[Swanand Inamdar]

Driving with Hazards on is a big no no. For a person behind you, its difficult to know whether you are stationary or on the move. Specially in low visibility conditions. As noop said, have the lights and fogs on and continue, or else, pull over and stop. This time with the Hazards on.

[revintup]

Every time i drive behind a car which has its hazards on, my eyes just cant seem to adjust to the blinking. I get irritated, and overtake the person as soon as i can,get in front of him and give him a taste of his own medicine.

I really think that hazards should be used only if you are parking your car in a hazardous position.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by revintup

I get irritated, and overtake the person as soon as i can,get in front of him and give him a taste of his own medicine.

I don't think that will make him realise his mistake. For all you know he will be thinking that he 'inspired' you to do the same.

[karizma_devil]

i understand hazard lights should only be put on when your veichel is in Limp mode.

Normal headlight, tail lamps & fog lamps ( if present ) should be switched on during rains.

Using hazard lights while driving at moderate speeds in rain is a very wrong method. Please refrain from using hazard lights while driving at normal speeds.

[speedsatya]

This saturday ,we were driving on the NH48 when it started raining like crazy.In fact this was the heaviest rain that I have ever driven in all these years ! We were around 50 kph on the 2 lane stretch before Channrayapatna when this idiot in a Swift Dezire suddenly switches on his hazard lights .I instinctively slam my brakes thinking this car has a problem .Its only later on I realise that this was just another idiot driving with the blinkers on !! Later on ,I see many more such morons all the way till Bangalore

[arunr]

Its been raining like its never rained before for the past month in Mumbai. Along with the usual challenges of driving in the rains i have observed a pattern wherein drivers switch on their hazard lights in rains.
Now as far as I understand hazard lights are meant to caution other road users in case the vehicle has developed some mechanical failure or breakdown. Also it is used to indicate that the vehicle is parked and caution other motorists.
Also the use of indicator is not possible in case hazard lights are enabled, making it an even riskier proposition in case the driver wants to shift lanes or turn.

Wanted to understand the views of fellow Bhpians on the issue.

[ajmat]

The European law states that hazard lights should not be used when the vehicle is moving

[BigCat]

The use of parking lights were used in earlier times, now running lights for cars & angel eyes for bikes are the norm. They are not harsh & bewares the on coming traffic.

[SunnyBoi]

Slightly off topic - What about people turning in hazard lights when braking from high speed say at a speed breaker on a highway? I presume it's not legal but is it a good practice to do so?

[aroop]

As far as I remember the lights may be used when your vehicle becomes a hazard on the road because of some problem.

There has been elaborate discussions in these threads.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...rd-lights.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/owning...-rains-19.html

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by ajmat

The European law states that hazard lights should not be used when the vehicle is moving

But the indian law says nothing,so you are free to use them anytime anywhere,in fogs it may still make sense for vehicles without rear foglamps,as tail lights arent visible in dense fog of north india,but in rains

[shankar.balan]

Hazard lights are exactly that. Hazard lights. For use if and when the car is in some kind of crisis. Mechanical or otherwise.

This new practice of banging on the hazard lights whenever it rains appears to be new found peculiarity on our roads. It is indeed true that the indicators will not work at the same time as the hazard lights.

However, given our singularly ill-lit roads, broken, pot-holed surfaces, torrential rain combined with near zero visibility and chaotically crowded situations, there is, if you look for it, a sort of queer logic in the use of the flashers in these conditions. It at least helps to indicate that there is some species of vehicle lurking about at that spot and gives us/ it a marginally better chance of spotting it or being spotted.

In a country like ours this could well mean the difference between life and death and I guess most of us would choose life every time!

While the International standards are very clear about the use of hazard lamps, I think, with our typical jugaad mentality, we Indians have improvised this practice to safeguard our own interests in the face of complete apathy from cvic authorities and government towards guaranteeing the tax paying public, decent, well- lit roads and acceptable, safe infrastructure!

Maybe we should simply legalize the practice here in our country to avoid ambiguity, and publish the fact to everyone!

[Octane_Power]

It's just a herd mentality in India.
Its raining -> 1 car puts on the Hazard Lights -> the car following says "Oh I might get banged from the rear too, let me also put it on".

I'd rather keep the dim headlight turned on so the tail light's also on and its more than sufficient, and almost as visible as the blinking amber bulbs.
What if you want to change lanes ? What if you want to make a turn ?
Yes, just the red doesn't look cool because it doesn't blink!! :@
And if the car following you has a drunkard behind the wheel and if God Forbid he loses control, then red, orange, VIBGYOR you name it, nothing will stop him from hitting you.

OT- The other stupid group of drivers consists of those who for no apparent reason turn on the Hazard lights in tunnels. And then change lanes and over take others without any signal
I just keep wondering, whats the Hazard there and what's the damn use?
Is the hazard the tunnel itself which they fear that it might collapse any moment? So "Run for your lives!!" ??
The tunnels are well lit and visibility is just at par with open roads!!

For me, the Hazard light is just for two reasons,
1. You are a danger to the road cuz of a mechanical problem in your car.
2. There is some danger in front of you so you are apprising the cars following you about the situation.

-Bhargav

[honeybee]

I think they should be used in case your vehicle becomes a hazard or you spot a traffic hazard and want to alert drivers following you.

It would be pointless to switch on the hazard lights on reflex when it starts raining, or more popularly when people are in the tunnel (e-Way is a classic example). However if you see the street is waterlogged, or a pileup or any other hazards on the street, I think it's good to switch on your hazard lights and warn the other drivers.

However if the sole purpose is to make others aware about your presence (in case of reduced visibility) the best way to do it is to switch on your parking lights and/or the front and rear fogs - if equipped.

[SS-Traveller]

A detailed explanation of why hazard lights are not to be used while driving in rain or fog.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

CORRECT USE OF HAZARD LIGHTS IN FOG:

DO NOT use your hazard lights in reduced visibility conditions while driving. Use them only when your vehicle is stopped, regardless of the weather conditions. The purpose of these flashing lights is to warn other drivers about the existence of your vehicle as a hazard to others driving past it, OR to warn others of a hazard ahead that you can see, but which may not be visible to them.

Source

Also read: Avoid using hazard lights during fog.

In the situation that you have a car that is not equipped with fog lamps (and you do not wish to spend the paltry sum required to fix fog lamps anytime in the future), but you are travelling on a fog-bound road, you can switch on your hazard lights, only until you are sure that a vehicle coming up behind you has noticed you and slowed down sufficiently.

Under no circumstance should you continue to use hazard lights while another car is continuously following you. This may lead to "moth-effect", especially at night, and your vehicle would be the worse off if the vehicle behind you just happens to be a truck with an inebriated driver at the wheel (inebriated drivers suffer from greater "moth effect").

Also read: 'The moth effect' endangers motorists.

In addition, if you incorrectly activate your hazard lights, you are handicapped in your ability to signal your intention to turn and / or make lane changes.