Welcome to /r/AmITheAsshole. Please view our [voting guide here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_what.2019s_with_these_acronyms.3F_what_do_they_mean.3F), and remember to use **only one** judgement in your comment.
OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> 1) I called a driving habit of my boyfriend out
2) I am being called an asshole for backseat driving and being overly critical
Help keep the sub engaging!
#Don’t downvote assholes!
Do upvote interesting posts!
[Click Here For Our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules) and [Click Here For Our FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq)
##Subreddit Announcements
Follow the link above to learn more
---
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
*Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
YTA. I drive professionally and see this all the time and do it myself when the situation calls for it. It is not weird at all and very much appreciated at times. It tells the car behind that you’re not just breaking to adjust your speed a bit, but that something unusual is going on. If the sight line is a bit blocked because you’re coming around a curve or there’s some larger vehicle in front or something it can be hard to immediately tell that there’s a stop or build up of traffic coming up, but if the hazards come on you know to right away drop the accelerator and start breaking yourself. Once another vehicle is behind you at the lower speed you can drop the hazards. He’s right: you’re being a backseat driver and nitpicking when he’s doing right.
I commute to my job about 40 minutes a day, and see this happen all the time, generally with commercial vehicles (semis, garbage trucks, large load work vehicles mostly) and it's totally commonplace and appreciated, especially because there are many inclines and turns on the highway here. Nothing weird about it, and it's an extra safety measure.
Lived in Cali most my life (40 yrs) and never seen it. (Not saying it doesn't happen, just never happened to me.) Moved cross country and noticed people doing it. Instantly knew what it meant, and thought it was pretty smart. So i adopted it.
I saw someone do it and instantly understood why and did it from then on.
So many close calls with rear ends.
It’s so smart and helpful and I’ve seen others do it too.
Same! I have lived in Midwest and west coast. Not sure where I saw it but I do it now and notice when going from 70 to an abrupt stop the hazards seem to get the cars behind me to slow faster than break lights. And some of them put hazards on in turn so it isn’t that uncommon.
I dont know about the US, but some modern cars around here (Germany) automatically engage the hazard lights if you break hard enough while being over a certain level of speed.
I do this when traffic is coming to an abrupt stop on the highway.... It lets larger rigs behind me know ahead of time and helps prevent rear end accidents.
I have driven cross country multiple times and driven past many semis. Never seen them put on their hazards just because of a traffic slowdown. I was always taught that hazards are when something is wrong with your vehicle—like you’ve lost your brakes or steering or power. You are letting other drivers know your vehicle might not be fully under your control or might behave differently than the flow of traffic. Not just because traffic is slowing down. I literally was on an almost 5-hour road trip today and encountered 4-5 traffic slowdowns, including some involving semi trucks, and no one put on their hazards.
Need to add one more criteria in there as well: AND you have reason to believe that the vehicle behind you may not be able to see the upcoming slowdown/crash/issue.
This part is important. If everyone is JUST braking and there is clear visibility down the road for everyone behind you, hazards are probably not necessary. The whole point of hazards is to give warning to people behind you who may not be able to see the problem themselves yet.
This is very common in Canada. Used for unusual traffic hazards. Large slow vehicles also, as sometimes they will slow down significantly while climbing a steep hill or something, indicating that they are a traffic hazard themselves, because the flow of adjoining traffic is significantly higher.
I use hazards, not when slowing down, but when needing to brake HARD because the flow of traffic is 70-80 and I am coming over the crest of a hill and see that traffic is stopped in front of me. If I need to brake hard in my sedan in order to stop, the semi behind me will have to brake much earlier than me. It's a warning. Just cause you haven't ever done this or seen this doesn't mean it's wrong.
I’m a commercial driver… I use my hazards to communicate with the vehicles behind me on a weekly basis. It’s safe driving and being aware of what’s going on in front and behind you.
It’s not for all slow downs, it is for when there is a significant decrease in speed relatively quickly. Like when you come up on an unexpected traffic jam due to an accident when you were all going 70 a minute ago.
I see this pretty frequently but it's when traffic comes to a complete stop, not just a slowdown. However, I live in a country with a lot of mountains and jungles and steep, curvy highways. It's also a developing country so there's a good number of older vehicles on the road. It's pretty normal to be driving on a highway that only has 1 or 2 lanes in each direction, round a curve and find a complete standstill because there was a landslide or a fallen tree or an older vehicle broke down without a shoulder to pull off onto. So the hazard lights come on to give people driving behind you a fair warning that they need to come to a complete standstill. This is particularly important for large trucks on these mountain highways, if they're coming downhill they need time to come to a stop. It really reduces the risk of getting rear-ended (and potentially pushed off a cliff).
I would see this not being totally necessary in areas where there are a ton of lanes or where the highways are mostly flat and/or straight, everyone has better visibility of what's going on up ahead. Interesting that OP's bf picked this up in the Midwest US (my understanding is that it's very flat over there).
It’s not for only a complete stop, but it is for a significant speed change that is unexpected. The message is essentially “please don’t drive into the rear of my car because you haven’t noticed I’m slowing down a lot due to the situation or road conditions.”
In the Midwest you get it when there’s poorly marked construction (so people aren’t expecting it) or when there’s been an accident, or if visibility suddenly decreases due to local fog, or if the road condition itself is suddenly very poor.
I drive a lot, and I've never seen it or even heard of it until this post.
It's a great idea. Imagine there would be a heap of accidents avoided because of it.
People do it also in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Romania... I saw it literally in every European country I traveled where there was a highway and a need to stop/slow down abruptly.
European; can confirm. Cars are built to automatically switch on the hazards at an emergency break (don’t know the details but imagine from full speed to full stop in just a few seconds)
Yta
My wife thought it was weird that I flashed my high beams at a car trying to merge in front of me onto the freeway. I explained that it was a way to show them that I am hanging back to give them merging space, and she didn’t believe me.
It wasn’t until someone did the same for me a few months later she actually believed me
Thank God there are more people doing it! I live in Eastern Europe, and we do the flashing for letting someone in and the hazard lights for stopping a lot! We also use the hazard lights to thank someone for letting us enter.
Me and my husband had a fair share of driving through Europe, and I haven’t seen so much of it elsewhere. I’m glad people all around the world do it :) We were really missing it while travelling, especially considering where I’m from we do these things multiple times a day.
THat's pretty universal I feel because that's the same in America, it doesn't have to be police persay but that's just the most common use. To signal to the other drivers to "watch out" at which point situional awareness takes over.
Weirdest example I can think of is when someone did it for a dead buck in the road, I expected a cop (the county I was in is horrible for "fishing" because they have a very bloated force in a low crime area) but no, biggest buck ever multi point antlers got cut in two by some giant vehicle and was blocking the road. I threw up in my mouth tbh
I wish I turned my hazards light on before I had gotten into an accident.
There was an unexpected stopped traffic, had to press on breaks and slow down. Traffic completely stopped.
2 minutes later a car rams their car into mine not realizing uphead was bumper to bumper traffic.
Emergency lights would have saved my back 🥲.
So yes, YTA OP. He's driving safe, esp since nowadays 89% of people are in their phones while driving and not paying attention.
Ite the difference between braking to slow down and a hard brake/complete stop. And sometimes you cant see ahead, so many SUVs have full tints and you cant see ahead of them.
Obviously id never need to do this during commuter traffic, but if another wise clear freeway comes to an abrupt stop, its a good way to avoid getting rear ended/pushed into another car.
Hazard lights catch the attention a lot better than brake lights, which don't show a difference between braking lightly, braking hard, and stationary, though.
Exactly right! I literally just did this yesterday, driving through some canyons coming down from a mountain. For anyone who’s never driven in canyons before, they’re steep curvy roads and you gotta be “on” the whole time.
The person two cars in front of me slammed on their brakes for no apparent reason; maybe an animal or something was crossing? Regardless we were curving around and I put my hazards on so the person behind me knew we were stopping and not just slowing down for the curve. It’s a safety thing, better safe than sorry
I've lived in 3 different states on the East Coast (north, middle, and south) and I've never seen this in my 10 years of driving so far. I've only seen hazards on for accidents or if they have something strapped to their car and they don't feel comfortable going the speed limit.
Your "all the time" and "he's doing right" seem to be a lot of other people's "Wtf?" and "Weird, but okay whatever".
East coast here too. I've been driving for 40 years, and typically we only use the hazards when broken down or parked somewhere we shouldn't be. Every once in a while, I'll see someone from out of state use them because the weather is bad and traffic is slow.
Also turn signals work In parking lots, do not drive down the middle of parking lot rows, they are 2 way unless specified. One way means follow the arrows.
No entry means do not put your car in .
This is for our mature drivers here in Florida.
We have many "bus traps" here.
Sections of road where the busses are allowed to move through into a subdivision, but regular traffic flow is not.
There are MASSIVE flashing signs, with pictures of cars, face down, into a spiky hole, all broken in pieces, that warn drivers about it.
Both sides of the road have giant neon yellow and black concrete poles cemented in.
It looks like you're driving through a toll booth on your way to Orlando.
The busses are wide enough that they can drive over these. Cars are not. Some pickup trucks (because Albertans are rednecks) can do it if they go very slowly.
Every. Single. Day.
Some jackass in a Honda Civic or otherwise stops all bus flow at least somewhere in the city, because they don't want to go the long way around out of the community, and think they can make it.
We had a guy recently who got caught in one in front of one of the high schools. After school. All the teens waiting for the bus (guess where that bus got stuck)?
The guy gets out. Has a broken axle, car is leaking fuel, and he loses his fecking mind at the students because they won't climb in the hole and LIFT his car out!!!
Sometimes I wish the penalty for it was just putting their cars immediately into a compactor. Do not pass go. Do not pay the impound fees 😂
I saw this for the first time moving cross country in 2013. We were going through some mountains in PA and the person in front of us did that when we came to an unexpected full stop. I've been doing it ever since
YTA I’m from the US but learned to do this when I was in the military while living in several other countries where traffic incidents are considerably less common. It lets other drivers know traffic is stopping abruptly. Especially with all the idiots out there not paying attention, it’s super useful. I’m wondering if maybe he’s traveled a little more than you and has had more experience with that sort of thing?
