Courtesy gestures on the road

[bwana]

Read fog lights is really annoying.

Presume you mean rear but yeah, they can be annoying when used improperly but they do serve a purpose.

 

[Voicy]

Drivers of large trucks tend to use the Right flicker to indicate when it is safe (or is it not safe?) to pass.

But using flickers as a courtesy gesture I have not personally seen yet.

I largely ignore this now.

I had one incident where a truck driver did just that, I overtook him and ended up having to swerve out onto the right hand side of the road because of an oncoming vehicle.

NEVER let anyone else judge your safety for you.

 

[Colin62]

@Colin62,

What is getting to us is not your point about being blinded by hazards, etc, but the impression you give to us that only you are able to decide what is the correct thing to do under hazardous situations.

(1) You bemoan the fact that some use their hazards to warn traffic behind them when the lane they are in is slowing down, but at the same time say you will continue to warn others' about animals in the road as just one example.

It really only bugs me when I've already seen the danger and have already dropped back. I'd rather the guy in front of me is concentrating on his own car rather than worrying about me. But fair enough, I was being inconsistent there.

(2) Just leave the attitude out of it, state your case why you don't use hazard lights in mist and leave it at that. We get you, you believe it is wrong to drive with hazards on in heavy rain and mist, we get you but, that does NOT mean we have to have the same problem or we should stop using our hazards when we deem it to be necessary.

I believe it is wrong to use hazards in rain or most and was trying to argue the case in the hope of convincing at least one or two people to think about it and possibly reconsider. I'm aware that the chances are pretty low, but that doesn't mean I can't state my case. If I'm not allowed to state my opinion then why are we even on here?

(3) Just because you have chosen to live in a mist belt, does not mean the rest of us are not faced with seasonal mist and have not driven in mist ever either. My first recollection of driving for hours in mist was in the old Transkei on the way to Coffee bay, in the mountains around Molteno and Aliwal North in the Eastern Cape, in the mountains between Pietersburg and Tzaneen, and yes even in the Kalahari on a trip between Upington and Danielskuil! And don't try and tell a Capetonian about mist driving when they drive on the N2 between Somerset West and Cape Town! When the peasoup does decide to settle in Gauteng, it is just as bad as it is anywhere else, even though it may not occur as often as it does in KZN.

Have you undertaken a trip between Dar Es Salaam and Kampala in the rainy season? No? Well then I can equally say you know blow all about driving in hazardous conditions!

As I replied to H03n3r, I deliberately put a smiley behind the location comment.

I'm well aware that everyone drives in poor conditions from time to time. And I'm not picking a fight with either of you - I'm just putting my case forward. Hell, I've even got a brother-in-law who drives with his foglights on permanently, but other than that, I still like the guy

 

[Geoff.D]

I was taught to drive by my father, who made it an ingrained habit that one ALWAYS checks your rearview mirror before doing anything drastic.

And in Gauteng, believe me it is absolutely critical that you do every thing you are able to to make sure the oke behind you has seen that the traffic is slowing down ----

Between putting on the make up, smoking and playing with their smartphones, for many, driving is not the top priority

 

[Colin62]

I was taught to drive by my father, who made it an ingrained habit that one ALWAYS checks your rearview mirror before doing anything drastic.

I actually think that many of the poor drivers we have on the roads are because many people were not taught by their fathers. Years before I was old enough to actually drive, I had already learnt what was good practice and what was dangerous, by being in the car alongside my father. Many drivers on the roads today had never driven a car before they got into a driving school car, and never had the benefit of travelling with a competent driver to absorb knowledge of what is safe and what is stupid, as many parents didn't own cars, or if they did, only drove them occasionally.

K53 is all very well, but it doesn't teach you how to read what the traffic is doing, it doesn't develop your instincts that warn you that the guy in the lane next to you is getting ready to change lanes and hasn't seen you yet, or how to look far enough ahead when on the freeway to be able to react in time. All that I had started to learn because my dad would point it out as we drove.

 

[Genisys]

Presume you mean rear but yeah, they can be annoying when used improperly but they do serve a purpose.

Yup, didn't read before I posted. But yes, up here it's very common to see someone drive with their Rear Fog lights on during the early hours of the morning.

 

[BigAl-sa]

The problem with foglights is that they are static. I have them, but the oke in front of me may not have.

The flashing of the hazards does give you a change in contrast in the mist. Bwana, of all people, should know the relevance of contrast.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

I was taught to drive by my father, who made it an ingrained habit that one ALWAYS checks your rearview mirror before doing anything drastic.

And in Gauteng, believe me it is absolutely critical that you do every thing you are able to to make sure the oke behind you has seen that the traffic is slowing down ----

Between putting on the make up, smoking and playing with their smartphones, for many, driving is not the top priority

Very good habit to do, especially when something happens on the freeway and you need to warn others of what's ahead.
Habit stays with you as well,

I'll also tap my hooter, in case somebody about to cross /merge into my path hasn't seen me yet, and is looking the other way.
Awareness is just as important as warning in time.

As for people's poor driving sometimes, I think driving courtesy is passed down from generation to generation.
Ie if you drove in a minibus taxi most of your life, chances are you'll drive in the yellow lane when you are behind the wheel.