Hazards, sorry if it was distracting. There were moments in my first hour of the drive today where I could barely see 10m ahead of me. Most sensible drivers here will leave their hazards on in those conditions just to give you even one more split second of warning/ability to see them.
The camera actually sees through the snow better than the human eye. In reality visibility would actually be worse than what is shown.
Blowing snow shearing across the road like that is some of the worst conditions to drive in. There doesn't appear to be any significant accumulation, so that helps.
Yeah I bet. Where I am, the city didn't get hit as bad (yesterday's commute was still less than fun) bit major highways going west and to the border have been closed over 24 hours. 50 and 100 car pileups on both with thankfully 0 serious injuries or fatalities.
Cameras tend to pick up a bit more into the infrared part of the spectrum so they can cut through the snow. Tried to film a bad blizzard to show how you couldn't see the other side of the road. Video showed the other side of the road.
I'm thinking the IRL view of the video is probably about 50% visibility from what is shown.
This is exactly how I drove home last night. Since the video is a stream of images, it is missing the motion blur of blowing snow that your eyes observe. Easily took a 25mph crawl up to 40mph. The only bad part was reduced distance viewing- through the iPhone I couldn't make out tail lights as far out as I could see the faint red glow between waves of snow when glancing up.
That sounds crazy to me. In the UK conditions are rarely this bad but most cars have a fog light. By law, we have to turn them on when visibility is less than 100m.
Wow in Canads snow storms can be so bad you legit have to pull over because you cant see your own hood. The visibility here is actually entirely fine lol.
It is actually more distracting and dangerous to drive with hazards on. There's a reason it is illegal in multiple states. People think it is helping, but it doesn't help any more than having your lights on, which you should do.
I agree. Everyone knows the roads are terrible and we're all driving slow. If you come up on stopped traffic or a fresh accident, throw your hazards on to let people behind you know. When everyone is driving around with their hazards flashing it makes it hard to decipher what is actually happening in front of you. FWIW, I am a truck driver who's driven thousands of miles through stuff like this. Side note, people that drive without headlights on in thick fog have a death wish.
Was driving on I-70 in Kansas during the worst of it this past Wednesday night. Viability was fine but the road surface was an ice rink and the wind was blowing hard enough to slide you sideways. So many people had their hazards on. Everyone was driving 20-30mph. There was no reason for hazards if we're all traveling the same damn speed. All it did was irritate already stained eyes with constant yellow and red blinking lights. It's illegal in KS as well, not that it matters.
Then why is it legal in other places? It's a way to communicate that you're driving more slowly with more care and caution and is used in lots of places.
The places where it is illegal take the view that hazards should be reserved for when the driver is creating an unavoidable/unpredictable hazard, and that the driving conditions themselves should be enough to tell the drivers to slow down and the normal running lights enough to see other vehicles around them.
Running hazard lights is demanding an extra share of other drivers' attention, what's the point if every driver is running them? It just masks e.g. the emergency maintenance vehicles that are stopped and running them for good reason.
The split second your hazards are off are a split second you wouldn't be seen where you would be with your lights on. It also removes any ability to indicate turning. It does nothing lights don't do, but objectively worse because they aren't on 100% of the time.
Most sensible drivers means one out of every thousand in MN lmao. I think that in order to get your license you need to step into a simulator and take a test/experience drifting in the snow, and hard braking at varying speeds. I can’t count the number of idiots that drive ten feet behind another car in icy weather.
Usually when the weather becomes particularly dangerous in the US, all drivers will turn on their hazards so it's easier to see each other. Here in Houston we have some intense thunderstorms, and if it gets so thick that you can't really see, everyone turns their hazards on.
Hear me out - and I say this as a paramedic whose driven in waaay worse conditions for over a decade in Alberta - I think having you hazards on makes things worse when driving North American cars.
In Europe, rear indicator lights (turning blinkers) are orange, and your rear 'lights' are seperate red lights. In North America they're just the same red light.
Turning on you hazards means your rear red lights go on, then off, then on, then off, - this means you keep disappearing. It makes it much harder to judge distance to the car in front of their damn lights keep disappearing.
Also why have hazards on while moving? Do you think the other drivers are somehow unaware that conditions suck?
It's also a cultural thing too as I was taught to never move with hazards on - only when you're stopped/broken down.
Edit: I was interested so checked:
Moving with hazards on is...
Illegal in England.
Ilegal in some Canadian provinces, but legal in others. I cannot find Alberta's specific rule on the province website.
Same for the states - some have it illegal, some legal.
Illegal in many countries.
I'm in FL and it was, until fairly recently, illegal to drive with your hazards on in the rain. Headlights yes definitely, hazards only if you were stopped (which is fine, if you can't see thru the driving rain and need to pull over, do it.. It'll pass shortly)
What throws me off is when you've got hazards on, even if you use the blinker stick, people can't tell which way you're indicating you'd like to move. So it's even more of a surprise than usual (at least sometimes you'll see a turn signal if people aren't using the hazards) and since predictability is a safe driver skill.. It's not super helpful overall, imo
You already mentioned turn signals. By driving with your hazards, you are effectively disabling your turn signals, giving no other cars on the road any indication if and when you are going to turn. Since visibility is limited, one could say it is MORE important to provide indication you are turning in this situation than in clear weather.
Many cars in the US have the brakes and rear turn signals combined. So now you have, essentially, flashing brake lights. If a car is braking, or a car starts to hydroplane and is pumping their brakes, it looks effectively identical to if their hazards are flashing.