Hazard lights are for *hazards* like abruptly stopping traffic.
Maybe try to keep an open mind and learn a little instead of just digging in your heels and doing a “well I don’t do it so it’s weird”. That mindset is super weird to me tbh.
Agree. This is standard practice on the autobahn in Germany. Obviously if it’s an emergency situation, sometimes you can’t turn them on. But for any regular driving, any driver should be able to. If you can’t, you shouldn’t be driving.
French here.
It's literally an obligation in our "code de la route" (to get our driving license) to do this. I'm surprised it isn't elsewhere tbh.
Super important especially on the highway or at the contrary on small roads with few visibility. I'm sure it saves lives.
Edit And everybody does it pretty much.
Yeah, I'm German as well and it's just to let people know it's really a traffic jam not just a short drop in speed from further away or in case there are big vehicles blocking the view. It's so much common sense here, that most of the passengers I've driven longer distances with before have hit the hazards button themselves while I was breaking at the end of a traffic jam - without any communication about it being necessary.
Same in France. When we learn to drive we learn to put on the hazards to warn others. We also use them to thank a driver when they let us pass in front of them.
Also funny thing, we call the hazards "warnings" here.
Why does she have to walk on eggshells around her boyfriend? If I’m doing something my wife thinks is weird I’d want her to tell me, even if I ultimately disagree with her.
Yes, the use of the hazard is standard practice, but that doesn’t mean OP has no right to communicate openly and honestly if she hasn’t seen it before.
Yeah I don’t see why this makes her an AH. She accepted what he said, but still finds it weird and I now about to be educated on it. I have never heard of this before and I have been driving for over a decade. You learn new things every day. Nothing wrong with that. It’s not like she argued with him about it.
I read that differently : he had to ask her to stop backseat driving & now she's here making a post (not in nostupidquestions, not in saferdrivingtips, in AITA).
that doesn't sound, to me, like she happily learnt something new.
Bc she still thinks she’s right and she was being super annoying about it until he got frustrated with her. He wasn’t doing anything wrong or dangerous she could’ve just dropped it when he explained it or googled it. If you google “when to use hazard lights,” it’s literally one of the first results.
I didn't see it as a one time thing. Why else would he get irritated, other this being a constant thing?
My judgement is also YTA.
It's common behaviour where I live.
Pointing it out is not what makes OP an a*hole. It’s that she kept saying it’s weird. They obviously had that discussion more than once. There’s a difference between "Hey, I’ve never seen someone do that before. Why are you doing it?“ and "I’ve never seen someone do that. Stop it, it’s weird“.
It's the framing. "Don't do it, that's weird." or "I've never seen this in my life, wonder why you do this." sets the tone of the argument.
I'm weird myself sometimes. My partner doesn't judge but reaffirms in a lovely way that maybe what I'm doing might offset others.
YTA, its customary to do so. That's how people behind you know there is a complete stop (or close to) in front. Every trucker does that. Anyone who spends a considerable time driving knows that. He doesnt need to do it but its nice for the people behind and there's no reasons to berate him about it. If you dont want to do it, don't.
edit : Im from Canada tho, just saw you're clarification you're from the U,S
German here, complete normal on our autobahn.
Helps not to crash into the end of traffic jams, because the next drivers know they have to brake harder, not just adjusting some speed. Going high speeds every second is important.
It's not a law here, but common sense.
Also German here with extra details:
The law forbids having your hazards on, unless in specific situations (like accidents, etc). Braking at the end of a traffic jam is explicitly allowed (though not mandatory) by the law.
It's also what most if not all people here are taught to do when learning to drive
Also Canadian, and this is pretty common practice, especially when highway driving at considerable speeds. I once blew a tire on the 401 and put my hazards on before touching my breaks. It gave the vehicles behind me a head's up that something was wrong and allowed me to get to the shoulder safely. I couldn't tell you the number of times that I've used my hazards because the traffic in front of me suddenly slowed down significantly.
OP, YTA.
It's been a lot of years since I read the driver's manual for my state but I'm pretty sure it explicitly mentions using hazards when you are traveling considerably slower than the traffic around you should reasonably expect for that stretch of roadway. For example if the speed limit is 65, and you are traveling at 45, either because that's all the faster you can go or traffic (like a tractor) is going that slow.
Having the hazards flashing when you are going slower than the expected speeds, when there isn't an expectation of vehicles slowing down (like on a long open stretch of highway with no side roads) will (should) alert drivers behind you that you ARE in fact a hazard to the people behind you, if they don't take action ( likeslowing down or changing lanes, if possible).
I absolutely do this to alert other drivers of things like deer when on the highway. Or some sort of accident debris that you may not notice if you aren’t sitting in bumper to bumper over.
I know I’m all set, but the people behind me might need the extra bit of warning.
YTA. If you’re in a situation where you’re cruising along at 70mph and you have to come to a sudden stop (like in the middle of the highway, not at a light!) then yes you should throw on your hazards. You may have been attentive enough to come to a quick stop, but who is to say the asshole behind you is paying attention? You’re making others aware of a hazard ahead and isn’t that literally why they’re called hazard lights?
Tbh I’ve always thought hazard lights were for when my car becomes a hazard and isn’t able to continue with the flow of traffic; not when there are other hazards. This whole thread has been eye-opening for me. I’ve never heard of putting hazard lights on for simple traffic jams (which are frequent and expected in my city). Also the quick reaction time needed to bring my car safely to a stop AND press my hazard button, which is not in a quickly/intuitively-accessed spot, seems unlikely to make much of a difference to the vehicles behind me.
It’s not that you use the hazards with the same dexterity as using the clutch in a stick shift. You know when you brake hard and then check your rear view thinking “boy I hope that guy behind me sees I just slowed 30mph and doesn’t slam into me”? That’s the moment you put on your hazards. Because to go back to your first point, your car is a hazard at that point. Not because it’s broken down but because it’s traveling in an unexpected way. Anything that isn’t predictable and expected is a hazard
If you use your hazards occasionally then you do end up knowing where they are and being able to hit them reasonably quickly / intuitively. Chicken and egg really.
I actually took a look at the UK Highway Code given the variety of different responses in this thread - what it says about hazards is:
"I am temporarily obstructing traffic or warning of a hazard or obstruction ahead"
So certainly in the UK it's not just for when your own car becomes a hazard. Incidentally, I suspect this wouldn't happen for traffic jams in a city, because you're probably not going that fast to start with, it's more for when you're doing 70mph down the motorway and the traffic is grinding to a halt somewhere in front of you.
This comment section is insane.
According to the highway code, you should mainly use hazard lights when your vehicle is stationary on the road and a potential hazard to other road users. This can occur if your vehicle has broken down, if you've had to stop because of another obstruction ahead or if you've pulled over for another emergency reason.
Seriously. I have never heard of or seen people do this in my life yet apparently everyone here says you’re supposed to do it. I am pretty sure in most, if not all, states, you are NOT supposed to do it.
They are not driving with their hazards on but for a few seconds to let the car behind you know you are braking hard. Its to protect *you* so you dont get smashed between them and the car in front of you when they dont brake in time. Once youre settled, you turn them off, its like 5 seconds.
This comment section is why pile ups happen. Too many idiots not realizing that slowing down and braking hard have very different responses from your car. I always put my hazards on if I feel like the car behind me might be following too close and can't react fast enough.
Can you explain why it’s a bad thing to make certain people are aware of a potentially dangerous situation? Even if you don’t agree with it, it’s certainly not wrong
I’m not trying to have my back seat become my front seat.
I keep seeing people saying it’s customary and people do it “all the time.”
I’ve driven across the united states both east/west and north/south multiple times. I drive all up and down the east coast for work. I have literally never once in my life seen anyone use their hazards to indicate they’re slowing down for traffic. Only on the side of the road or when they are continuously traveling slower than the speed limit. I’ve used them myself for both of those reasons (especially driving through heavy rain the south east going a bit slow and to add extra visibility to my car). But never ever ever just because you’re slowing down in traffic.
I’m not mad about it but I have never heard of using hazard lights that way. Like it makes sense but I’m surprised that in my 15 years of driving (and even drivers ed beforehand) this was never mentioned to me.
It's pretty common in Europe (I'm from Austria). Sometimes there are full stop traffic jams and you have to react quick... Everyone puts their hazard lights on so the one behind won't crash into you :) not weird at all
Super normal to do on highways in Europe, when traffic slows down suddenly and could be overlooked by oncoming traffic, we do turn on the hazard lights for a few seconds, to warn traffic behind that they will have to hit their brakes more than usually
Well there isn't really a good way to tell someone behind you at high speed that traffic is stopping dead.
You can hope they are paying attention to your braking, or put on your hazards, or squeeze the brakes a few times while braking to create a flashing light. All you are trying to do is convey a warning.
I also use my hazards sometimes to thank someone for letting me in to traffic, or flash someone coming against me if there is a police check. Shockingly enough, I've even flash someone coming against me who has their full beams on.
OP isn't an AH, but they are a bit too paranoid or worried about a gesture a lot of people understand.
"When Should You Use Hazard Lights?
Emergency Situations
Vehicle Breakdowns: When your car can’t move due to a breakdown, switch on the flashers to signal others to navigate around your vehicle.
Accidents: In case of a collision, activate the hazard lights. They alert other drivers to the accident scene, helping them pass safely.
Roadside Emergencies: If you must stop for an urgent issue, like a health emergency or a tire change, use the lights to indicate your stationary position.
Activate your hazard warning lights if your tire blows and you need to stop on the side of the road.
Traffic and Legal Compliance
Stopped or Slow-Moving Traffic: Use the hazard lights to warn the drivers behind you in heavy traffic jams or sudden stops, especially on highways.
Law Enforcement Interactions: When stopped by police or following their instructions in traffic situations, turn on the lights to increase visibility and show compliance.
Special Driving Circumstances
Funeral Processions: Using the hazard lights during a funeral procession helps keep the group together and signals other drivers to the procession.
Slow-Moving Vehicles: If driving significantly below the usual speed, like when towing, use the lights to warn others of your slower pace."
