ABS, not brand new tires, poor rear visibility, to attract attention to my slow moving vehicle in poor visibility, to indicate im moving slow or following slow moving vehicles.And people should be careful around my vehicle.These are all valid reasons for using hazard lights internationally.

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/hazard-light-use/

I still see a slight difference between the guideline and what you are practicing. Guideline is applicable when all other vehicles are sticking to normal speed and a specific vehicle is having to drive slow due to some issue with that vehicle (or driver's state). But in India, when it rains and the visibility becomes poor, it is affecting everyone and all of them need to slow down and drive cautiously. Here most of the cars don't have ABS and may not have brand new tires, so that should not be a reason to turn on the blinkers

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Using left indicator as suggested above is also wrong. The only way one can signal willingness to be overtaken is by hand. Also by moving to the left if possible, and by not accelerating.
On Indian highways, the right blinker is also used to indicate - go ahead and overtake me.

Maybe I can find my old copy of the British Highway Code and correct you. Hand signals are more or less verboten in the UK. Also the wave on signal went out somewhere in the 60's, the left indication replaced it. It did not exist even when I took my Driving Test in 1974. Using right blinker is outright wrong.

Remember the golden rule, you signal what you want to do or are doing, and never what the other chap should do.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Maybe I can find my old copy of the British Highway Code and correct you. Hand signals are more or less verboten in the UK. Also the wave on signal went out somewhere in the 60's, the left indication replaced it. It did not exist even when I took my Driving Test in 1974. Using right blinker is outright wrong.

Remember the golden rule, you signal what you want to do or are doing, and never what the other chap should do.

Sir, you are absolutely correct. The overtaken vehicle is not to signal to the overtaking vehicle under any circumstance that the road ahead is clear for the overtake manoeuvre. "Overtake at your own peril" is the standard rule internationally for many decades now (though "wave your right arm to allow the car behind to overtake" still exists in Indian rule books).

[sgiitk]

Unfortunately in India, I do not think any car makes the rear lights brighter when fogs are switched on. In very poor visibility use fogs.

[EagleEye]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Unfortunately in India, I do not think any car makes the rear lights brighter when fogs are switched on. In very poor visibility use fogs.

Almost all the European cars in India have rear fog lamps.

These are very high visibility lights even in adverse conditions like rain or fog. In fact it is extremely annoying to the vehicle behind, if someone has switched it on in normal conditions.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Unfortunately in India, I do not think any car makes the rear lights brighter when fogs are switched on. In very poor visibility use fogs.

The fog lights equipped i20 does just this when the rear fog lights are selected. I suspect the i10 does this too, both being cars built in Chennai for the world.

[braindead]

The crux of the matter is; if you feel the visibility is too poor to drive safely on your regular lights alone, please pull over. When you have stopped on the shoulder of the road, then put your hazards on.

If you happen to be limping along the road and have your hazards on to indicate that, please do not change lanes... ever!

Hazards have become so common in the Pune-Mumbai corridor that people use them for any stupid reason. Have seen some cars blinking away if they are in a hurry and are cutting across traffic. Have had quite a few close calls because 'hazardous' drivers changed lanes across my nose without and indication, and no possibility of one.

BTW, I think I have seen a car, maybe a Vento which could indicate while the hazards were on. The lights opposite the side indicated do not illuminate every other blink.