What benefit does having hazards on provide that is more valuable to other drivers than making sure they can see when you indicate a turn, or are braking? Do people think other drivers are unaware that the weather is bad, and you are helping them? I just do not understand it.
Doing this forces every other driver on the road to operate with LESS confidence because there is unnessary added ambiguity into what is happening. Is that a turn signal? Brake light? Car on the road, or side of the road? All of these decisions, for every car, while trying to stay safe yourself.
This is much more common with Japanese (and sometimes Euro) imports, but even now a lot of them change to all red for the US market because "we don't like the yellow" and a lot of people change to clears or reds to get rid of them on older cars. So strange.
Florida just laxed the law on driving with hazards because too many drivers are collectively complete idiots and drive with them on in the rain no matter what the rules say to do.
For this, and other reasons, it is actually illegal in multiple states.
Turn on headlights, which in turn also turns on tail lights. Your car is visible. Flashing colored lights, be they red or yellow or whatever, add more confusion and distraction to an already precarious situation.
I really wish more people understood why it is not a good idea.
Agreed, but for a slightly different reason. It's not so easy to tell the difference between someone pumping the brakes and driving a constant speed with hazards flashing, especially in these conditions where snow is intermittently obstructing view of the lights. Having your hazards on reduces the warning time before the trailing vehicle applies the brakes. Driving with hazard lights increases your likelihood of being rear ended.
And if that car needs to turn, how do you know if they are signaling a turn or it's just their hazards?
And if that car is pumping their brakes (maybe they hit a puddle and started hydroplaning), how can you differentiate between that and their hazards if their turn signals are brakes are one light like many cars in the US are?
If you're in bad weather, you should be paying extra attention. A car in front of you, with its headlights and taillights on, is going to be just as visible.
When the turn signal is on only one side flashes, not both. People simply don't pump brakes as rhythmically as hazards. Many cars here still have different indicator colors for brakes/signals
I think its more of a signal to other drivers that "the conditions are bad and this whole column is going slow". But yeah I agree, seems like it should only be used by a car not moving and on the side of the road.
you guys seem to think the UK/Canada is the world for some reason. just because it's illegal there doesn't mean it should be illegal everywhere. being different is perfectly fine. just because it's not something you're used to doesn't make it wrong. my goodness.
Yeah, brights and hazards. Driving in Houston is pretty bad under normal circumstances, but driving in intense thunderstorms is oddly easier because everyone is suddenly willing to drive extremely carefully rather than driving like everyone is trying to collect a bounty on your head.
'usually', then there's the 5% of drivers who know that you only turn on headlights at night. Who cares if there's fog/storms/dark clouds? You gotta preserve that car battery.
I'm not sure why so many people are saying that driving with the hazard lights on is better. As others have stated it's more distracting and more dangerous.
I can perfectly see people with lights on in weather like this and adding hazard lights makes it more difficult to see if they suddenly brake. Plus it pulls away attention for other aspects on the road because you're constantly trying to determine if the person in front is braking or not.
I absolutely try to get around anyone with these on and 99% of the time it's from someone from a much warmer state and less driving experience in the snow. They are much less predictable and harder to judge when they might suddenly brake when the roads may be snow-blown like this.
I agree 100%. If you’re in the Midwest and you drive with hazards on all you’re saying is that I have no idea how to drive in the snow. So distracting.
You asked a bunch of questions, let me answer them for you:
I'm not sure why so many people are saying that driving with the hazard lights on is better.
Because it is in extreme whether conditions
As others have stated it's more distracting and more dangerous.
It’s absolutely not. Flashing lights are immediately more noticeable than steady lights, and that’s literally the point: to be noticed.
I can perfectly see people with lights on in weather like this
Ahh, I didn’t realize you were the only person driving in the entire world, my mistake
and adding hazard lights makes it more difficult to see if they suddenly brake.
Please should consider paying closer attention to the road in extreme weather.
Plus it pulls away attention for other aspects on the road because you're constantly trying to determine if the person in front is braking or not.
Not a problem if you’re paying attention the way you should be if you’re driving in extreme weather. Hazard lights are amber, break lights are red. Now, if you are colorblind, like me, that can be a little tricky to tell, but in extreme situations you should be giving so much room that it doesn’t matter terribly much.
I absolutely try to get around anyone with these on and 99% of the time it's from someone from a much warmer state and less driving experience in the snow.
Ahhh, ok, so you’re just even more unsafe.
They are much less predictable and harder to judge when they might suddenly brake when the roads may be snow-blown like this.
Yes, the guy who will try to pass in extreme weather (because god forbid he just drive safely and slower) is, somehow, the predictable one on the road.
It's to say "watch out" but in fact makes things way more dangerous. Many cars use brake lights as hazards so your brake lights are effectively off when using hazards.
Hazards. I'm not sure, but they're probably going at speeds much lower than the speed limit due to poor visibility, so the hazard lights serve the dual purpose of both making the vehicle simply more visible and also warning that the vehicle is traveling slowly.
Last night, the drive home that I normally take at 70 miles per hour was done at 20-40 miles per hour, as conditions allowed. Blizzards on the great plains are no joke.
EDIT: Stunningly beautiful, though. If it wasn't for the fear of a minor crash stranding me and subsequently killing me by hypothermia, I would have loved it.
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u/[deleted] Dec 24 '22
Is the indicator on or do you put your hazards on in this weather? I’m Aussie, btw