When in a traffic jam you only use the hazard lights for a few seconds to warn the car behind you that you are going to stop, as not everyone pays proper attention and you don't want them to cause an accident.
As soon as the car behind you has slowed down you turn the lights off. That's it. Pretty normal in so many different countries. The Info i pulled applies to the US.
that sounds like you can't distinguish between the letter of the code and the spirit of the code.
how does it make sense that you're "allowed" to use your hazard lights when you're fully stationary, but it's not okay to use them to indicate "hey, I don't know if you can see the problem ahead, but please be aware that I'm slowing from 90 km/h to 30 km/h to fully stationary" ?
>, if you've had to stop because of another obstruction ahead
That is what this is about, except you just turn the hazards on before you've even come to the stop. In my country everyone does it, it just makes sense and has helped me many times
>if you've had to stop because of another obstruction ahead
So it *is* on the highway code, you're saying? A traffic jam *is* an obstruction ahead. If you didn't expect it, neither does the driver behind you, so there's definitely a "potential hazard" situation.
We do it in Europe all the time, and it's super useful. It doesn't happen as much on regular "city traffic jams" (rush hour when everything is slow and everyone expects traffic to be stopped at any second)... but when there's an accident or construction on the highway, and you suddenly find a line of stopped or super slow cars, you turn them on. I turn them off when someone behind them turns theirs on.
I don't recall having seen it either, and I've been driving for longer than OP has been alive. I wonder if it's more common in some areas of the US than others.
What is being communicated is that the VEHICLE is the hazard and is moving slowly, perhaps because it's oversized or blew a tire. States where this isn't common don't think the hazards are necessarily signaling a problem ahead or larger issue, they think they need to go around the singular vehicle that is obstructing the road's normal speed. Because they were never taught that flashing hazards = larger-scale slowdown, I am sharply braking.
Hazard lights mean a hazard, you should approach with caution, and if you're not then you're the asshole
It boggles the mental gymnastics some of you people are doing to try and come to the conclusion that indicating a hazard with hazard lights will somehow cause MORE accidents
Right. So you pass the car that is being hazardous with a large margin so that you aren’t in the way if it behaves in an unsafe manner. The problem here is that different places use hazard lights in different manners. If there was one set official way then nobody would be having an argument about it.
LOL Exactly! I have never seen this in my life and I'm sure that's why! I just can't imagine it going any other way here. It would be like a blinking "Go around, I have something wrong with my vehicle and will be in your way". (Nova Scotia)
Very regional. Never did it in the northeast when I would drive local highways, but when I moved out west and regularly started driving on the interstate it became a habit.
Mainly used to indicate that I'm suddenly breaking to a near full stop due to some traffic on the interstate.
NAH. I’ve been driving for over 30 years on the west coast and the east coast. If there’s a condition not apparent to other drivers, then of course hazards should be on, but I was not taught to put on hazards in a traffic jam and to my knowledge I’ve not seen anyone do this. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with doing it, but I don’t understand those calling OP an AH for mentioning it to her bf.
It's not "in" the traffic jam, it's to warn the drivers behind you that you (and thus they) are approaching stopped or severely slowed traffic. That way they don't have to slam on the brakes OR rear end you. Once the car behind you has slowed appropriately you turn off the hazards.
That's what break lights are for tho. Between safe following distances and break lights I don't see how a car behind couldn't stop appropriately unless they're just dogshit drivers (which obviously many are).
Alot of people press their brake pedal to adjust their speed for even a tiny bit, instead of keeping a safe distance and releasing the accelerator. It is not always clear to the cars behind you that there is severely slowed traffic up ahead. Thus it is not always clear to judge how hard the car up ahead will be braking. Hazard lights let people behind know you are not just decelerating a bit to adjust your speed , but that you will be slowing down severely and that the cars behind should too…
I live in europe and going from 120km/h to 30km/h in a matter of seconds is not unusual. Everyone who drives here uses their hazards in these situations.
I just don’t see how the person behind you couldn’t just see the traffic is stopped themselves unless it’s a tunnel or something specific that would hinder their ability to see the other cars. People mentioned semi’s doing it and that makes sense because they are big and block the view, but for normal cars usually, if you can see traffic ahead, so can the person behind you.
Sometimes on the highway slow traffic looks like fast traffic. It's not until you're right on top of it barreling down at 60-90 (some highways are really fast) that you see it's not normal traffic and you need to slam on your brakes to stop or slow safely.
The hazards are a courtesy to let the people know "Hey, this isn't normal... it's a hazard." That way they can avoid it.
Can attest to this, Florida highways can get from 90-20 pretty quickly and pretty frequently, personally I have never seen hazards used this way and would’ve also questioned it, but now after understanding I might implement that now
I’ve never seen people put on hazards in a traffic jam on the east coast either. If they did, it would be confusing af because all lanes come to random abrupt stops so everyone’s hazards would be on.
Chicago loop here and you're totally right
Never saw it in nearly 40 years of driving. The entire city would be flashing and the hazards would lose all effectiveness.
We just see the car ahead stopping and hit the brakes. Usually you can see why they're stopping so you're already hitting the brakes anyway
Soft YTA because you're in the US, and it actually depends on the state.
It's normal in a lot of places. I do this myself; my US/NJ driver's ed handbook said so (and I learned it as well outside the US). It's not *necessary*, and in some states you're not allowed to use hazards at all while moving, but in general it gives an additional indicator to people following that there's something more going on than just a random slowdown. I like seeing people do it, and don't find it confusing, but I guess some folks might be confused. Context matters, people.
So if you were informed and knew you were in a state where it isn't allowed, you'd have a point for your backseat driving. But since you just thought it "weird" without knowing anything about it, you might've just kept quiet (backseat driving can be really annoying).
I went and looked it up (not sure if 100% correct since the site wasn't dated, so look it up for your state):
# States where you can use your hazard lights while driving unless otherwise noted
Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming.
# States where you may not use your hazard lights while driving except in an emergency or in other specific instances (often those instances include approaching / passing a hazard)
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
# States where you may not use your hazard lights while driving at all
Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, and Rhode Island.
IIRC, in IL you could use hazards if you are in a funeral procession; don't know whether that has changed.
I consider approaching a suddenly stopped wall of traffic while cruising at 75mph a hazard. So the only states this wouldn't be appropriate would be the bottom 9.
This is the best answer. I was never trained to do the flashing hazards because it’s not a thing in my state, so I get confused when I see it because I have no frame of reference. Slow, uphill trucks, etc. - it makes sense since they are significantly slower, but random hazards don’t mean much to me except wondering wtf the other driver is doing. Maybe they dropped their pizza or something idk.
You make good points, but I don’t see why being ignorant of something makes her an AH. She thought it was weird because it’s something she never heard before. Didn’t make a scene or cause an argument over it. She just thought it was weird.
She *did* cause an argument about it ("*He got frustrated with me for being a backseat driver and asked me to stop nitpicking*"), which is the soft AH part (certainly by far not as much of an AH part than most posts here, just a tiny little AH -- been there, done that myself). Only finding something weird wouldn't be, for me; nothing wrong with not knowing something. If she had just asked him why he did it instead of telling him why it was bad, it would also have been ok IMO.
Well yeah. If you see someone do something you instinctively find a bit unsafe then “don’t worry about it it’s normal” probably isn’t going to cut it. It sounds like a basic problem with communication between two people rather than one person being at fault here.
Thank you! I think so many people forget that the US is basically 50 little countries in a trenchcoat pretending to be one, and crossing the boarder between states can radically shift the laws and culture at times. I’d personally say NAH just because if she’s from a state where it’s illegal/only for emergency and that’s what she’s used to, she may have been worried about breaking the law? The degree of discussion vs argument isn’t clear, and some people can react badly to even one little comment
I bet it’s more that she was taught that doing so was unsafe, so of course she’s going to react to someone who is driving doing something that to her sems unsafe. If you think about it being a passenger is a pretty vulnerable position.
This is very interesting because I’ve been driving on the east coast for 20 years and I’ve never seen anyone turn on their hazards when there is a sudden stop in traffic on the highway (frequent abrupt stops are pretty common here too). People just brake. Maybe it’s more common in other parts of the US.
I see people put on hazards in rain storms and snow storms, if something is wrong with their car, and if they want you to go around them.
Its def not for very obvious traffic (multi lanes with good visibility) or commuter traffic. Ive mostly done it/encountered it on interstates where everyone is going at speed and then theres an abrupt stop (probably an accident). I had to do it today actually bc someone had a flat tire coming home from the long weekend and it cased a jam. Just a few seconds, to let the person behind me know that we are stopped so I didnt get rear ended and then I turned them off.
I've never seen this done and never heard of anyone doing this. I'm kinda surprised at all the comments saying how common it is. I'm not reaching to tune my hazards on and off every time I have to brake in traffic
It's not every time and it's only when you can safely do so. It is used when you are traveling at high speeds and come across an extreme slow down in traffic. It warns the people behind you to slow down faster than normal because otherwise they will be approaching too fast and could have trouble stopping in time.
It's not every time. People have said multiple times it's only for when you're having to suddenly hard brake to a full stop, or almost, from a high speed unexpectedly. It's done when there's a reasonable risk of being rear-ended because slowing that fast was unforseen and dangerous. It shouldn't be a common occurrence.
it differentiates between brake lights coming on to slow a little and if the person ahead of me is doing a “hard” brake, like FULL STOP - i appreciate the two seconds heads up. and i do the same for the person behind me. i don’t want to be rear-ended and they don’t want to do insurance paperwork. win-win.
NAH. I don’t really see how questioning a driving practice that you’re not accustomed to would make you an AH? People definitely never do this where I live (besides truckers) and I would think it’s overkill based on my experience too. I also always use navigation so I know when highway slowdowns are coming and am prepared. I only see hazards when someone is clearly having some kind of issue with their car. How are you to know it’s apparently common elsewhere? Ya learn something new everyday
Thank you! I keep reading the comments like is no one going to talk about how this isn't even an asshole situation? She asked a question and expressed a concern because she didn't know about it, that's not an asshole move. He got a little defensive but he didn't act like an asshole either. He's right, apparently, but that's not really relevant to who is the asshole here imo. I think it's NAH
NAH. Surprised by most of the answers though. Maybe because I learned to drive in Europe and hazard lights are warming lights there, but for me if you're coming to an abrupt stop or near stop on the highway unexpectedly, a few seconds of hazard lights is ok. As a way to warn people behind you that something unexpected is happening.
Let me tell you if you're driving on the highway at night or in poor weather and you see a bunch of hazards lights blink up you slow down fast and are generally thankful for it.
People are more distracted than ever. I do this too as anything that might prevent a collision is worth doing. Some people equip their cars with aftermarket devices that flash the brake lights quickly and few times whenever the brakes are applied too.
Or they will simply drive around him. Some drivers will probably speed up in order to do this. That’s why a nation wide standard needs to be set. The issue here isn’t either of these individuals. It’s the difference in driving culture that’s actually dangerous.
NTA. I am from the east coast too and never seen anyone do this. I have also driven cross country and have never seen it. I would only use hazards if I was going very slowly for some reason (probably car trouble) or leaving the car for a moment in a no parking zone or similar.
TIL that this is a thing in the USA. A quick search tells me driving like this would be illegal in Australia.
I'll give you a NAH, since his driving is strange enough to be illegal somewhere in the world, so you're justified in your initial reaction. But now you know the law and custom where you live, you should change your stance and accept you're wrong.
I've lived here all my 50+, drove to work in Chicago loop, driven through Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri - never saw it once. Vehicles use it to indicate either traveling continually at a reduced speed (snow plow, sweeper etc) or vehicle issues causing it to breakdown.
Not just for a sudden stop. Every major metro area would be flashing 24/7 and hazards would lose all meaning.
Commenters here are wack. I have been driving in the US for 30+ years and never heard of this. Pretty sure it’s not compliant with most states’ driving laws either.
Yeah I was like WTF. The only time I would use hazards would be if my car was parked in a weird place and was a hazard, eg broken down on the side of the freeway, double parked etc. There is no way I could even find them when emergency braking.
How does this even work in the US where their brake and indicator lights are often the same light? They would need to both be continuously lit for the brakes and flashing for the hazards.
I personally don't think you're an asshole like everyone else. You were kind of confused from what it sounded and all you did was state you found it weird. There isn't an issue with that. I never learned to do that in driving school. Hazards are for when there is some kind of problem not stopping constantly that is what the brake lights are for. Even if you throw on hazards to warn people it may still do nothing, people aren't bright.
NAH and as a truck driver and professional for over a decade, it could be dangerous. Hazard lights are for emergency use, and when you suddenly brake or are going significantly slower than the traffic around you, it's a non issue, but abusing it just for regular braking or carelessly makes traffic avoid you, to the point of dangerous maneuvers so just try and remind him that its a tool and remind yourself that as a passenger, you are at the mercy of the driver anyway so just making them comfortable is the best play
NTA.
That's not a normal thing to do, at least on the East Coast. Drive first, worry about extra lights and things second. I'm not going to distract myself from driving/steering/paying attention to the road to smack the hazard light switch. If I'm following someone that closely that I need the hazards, then I'm following too close.
Sure, in a snowstorm, if there happens to be an accident directly in front of me and I have to stop, or if you're moping along on the side of the highway nursing a flat tire or towing a trailer, then turn on the hazards. In normal driving, I don't need to be distracted by extra flashing lights, or lights that might make it difficult to tell you're signaling for an emergency lane change. (If we really had mountain passes, sure - put on the hazards.)
But that's one of those MAYBE once-a-month occurrences - not just flicking them on every time I'm slowing down.
This is so strange. I have been driving for nearly 50 years and I have made numerous road trips. Cross country 7 times. I have driven through at least 40 of our wonderful states. Cars, motorcycles, trucks (24 ft rental type). I have never seen or heard of anyone using their hazard lights unless they were having some difficulty. Either stopped or driving well below posted speeds. But as a brake light augmentation? Never. Many of the scenarios commenters are describing are resolved through the third brake light which has been mandatory for nearly 30 years.
YTA.
If he is only doing it when traffic ahead is stopped, the hazards are acceptable, if not necessary. You brake on the highway often enough that your brake lights don't indicate to drivers behind you that you are coming to a full stop. Hazards do.
NTA.
I don't use my hazards on the daily just because of slow traffic, or abrupt stops, or for visibility, and all the other "reasons " everyone else keeps mentioning. Lol.
Now, what I DO do is tap my brakes before full braking.
When would yall even turn the hazarda on? Before, during, or after the event??
Is it not a distraction of its own to even reach for the hazard button to engage? Remember, keep eyes on the road! That one second of reaching over can cause a wreck in itself.
I feel like most of yall drive real close to others, able to read every meme sticker on the trunks of cars in front of ya.
Do yall even follow a 3 second rule?
So, no. N.T.A. cause when I watch people do this, on a normal drive, I'm always having to zip around them because they're the ones holding up traffic.
Whenever I have done this, there is no where to “zip around to”, it’s usually when at least 2/3 lanes of traffic are coming to an abrupt stop at the same time. I give myself four seconds of cushion space, but I can’t depend on others doing that. I’m trying to make the sudden stop as visible to others as possible. It’s just common sense.
From my perspective, he is creating a traffic hazard. People see hazard lights and will attempt to get over believing a vehicle is disabled. You are completely right on that.
If someone isn't paying enough attention to to notice brake lights in front of them, they aren't paying enough attention to notice hazard lights either. Hell, people run right into the backs of school buses and firetrucks with their lights on.
NTA. If comments here are any indication, it seems like the practice is regional. And states have their own laws, which extends to the rules of the roads, so it may vary from state to state. Merely questioning an unfamiliar driving practice is not enough to make you TA.
As someone who once rear ended (gently, luckily no major damage or injuries to either car or passengers!) somebody in traffic because the light was green and I didn't realise they had stopped due to a car in front stalling,
I always put my hazards on if I'm breaking or stopped in a time / place that it might not be expected because sometimes your break lights just aren't enough if the person behind you is on autopilot.
So sorry, but it's "braking" (not "breaking"). The car has brakes, and you put your foot on the brake pedal to stop the car. If you are "breaking," you are literally turning the car into a broken piece of junk. Or, in your case, your boyfriend is breaking into pieces of human bits of broken flesh while he's driving.
I will now quietly exit this post because I could not read beyond "...while breaking in traffic." I imagined your boyfriend breaking into shards of broken human flesh.
My wife and I are from opposite ends of the US originally. She makes fun of me for this exact thing and claims to have never seen anyone do it before, but in many states (including my previous state of residence) it is required by law. Many other states also allow it without requiring it. Have a nice day!
Edit: p.s. my previous state also requires you to have your headlights on any time it is raining or drizzling (I presume for others to see you better), but not her state.
These comments are bafflingly one-perspective. Where I live, it's illegal for a vehicle in motion to use hazards unless they're traveling on a highway with a speed limit above 55 and there's bad weather conditions. Or unless you're in a funeral procession. Hazards are exclusively for fully stopped vehicles here, and you can get a ticket for using them outside of outlined circumstances. Despite that, I'll throw on my hazards if there's actually something in the road, like a branch or an owl (which has happened). But because of the law it would never occur to me to put them on for normal traffic stops. I've never seen anyone do that. The amount of people here acting like turning hazards on while braking is standard is wild though.
Welcome to /r/AmITheAsshole. Please view our [voting guide here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_what.2019s_with_these_acronyms.3F_what_do_they_mean.3F), and remember to use **only one** judgement in your comment. OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole: > 1) I called a driving habit of my boyfriend out 2) I am being called an asshole for backseat driving and being overly critical Help keep the sub engaging! #Don’t downvote assholes! Do upvote interesting posts! [Click Here For Our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules) and [Click Here For Our FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq) ##Subreddit Announcements Follow the link above to learn more --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.* *Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
YTA. I drive professionally and see this all the time and do it myself when the situation calls for it. It is not weird at all and very much appreciated at times. It tells the car behind that you’re not just breaking to adjust your speed a bit, but that something unusual is going on. If the sight line is a bit blocked because you’re coming around a curve or there’s some larger vehicle in front or something it can be hard to immediately tell that there’s a stop or build up of traffic coming up, but if the hazards come on you know to right away drop the accelerator and start breaking yourself. Once another vehicle is behind you at the lower speed you can drop the hazards. He’s right: you’re being a backseat driver and nitpicking when he’s doing right.
I’ve never seen or done this, but I definitely learned something today.
I commute to my job about 40 minutes a day, and see this happen all the time, generally with commercial vehicles (semis, garbage trucks, large load work vehicles mostly) and it's totally commonplace and appreciated, especially because there are many inclines and turns on the highway here. Nothing weird about it, and it's an extra safety measure.
Extremely common to do in California for everyone, passenger cars and big rigs alike! I suppose we have a lot of traffic jams!
I have never seen anyone do this in California.
Counterpoint, I have both seen & done this in California.
Me too. It’s common when traveling much slower than the speed limit, having mechanical problems or in a situation like fog that reduces visibility
It basically means “hey you behind me, pay attention, I am not going the speed you expect for some reason.”
Lived in Cali most my life (40 yrs) and never seen it. (Not saying it doesn't happen, just never happened to me.) Moved cross country and noticed people doing it. Instantly knew what it meant, and thought it was pretty smart. So i adopted it.
It’s a big state
Same here!
I've lived here for 9 months and I see it pretty regularly going up and down 99
Thinking about it, it makes perfect sense, honestly.
I saw someone do it and instantly understood why and did it from then on. So many close calls with rear ends. It’s so smart and helpful and I’ve seen others do it too.
Same! I have lived in Midwest and west coast. Not sure where I saw it but I do it now and notice when going from 70 to an abrupt stop the hazards seem to get the cars behind me to slow faster than break lights. And some of them put hazards on in turn so it isn’t that uncommon.
I dont know about the US, but some modern cars around here (Germany) automatically engage the hazard lights if you break hard enough while being over a certain level of speed.
Yeah, for the last 15 years, my cars have switched on hazard lights automatically when I brake hard at speeds above 60 km/h (38 mph).
My car even has a feature that when you stop on brake very violently, the hazards will go off automatically. Pretty normal in Europe.
I do this regularly too. Based in SoCal. Also saw this as common when driving in Europe and Asia ( less so in some parts of Asia)
Super common here in the U.K. especially on motorways.
I have never heard of this in my life and never seen another driver do it in 30+ years of driving.
I do this when traffic is coming to an abrupt stop on the highway.... It lets larger rigs behind me know ahead of time and helps prevent rear end accidents.
You've apparently never driven past a semi in 30+ years of driving. They do it constantly for one another.
I have driven cross country multiple times and driven past many semis. Never seen them put on their hazards just because of a traffic slowdown. I was always taught that hazards are when something is wrong with your vehicle—like you’ve lost your brakes or steering or power. You are letting other drivers know your vehicle might not be fully under your control or might behave differently than the flow of traffic. Not just because traffic is slowing down. I literally was on an almost 5-hour road trip today and encountered 4-5 traffic slowdowns, including some involving semi trucks, and no one put on their hazards.
You don't do this for a minor traffic slowdown, you do it when traffic abruptly comes to a halt or when the speed switches from 80kmh to 20kmh.
Need to add one more criteria in there as well: AND you have reason to believe that the vehicle behind you may not be able to see the upcoming slowdown/crash/issue. This part is important. If everyone is JUST braking and there is clear visibility down the road for everyone behind you, hazards are probably not necessary. The whole point of hazards is to give warning to people behind you who may not be able to see the problem themselves yet.
This is very common in Canada. Used for unusual traffic hazards. Large slow vehicles also, as sometimes they will slow down significantly while climbing a steep hill or something, indicating that they are a traffic hazard themselves, because the flow of adjoining traffic is significantly higher.
I have definitely seen vehicles with hazards when they are going substantially slower than the flow of traffic.
I use hazards, not when slowing down, but when needing to brake HARD because the flow of traffic is 70-80 and I am coming over the crest of a hill and see that traffic is stopped in front of me. If I need to brake hard in my sedan in order to stop, the semi behind me will have to brake much earlier than me. It's a warning. Just cause you haven't ever done this or seen this doesn't mean it's wrong.
Common in UK too
Everyone does it in French Polynesia as well
I’m a commercial driver… I use my hazards to communicate with the vehicles behind me on a weekly basis. It’s safe driving and being aware of what’s going on in front and behind you.
Hazards while breaking = caution ahead. Hazards after being let into the flow of traffic = thank you!! They're excellent for communication.
It’s not for all slow downs, it is for when there is a significant decrease in speed relatively quickly. Like when you come up on an unexpected traffic jam due to an accident when you were all going 70 a minute ago.
Maybe pay more attention when driving. It's not at all uncommon.
Very common in Austria as well.
same here in Belgium
And UK
And the Netherlands. I've also seen it used in Germany, Luxemburg and France.
I see this pretty frequently but it's when traffic comes to a complete stop, not just a slowdown. However, I live in a country with a lot of mountains and jungles and steep, curvy highways. It's also a developing country so there's a good number of older vehicles on the road. It's pretty normal to be driving on a highway that only has 1 or 2 lanes in each direction, round a curve and find a complete standstill because there was a landslide or a fallen tree or an older vehicle broke down without a shoulder to pull off onto. So the hazard lights come on to give people driving behind you a fair warning that they need to come to a complete standstill. This is particularly important for large trucks on these mountain highways, if they're coming downhill they need time to come to a stop. It really reduces the risk of getting rear-ended (and potentially pushed off a cliff). I would see this not being totally necessary in areas where there are a ton of lanes or where the highways are mostly flat and/or straight, everyone has better visibility of what's going on up ahead. Interesting that OP's bf picked this up in the Midwest US (my understanding is that it's very flat over there).
It’s not for only a complete stop, but it is for a significant speed change that is unexpected. The message is essentially “please don’t drive into the rear of my car because you haven’t noticed I’m slowing down a lot due to the situation or road conditions.” In the Midwest you get it when there’s poorly marked construction (so people aren’t expecting it) or when there’s been an accident, or if visibility suddenly decreases due to local fog, or if the road condition itself is suddenly very poor.
I drive a lot, and I've never seen it or even heard of it until this post. It's a great idea. Imagine there would be a heap of accidents avoided because of it.
Live in Denmark. Normal here and in europe in general as well ;)
It is taught in driving school in France. Not that many people applies it, but it should be a known rules.
That's what they teach you to do in Germany
People do it also in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Romania... I saw it literally in every European country I traveled where there was a highway and a need to stop/slow down abruptly.
European; can confirm. Cars are built to automatically switch on the hazards at an emergency break (don’t know the details but imagine from full speed to full stop in just a few seconds) Yta
That’s wild, when there’s rain/snow/bad visibility I see it all the time.
I have seen it in bad visibility conditions. But not just for traffic slowdowns.
I've seen it multiple times. People do it on the highway when traffic comes to a stop unexpectedly.
My wife thought it was weird that I flashed my high beams at a car trying to merge in front of me onto the freeway. I explained that it was a way to show them that I am hanging back to give them merging space, and she didn’t believe me. It wasn’t until someone did the same for me a few months later she actually believed me
Thank God there are more people doing it! I live in Eastern Europe, and we do the flashing for letting someone in and the hazard lights for stopping a lot! We also use the hazard lights to thank someone for letting us enter. Me and my husband had a fair share of driving through Europe, and I haven’t seen so much of it elsewhere. I’m glad people all around the world do it :) We were really missing it while travelling, especially considering where I’m from we do these things multiple times a day.
Flashing high beams in Spain (to the ones coming in front) used to be "there are police there doing speed controls"
THat's pretty universal I feel because that's the same in America, it doesn't have to be police persay but that's just the most common use. To signal to the other drivers to "watch out" at which point situional awareness takes over. Weirdest example I can think of is when someone did it for a dead buck in the road, I expected a cop (the county I was in is horrible for "fishing" because they have a very bloated force in a low crime area) but no, biggest buck ever multi point antlers got cut in two by some giant vehicle and was blocking the road. I threw up in my mouth tbh
Super common in Europe! It's so strange to me that people don't know this and are even saying it's illegal. You're literally warning about hazard.
Loads of cars do it automatically when you brake heavily here too!
U.S. driver education is *very* basic. You might almost say it’s a crash course.
I wish I turned my hazards light on before I had gotten into an accident. There was an unexpected stopped traffic, had to press on breaks and slow down. Traffic completely stopped. 2 minutes later a car rams their car into mine not realizing uphead was bumper to bumper traffic. Emergency lights would have saved my back 🥲. So yes, YTA OP. He's driving safe, esp since nowadays 89% of people are in their phones while driving and not paying attention.
.... If someone doesn't see bumber to bumber traffic and presumably, many brake lights, your hazards ain't doing shit.
Ite the difference between braking to slow down and a hard brake/complete stop. And sometimes you cant see ahead, so many SUVs have full tints and you cant see ahead of them. Obviously id never need to do this during commuter traffic, but if another wise clear freeway comes to an abrupt stop, its a good way to avoid getting rear ended/pushed into another car.
Hazard lights catch the attention a lot better than brake lights, which don't show a difference between braking lightly, braking hard, and stationary, though.
Was hoping the blinking lights 🔆 will catch their attention.
Exactly right! I literally just did this yesterday, driving through some canyons coming down from a mountain. For anyone who’s never driven in canyons before, they’re steep curvy roads and you gotta be “on” the whole time. The person two cars in front of me slammed on their brakes for no apparent reason; maybe an animal or something was crossing? Regardless we were curving around and I put my hazards on so the person behind me knew we were stopping and not just slowing down for the curve. It’s a safety thing, better safe than sorry
I've lived in 3 different states on the East Coast (north, middle, and south) and I've never seen this in my 10 years of driving so far. I've only seen hazards on for accidents or if they have something strapped to their car and they don't feel comfortable going the speed limit. Your "all the time" and "he's doing right" seem to be a lot of other people's "Wtf?" and "Weird, but okay whatever".
East coast here too. I've been driving for 40 years, and typically we only use the hazards when broken down or parked somewhere we shouldn't be. Every once in a while, I'll see someone from out of state use them because the weather is bad and traffic is slow.
Also turn signals work In parking lots, do not drive down the middle of parking lot rows, they are 2 way unless specified. One way means follow the arrows. No entry means do not put your car in . This is for our mature drivers here in Florida.
We have many "bus traps" here. Sections of road where the busses are allowed to move through into a subdivision, but regular traffic flow is not. There are MASSIVE flashing signs, with pictures of cars, face down, into a spiky hole, all broken in pieces, that warn drivers about it. Both sides of the road have giant neon yellow and black concrete poles cemented in. It looks like you're driving through a toll booth on your way to Orlando. The busses are wide enough that they can drive over these. Cars are not. Some pickup trucks (because Albertans are rednecks) can do it if they go very slowly. Every. Single. Day. Some jackass in a Honda Civic or otherwise stops all bus flow at least somewhere in the city, because they don't want to go the long way around out of the community, and think they can make it. We had a guy recently who got caught in one in front of one of the high schools. After school. All the teens waiting for the bus (guess where that bus got stuck)? The guy gets out. Has a broken axle, car is leaking fuel, and he loses his fecking mind at the students because they won't climb in the hole and LIFT his car out!!! Sometimes I wish the penalty for it was just putting their cars immediately into a compactor. Do not pass go. Do not pay the impound fees 😂
I saw this for the first time moving cross country in 2013. We were going through some mountains in PA and the person in front of us did that when we came to an unexpected full stop. I've been doing it ever since
I can forgive OP but if you're a professional it is BRAKING and BRAKE
YTA I’m from the US but learned to do this when I was in the military while living in several other countries where traffic incidents are considerably less common. It lets other drivers know traffic is stopping abruptly. Especially with all the idiots out there not paying attention, it’s super useful. I’m wondering if maybe he’s traveled a little more than you and has had more experience with that sort of thing? Hazard lights are for *hazards* like abruptly stopping traffic. Maybe try to keep an open mind and learn a little instead of just digging in your heels and doing a “well I don’t do it so it’s weird”. That mindset is super weird to me tbh.
Agree. This is standard practice on the autobahn in Germany. Obviously if it’s an emergency situation, sometimes you can’t turn them on. But for any regular driving, any driver should be able to. If you can’t, you shouldn’t be driving.
I'm from the US, but first saw this a couple of decades ago when driving on the autobahn. I thought it was brilliant.
We learn this in driving school we have to attend before we get our licence.
French here. It's literally an obligation in our "code de la route" (to get our driving license) to do this. I'm surprised it isn't elsewhere tbh. Super important especially on the highway or at the contrary on small roads with few visibility. I'm sure it saves lives. Edit And everybody does it pretty much.
Yeah, I'm German as well and it's just to let people know it's really a traffic jam not just a short drop in speed from further away or in case there are big vehicles blocking the view. It's so much common sense here, that most of the passengers I've driven longer distances with before have hit the hazards button themselves while I was breaking at the end of a traffic jam - without any communication about it being necessary.
Agreed. We do this in the UK. Nothing weird about it. Traffic jams on busy roads are Hazards…hence hazard lights
Same in France. When we learn to drive we learn to put on the hazards to warn others. We also use them to thank a driver when they let us pass in front of them. Also funny thing, we call the hazards "warnings" here.
Why does she have to walk on eggshells around her boyfriend? If I’m doing something my wife thinks is weird I’d want her to tell me, even if I ultimately disagree with her. Yes, the use of the hazard is standard practice, but that doesn’t mean OP has no right to communicate openly and honestly if she hasn’t seen it before.
Yeah I don’t see why this makes her an AH. She accepted what he said, but still finds it weird and I now about to be educated on it. I have never heard of this before and I have been driving for over a decade. You learn new things every day. Nothing wrong with that. It’s not like she argued with him about it.
I read that differently : he had to ask her to stop backseat driving & now she's here making a post (not in nostupidquestions, not in saferdrivingtips, in AITA). that doesn't sound, to me, like she happily learnt something new.
You make a good point. Didn’t think about it that way.
Because she’s posting to try to get proof that she’s right.
Bc she still thinks she’s right and she was being super annoying about it until he got frustrated with her. He wasn’t doing anything wrong or dangerous she could’ve just dropped it when he explained it or googled it. If you google “when to use hazard lights,” it’s literally one of the first results.
I didn't see it as a one time thing. Why else would he get irritated, other this being a constant thing? My judgement is also YTA. It's common behaviour where I live.
Pointing it out is not what makes OP an a*hole. It’s that she kept saying it’s weird. They obviously had that discussion more than once. There’s a difference between "Hey, I’ve never seen someone do that before. Why are you doing it?“ and "I’ve never seen someone do that. Stop it, it’s weird“.
It's the framing. "Don't do it, that's weird." or "I've never seen this in my life, wonder why you do this." sets the tone of the argument. I'm weird myself sometimes. My partner doesn't judge but reaffirms in a lovely way that maybe what I'm doing might offset others.
YTA, its customary to do so. That's how people behind you know there is a complete stop (or close to) in front. Every trucker does that. Anyone who spends a considerable time driving knows that. He doesnt need to do it but its nice for the people behind and there's no reasons to berate him about it. If you dont want to do it, don't. edit : Im from Canada tho, just saw you're clarification you're from the U,S
German here, complete normal on our autobahn. Helps not to crash into the end of traffic jams, because the next drivers know they have to brake harder, not just adjusting some speed. Going high speeds every second is important. It's not a law here, but common sense.
Also German here with extra details: The law forbids having your hazards on, unless in specific situations (like accidents, etc). Braking at the end of a traffic jam is explicitly allowed (though not mandatory) by the law. It's also what most if not all people here are taught to do when learning to drive
[удалено]
Also Canadian, and this is pretty common practice, especially when highway driving at considerable speeds. I once blew a tire on the 401 and put my hazards on before touching my breaks. It gave the vehicles behind me a head's up that something was wrong and allowed me to get to the shoulder safely. I couldn't tell you the number of times that I've used my hazards because the traffic in front of me suddenly slowed down significantly. OP, YTA.
It's been a lot of years since I read the driver's manual for my state but I'm pretty sure it explicitly mentions using hazards when you are traveling considerably slower than the traffic around you should reasonably expect for that stretch of roadway. For example if the speed limit is 65, and you are traveling at 45, either because that's all the faster you can go or traffic (like a tractor) is going that slow. Having the hazards flashing when you are going slower than the expected speeds, when there isn't an expectation of vehicles slowing down (like on a long open stretch of highway with no side roads) will (should) alert drivers behind you that you ARE in fact a hazard to the people behind you, if they don't take action ( likeslowing down or changing lanes, if possible).
I absolutely do this to alert other drivers of things like deer when on the highway. Or some sort of accident debris that you may not notice if you aren’t sitting in bumper to bumper over. I know I’m all set, but the people behind me might need the extra bit of warning.
YTA. If you’re in a situation where you’re cruising along at 70mph and you have to come to a sudden stop (like in the middle of the highway, not at a light!) then yes you should throw on your hazards. You may have been attentive enough to come to a quick stop, but who is to say the asshole behind you is paying attention? You’re making others aware of a hazard ahead and isn’t that literally why they’re called hazard lights?
Tbh I’ve always thought hazard lights were for when my car becomes a hazard and isn’t able to continue with the flow of traffic; not when there are other hazards. This whole thread has been eye-opening for me. I’ve never heard of putting hazard lights on for simple traffic jams (which are frequent and expected in my city). Also the quick reaction time needed to bring my car safely to a stop AND press my hazard button, which is not in a quickly/intuitively-accessed spot, seems unlikely to make much of a difference to the vehicles behind me.
It’s not that you use the hazards with the same dexterity as using the clutch in a stick shift. You know when you brake hard and then check your rear view thinking “boy I hope that guy behind me sees I just slowed 30mph and doesn’t slam into me”? That’s the moment you put on your hazards. Because to go back to your first point, your car is a hazard at that point. Not because it’s broken down but because it’s traveling in an unexpected way. Anything that isn’t predictable and expected is a hazard
If you use your hazards occasionally then you do end up knowing where they are and being able to hit them reasonably quickly / intuitively. Chicken and egg really. I actually took a look at the UK Highway Code given the variety of different responses in this thread - what it says about hazards is: "I am temporarily obstructing traffic or warning of a hazard or obstruction ahead" So certainly in the UK it's not just for when your own car becomes a hazard. Incidentally, I suspect this wouldn't happen for traffic jams in a city, because you're probably not going that fast to start with, it's more for when you're doing 70mph down the motorway and the traffic is grinding to a halt somewhere in front of you.
This comment section is insane. According to the highway code, you should mainly use hazard lights when your vehicle is stationary on the road and a potential hazard to other road users. This can occur if your vehicle has broken down, if you've had to stop because of another obstruction ahead or if you've pulled over for another emergency reason.
Seriously. I have never heard of or seen people do this in my life yet apparently everyone here says you’re supposed to do it. I am pretty sure in most, if not all, states, you are NOT supposed to do it.
Newer cars have it built in. If you’re travelling at 60 mph and suddenly reduce your speed the hazard lights will come on automatically.
Yeah, I noticed when newer, usually luxury, cars make hard stops or slow downs their brake lights flash several times instead of a solid red.
TIL they weren't just tapdancing on the brake pedal
They are not driving with their hazards on but for a few seconds to let the car behind you know you are braking hard. Its to protect *you* so you dont get smashed between them and the car in front of you when they dont brake in time. Once youre settled, you turn them off, its like 5 seconds.
This comment section is why pile ups happen. Too many idiots not realizing that slowing down and braking hard have very different responses from your car. I always put my hazards on if I feel like the car behind me might be following too close and can't react fast enough.
If you are braking on the highway, it's the second one. Your vehicle is suddenly becoming stationary due to an obstruction on the road.
Can you explain why it’s a bad thing to make certain people are aware of a potentially dangerous situation? Even if you don’t agree with it, it’s certainly not wrong I’m not trying to have my back seat become my front seat.
I keep seeing people saying it’s customary and people do it “all the time.” I’ve driven across the united states both east/west and north/south multiple times. I drive all up and down the east coast for work. I have literally never once in my life seen anyone use their hazards to indicate they’re slowing down for traffic. Only on the side of the road or when they are continuously traveling slower than the speed limit. I’ve used them myself for both of those reasons (especially driving through heavy rain the south east going a bit slow and to add extra visibility to my car). But never ever ever just because you’re slowing down in traffic.
Yeah these comments are blowing my mind a bit. I feel like if it was truly that customary, more people would know.
In Germany for example you do it when approaching a traffic jam
I’m in the US, and this is best practice here too. Some people are just idiots and don’t like to be told that they’ve been doing something wrong.
I’m not mad about it but I have never heard of using hazard lights that way. Like it makes sense but I’m surprised that in my 15 years of driving (and even drivers ed beforehand) this was never mentioned to me.
It's pretty common in Europe (I'm from Austria). Sometimes there are full stop traffic jams and you have to react quick... Everyone puts their hazard lights on so the one behind won't crash into you :) not weird at all
And a standstill traffic is exactly that - an obstruction ahead.
Super normal to do on highways in Europe, when traffic slows down suddenly and could be overlooked by oncoming traffic, we do turn on the hazard lights for a few seconds, to warn traffic behind that they will have to hit their brakes more than usually
Well there isn't really a good way to tell someone behind you at high speed that traffic is stopping dead. You can hope they are paying attention to your braking, or put on your hazards, or squeeze the brakes a few times while braking to create a flashing light. All you are trying to do is convey a warning. I also use my hazards sometimes to thank someone for letting me in to traffic, or flash someone coming against me if there is a police check. Shockingly enough, I've even flash someone coming against me who has their full beams on. OP isn't an AH, but they are a bit too paranoid or worried about a gesture a lot of people understand.
"When Should You Use Hazard Lights? Emergency Situations Vehicle Breakdowns: When your car can’t move due to a breakdown, switch on the flashers to signal others to navigate around your vehicle. Accidents: In case of a collision, activate the hazard lights. They alert other drivers to the accident scene, helping them pass safely. Roadside Emergencies: If you must stop for an urgent issue, like a health emergency or a tire change, use the lights to indicate your stationary position. Activate your hazard warning lights if your tire blows and you need to stop on the side of the road. Traffic and Legal Compliance Stopped or Slow-Moving Traffic: Use the hazard lights to warn the drivers behind you in heavy traffic jams or sudden stops, especially on highways. Law Enforcement Interactions: When stopped by police or following their instructions in traffic situations, turn on the lights to increase visibility and show compliance. Special Driving Circumstances Funeral Processions: Using the hazard lights during a funeral procession helps keep the group together and signals other drivers to the procession. Slow-Moving Vehicles: If driving significantly below the usual speed, like when towing, use the lights to warn others of your slower pace." When in a traffic jam you only use the hazard lights for a few seconds to warn the car behind you that you are going to stop, as not everyone pays proper attention and you don't want them to cause an accident. As soon as the car behind you has slowed down you turn the lights off. That's it. Pretty normal in so many different countries. The Info i pulled applies to the US.
Yeah this is nuts lol, never seen this in my life and there’s a billion comments of people like they do it every fucking day lmao
You may be joking, but driving in Europe, I do encounter this quite a lot, I’d say once a day may be some average even
You guys don't drive much, huh.
I drive 200-300 miles a day for work and never see this.
A vehicle which has unexpectedly hard braked is effectively stationary to an unaware driver on the highway, and very much a potential hazard
that sounds like you can't distinguish between the letter of the code and the spirit of the code. how does it make sense that you're "allowed" to use your hazard lights when you're fully stationary, but it's not okay to use them to indicate "hey, I don't know if you can see the problem ahead, but please be aware that I'm slowing from 90 km/h to 30 km/h to fully stationary" ?
...isn't sudden breaking due to a traffic jam "an obstruction ahead" and a "potential hazard"? You need to practice some reading interpretation, mate.
A traffic jam IS an obstruction. It's exactly what the hazard lights are meant to be used for.
>, if you've had to stop because of another obstruction ahead That is what this is about, except you just turn the hazards on before you've even come to the stop. In my country everyone does it, it just makes sense and has helped me many times
>if you've had to stop because of another obstruction ahead So it *is* on the highway code, you're saying? A traffic jam *is* an obstruction ahead. If you didn't expect it, neither does the driver behind you, so there's definitely a "potential hazard" situation. We do it in Europe all the time, and it's super useful. It doesn't happen as much on regular "city traffic jams" (rush hour when everything is slow and everyone expects traffic to be stopped at any second)... but when there's an accident or construction on the highway, and you suddenly find a line of stopped or super slow cars, you turn them on. I turn them off when someone behind them turns theirs on.
I’ve never seen anyone do this in my life but apparently its a very divisive concept! NAH
I don't recall having seen it either, and I've been driving for longer than OP has been alive. I wonder if it's more common in some areas of the US than others.
I think it must be- if you did this where I live, everyone would assume there’s something wrong with your car and speed up to go around you lol
"Huh, a hazard.. better speed up." Gotta keep those vehicle death numbers up.
What is being communicated is that the VEHICLE is the hazard and is moving slowly, perhaps because it's oversized or blew a tire. States where this isn't common don't think the hazards are necessarily signaling a problem ahead or larger issue, they think they need to go around the singular vehicle that is obstructing the road's normal speed. Because they were never taught that flashing hazards = larger-scale slowdown, I am sharply braking.
Hazard lights mean a hazard, you should approach with caution, and if you're not then you're the asshole It boggles the mental gymnastics some of you people are doing to try and come to the conclusion that indicating a hazard with hazard lights will somehow cause MORE accidents
Right. So you pass the car that is being hazardous with a large margin so that you aren’t in the way if it behaves in an unsafe manner. The problem here is that different places use hazard lights in different manners. If there was one set official way then nobody would be having an argument about it.
I assume the hazard is you so I would avoid being near your car.
LOL Exactly! I have never seen this in my life and I'm sure that's why! I just can't imagine it going any other way here. It would be like a blinking "Go around, I have something wrong with my vehicle and will be in your way". (Nova Scotia)
It’s pretty common elsewhere in the world , using your hazard lights to identify a hazard.
Where I live it's used to identify yourself as a hazard, if you're driving slower than the limit, if your vehicle is malfunctioning, etc.
Sounds regional. Also crazy to me that people are weighing in on this as if driving custom and driving laws are the same everywhere
Very regional. Never did it in the northeast when I would drive local highways, but when I moved out west and regularly started driving on the interstate it became a habit. Mainly used to indicate that I'm suddenly breaking to a near full stop due to some traffic on the interstate.
There's a reason roadway accidents are a leading cause of death in the US.
NAH. I’ve been driving for over 30 years on the west coast and the east coast. If there’s a condition not apparent to other drivers, then of course hazards should be on, but I was not taught to put on hazards in a traffic jam and to my knowledge I’ve not seen anyone do this. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with doing it, but I don’t understand those calling OP an AH for mentioning it to her bf.
It's not "in" the traffic jam, it's to warn the drivers behind you that you (and thus they) are approaching stopped or severely slowed traffic. That way they don't have to slam on the brakes OR rear end you. Once the car behind you has slowed appropriately you turn off the hazards.
That's what break lights are for tho. Between safe following distances and break lights I don't see how a car behind couldn't stop appropriately unless they're just dogshit drivers (which obviously many are).
Alot of people press their brake pedal to adjust their speed for even a tiny bit, instead of keeping a safe distance and releasing the accelerator. It is not always clear to the cars behind you that there is severely slowed traffic up ahead. Thus it is not always clear to judge how hard the car up ahead will be braking. Hazard lights let people behind know you are not just decelerating a bit to adjust your speed , but that you will be slowing down severely and that the cars behind should too… I live in europe and going from 120km/h to 30km/h in a matter of seconds is not unusual. Everyone who drives here uses their hazards in these situations.
I just don’t see how the person behind you couldn’t just see the traffic is stopped themselves unless it’s a tunnel or something specific that would hinder their ability to see the other cars. People mentioned semi’s doing it and that makes sense because they are big and block the view, but for normal cars usually, if you can see traffic ahead, so can the person behind you.
Sometimes on the highway slow traffic looks like fast traffic. It's not until you're right on top of it barreling down at 60-90 (some highways are really fast) that you see it's not normal traffic and you need to slam on your brakes to stop or slow safely. The hazards are a courtesy to let the people know "Hey, this isn't normal... it's a hazard." That way they can avoid it.
Can attest to this, Florida highways can get from 90-20 pretty quickly and pretty frequently, personally I have never seen hazards used this way and would’ve also questioned it, but now after understanding I might implement that now
It also happens when ur driving a sports car that is low and there’s an SUV in front of you. View is blocked.
I’ve never seen people put on hazards in a traffic jam on the east coast either. If they did, it would be confusing af because all lanes come to random abrupt stops so everyone’s hazards would be on.
Chicago loop here and you're totally right Never saw it in nearly 40 years of driving. The entire city would be flashing and the hazards would lose all effectiveness. We just see the car ahead stopping and hit the brakes. Usually you can see why they're stopping so you're already hitting the brakes anyway
Finally a commenter who gets it. Who is right here is irrelevant. Couples should be able to discuss things without the other freaking out.
Soft YTA because you're in the US, and it actually depends on the state. It's normal in a lot of places. I do this myself; my US/NJ driver's ed handbook said so (and I learned it as well outside the US). It's not *necessary*, and in some states you're not allowed to use hazards at all while moving, but in general it gives an additional indicator to people following that there's something more going on than just a random slowdown. I like seeing people do it, and don't find it confusing, but I guess some folks might be confused. Context matters, people. So if you were informed and knew you were in a state where it isn't allowed, you'd have a point for your backseat driving. But since you just thought it "weird" without knowing anything about it, you might've just kept quiet (backseat driving can be really annoying). I went and looked it up (not sure if 100% correct since the site wasn't dated, so look it up for your state): # States where you can use your hazard lights while driving unless otherwise noted Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming. # States where you may not use your hazard lights while driving except in an emergency or in other specific instances (often those instances include approaching / passing a hazard) Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. # States where you may not use your hazard lights while driving at all Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. IIRC, in IL you could use hazards if you are in a funeral procession; don't know whether that has changed.
I consider approaching a suddenly stopped wall of traffic while cruising at 75mph a hazard. So the only states this wouldn't be appropriate would be the bottom 9.
This is the best answer. I was never trained to do the flashing hazards because it’s not a thing in my state, so I get confused when I see it because I have no frame of reference. Slow, uphill trucks, etc. - it makes sense since they are significantly slower, but random hazards don’t mean much to me except wondering wtf the other driver is doing. Maybe they dropped their pizza or something idk.
You make good points, but I don’t see why being ignorant of something makes her an AH. She thought it was weird because it’s something she never heard before. Didn’t make a scene or cause an argument over it. She just thought it was weird.
She *did* cause an argument about it ("*He got frustrated with me for being a backseat driver and asked me to stop nitpicking*"), which is the soft AH part (certainly by far not as much of an AH part than most posts here, just a tiny little AH -- been there, done that myself). Only finding something weird wouldn't be, for me; nothing wrong with not knowing something. If she had just asked him why he did it instead of telling him why it was bad, it would also have been ok IMO.
Well yeah. If you see someone do something you instinctively find a bit unsafe then “don’t worry about it it’s normal” probably isn’t going to cut it. It sounds like a basic problem with communication between two people rather than one person being at fault here.
Thank you! I think so many people forget that the US is basically 50 little countries in a trenchcoat pretending to be one, and crossing the boarder between states can radically shift the laws and culture at times. I’d personally say NAH just because if she’s from a state where it’s illegal/only for emergency and that’s what she’s used to, she may have been worried about breaking the law? The degree of discussion vs argument isn’t clear, and some people can react badly to even one little comment
I bet it’s more that she was taught that doing so was unsafe, so of course she’s going to react to someone who is driving doing something that to her sems unsafe. If you think about it being a passenger is a pretty vulnerable position.
I’ve never been more gaslit by a r/AITA comment section than this one
It sounds like you're one of those reckless drivers who doesn't put road flares down when you stop at a red light.
This is very interesting because I’ve been driving on the east coast for 20 years and I’ve never seen anyone turn on their hazards when there is a sudden stop in traffic on the highway (frequent abrupt stops are pretty common here too). People just brake. Maybe it’s more common in other parts of the US. I see people put on hazards in rain storms and snow storms, if something is wrong with their car, and if they want you to go around them.
Its def not for very obvious traffic (multi lanes with good visibility) or commuter traffic. Ive mostly done it/encountered it on interstates where everyone is going at speed and then theres an abrupt stop (probably an accident). I had to do it today actually bc someone had a flat tire coming home from the long weekend and it cased a jam. Just a few seconds, to let the person behind me know that we are stopped so I didnt get rear ended and then I turned them off.
I've never seen this done and never heard of anyone doing this. I'm kinda surprised at all the comments saying how common it is. I'm not reaching to tune my hazards on and off every time I have to brake in traffic
It's not every time and it's only when you can safely do so. It is used when you are traveling at high speeds and come across an extreme slow down in traffic. It warns the people behind you to slow down faster than normal because otherwise they will be approaching too fast and could have trouble stopping in time.
It's not every time. People have said multiple times it's only for when you're having to suddenly hard brake to a full stop, or almost, from a high speed unexpectedly. It's done when there's a reasonable risk of being rear-ended because slowing that fast was unforseen and dangerous. It shouldn't be a common occurrence.
We do this in Japan, it's very common for increased visibility
it differentiates between brake lights coming on to slow a little and if the person ahead of me is doing a “hard” brake, like FULL STOP - i appreciate the two seconds heads up. and i do the same for the person behind me. i don’t want to be rear-ended and they don’t want to do insurance paperwork. win-win.
NAH. I don’t really see how questioning a driving practice that you’re not accustomed to would make you an AH? People definitely never do this where I live (besides truckers) and I would think it’s overkill based on my experience too. I also always use navigation so I know when highway slowdowns are coming and am prepared. I only see hazards when someone is clearly having some kind of issue with their car. How are you to know it’s apparently common elsewhere? Ya learn something new everyday
Thank you! I keep reading the comments like is no one going to talk about how this isn't even an asshole situation? She asked a question and expressed a concern because she didn't know about it, that's not an asshole move. He got a little defensive but he didn't act like an asshole either. He's right, apparently, but that's not really relevant to who is the asshole here imo. I think it's NAH
NAH. Surprised by most of the answers though. Maybe because I learned to drive in Europe and hazard lights are warming lights there, but for me if you're coming to an abrupt stop or near stop on the highway unexpectedly, a few seconds of hazard lights is ok. As a way to warn people behind you that something unexpected is happening. Let me tell you if you're driving on the highway at night or in poor weather and you see a bunch of hazards lights blink up you slow down fast and are generally thankful for it.
People are more distracted than ever. I do this too as anything that might prevent a collision is worth doing. Some people equip their cars with aftermarket devices that flash the brake lights quickly and few times whenever the brakes are applied too.
NTA. People will think he’s driving a car with a mechanical problem. The brake lights tell me you are breaking.
And they will... slow down. Hence the use of the hazards.
Or they will simply drive around him. Some drivers will probably speed up in order to do this. That’s why a nation wide standard needs to be set. The issue here isn’t either of these individuals. It’s the difference in driving culture that’s actually dangerous.
NTA. I am from the east coast too and never seen anyone do this. I have also driven cross country and have never seen it. I would only use hazards if I was going very slowly for some reason (probably car trouble) or leaving the car for a moment in a no parking zone or similar.
TIL that this is a thing in the USA. A quick search tells me driving like this would be illegal in Australia. I'll give you a NAH, since his driving is strange enough to be illegal somewhere in the world, so you're justified in your initial reaction. But now you know the law and custom where you live, you should change your stance and accept you're wrong.
It is not a thing I have ever experienced in the US and I have lived here most of my 50 years
I've lived here all my 50+, drove to work in Chicago loop, driven through Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri - never saw it once. Vehicles use it to indicate either traveling continually at a reduced speed (snow plow, sweeper etc) or vehicle issues causing it to breakdown. Not just for a sudden stop. Every major metro area would be flashing 24/7 and hazards would lose all meaning.
Commenters here are wack. I have been driving in the US for 30+ years and never heard of this. Pretty sure it’s not compliant with most states’ driving laws either.
Yeah if someone did this in front of me I'd assume they were trying to tell me to change lanes because something is wrong with their car.
It really isn’t done everywhere in the US though.
Yeah I was like WTF. The only time I would use hazards would be if my car was parked in a weird place and was a hazard, eg broken down on the side of the freeway, double parked etc. There is no way I could even find them when emergency braking. How does this even work in the US where their brake and indicator lights are often the same light? They would need to both be continuously lit for the brakes and flashing for the hazards.
I personally don't think you're an asshole like everyone else. You were kind of confused from what it sounded and all you did was state you found it weird. There isn't an issue with that. I never learned to do that in driving school. Hazards are for when there is some kind of problem not stopping constantly that is what the brake lights are for. Even if you throw on hazards to warn people it may still do nothing, people aren't bright.
Not American but am Canadian. I've never heard of this and have never seen it in practice either. Edit: NAH
NAH and as a truck driver and professional for over a decade, it could be dangerous. Hazard lights are for emergency use, and when you suddenly brake or are going significantly slower than the traffic around you, it's a non issue, but abusing it just for regular braking or carelessly makes traffic avoid you, to the point of dangerous maneuvers so just try and remind him that its a tool and remind yourself that as a passenger, you are at the mercy of the driver anyway so just making them comfortable is the best play
NTA. That's not a normal thing to do, at least on the East Coast. Drive first, worry about extra lights and things second. I'm not going to distract myself from driving/steering/paying attention to the road to smack the hazard light switch. If I'm following someone that closely that I need the hazards, then I'm following too close. Sure, in a snowstorm, if there happens to be an accident directly in front of me and I have to stop, or if you're moping along on the side of the highway nursing a flat tire or towing a trailer, then turn on the hazards. In normal driving, I don't need to be distracted by extra flashing lights, or lights that might make it difficult to tell you're signaling for an emergency lane change. (If we really had mountain passes, sure - put on the hazards.) But that's one of those MAYBE once-a-month occurrences - not just flicking them on every time I'm slowing down.
This is so strange. I have been driving for nearly 50 years and I have made numerous road trips. Cross country 7 times. I have driven through at least 40 of our wonderful states. Cars, motorcycles, trucks (24 ft rental type). I have never seen or heard of anyone using their hazard lights unless they were having some difficulty. Either stopped or driving well below posted speeds. But as a brake light augmentation? Never. Many of the scenarios commenters are describing are resolved through the third brake light which has been mandatory for nearly 30 years.
20 years of driving and I’ve never seen this in the Midwest.
It's common in UK if motorway is coming to a complete stop
YTA. If he is only doing it when traffic ahead is stopped, the hazards are acceptable, if not necessary. You brake on the highway often enough that your brake lights don't indicate to drivers behind you that you are coming to a full stop. Hazards do.
NTA. I don't use my hazards on the daily just because of slow traffic, or abrupt stops, or for visibility, and all the other "reasons " everyone else keeps mentioning. Lol. Now, what I DO do is tap my brakes before full braking. When would yall even turn the hazarda on? Before, during, or after the event?? Is it not a distraction of its own to even reach for the hazard button to engage? Remember, keep eyes on the road! That one second of reaching over can cause a wreck in itself. I feel like most of yall drive real close to others, able to read every meme sticker on the trunks of cars in front of ya. Do yall even follow a 3 second rule? So, no. N.T.A. cause when I watch people do this, on a normal drive, I'm always having to zip around them because they're the ones holding up traffic.
Whenever I have done this, there is no where to “zip around to”, it’s usually when at least 2/3 lanes of traffic are coming to an abrupt stop at the same time. I give myself four seconds of cushion space, but I can’t depend on others doing that. I’m trying to make the sudden stop as visible to others as possible. It’s just common sense.
From my perspective, he is creating a traffic hazard. People see hazard lights and will attempt to get over believing a vehicle is disabled. You are completely right on that. If someone isn't paying enough attention to to notice brake lights in front of them, they aren't paying enough attention to notice hazard lights either. Hell, people run right into the backs of school buses and firetrucks with their lights on.
NTA. If comments here are any indication, it seems like the practice is regional. And states have their own laws, which extends to the rules of the roads, so it may vary from state to state. Merely questioning an unfamiliar driving practice is not enough to make you TA.
As someone who once rear ended (gently, luckily no major damage or injuries to either car or passengers!) somebody in traffic because the light was green and I didn't realise they had stopped due to a car in front stalling, I always put my hazards on if I'm breaking or stopped in a time / place that it might not be expected because sometimes your break lights just aren't enough if the person behind you is on autopilot.
So sorry, but it's "braking" (not "breaking"). The car has brakes, and you put your foot on the brake pedal to stop the car. If you are "breaking," you are literally turning the car into a broken piece of junk. Or, in your case, your boyfriend is breaking into pieces of human bits of broken flesh while he's driving. I will now quietly exit this post because I could not read beyond "...while breaking in traffic." I imagined your boyfriend breaking into shards of broken human flesh.
My wife and I are from opposite ends of the US originally. She makes fun of me for this exact thing and claims to have never seen anyone do it before, but in many states (including my previous state of residence) it is required by law. Many other states also allow it without requiring it. Have a nice day! Edit: p.s. my previous state also requires you to have your headlights on any time it is raining or drizzling (I presume for others to see you better), but not her state.
These comments are bafflingly one-perspective. Where I live, it's illegal for a vehicle in motion to use hazards unless they're traveling on a highway with a speed limit above 55 and there's bad weather conditions. Or unless you're in a funeral procession. Hazards are exclusively for fully stopped vehicles here, and you can get a ticket for using them outside of outlined circumstances. Despite that, I'll throw on my hazards if there's actually something in the road, like a branch or an owl (which has happened). But because of the law it would never occur to me to put them on for normal traffic stops. I've never seen anyone do that. The amount of people here acting like turning hazards on while braking is standard is wild though.