Re: Flashing Lights Syndrome and my new webpage

["Aaron Bohnen" <bohnen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,

About this light-flashing business:

> What are the reasons for flashing your lights?
> 1. To request some idiot to get out of your way.
> 2. To warn some idiot not to pull out in front of you
> 3. To attempt to wake-up some idiot in a barge (SUV, Caddie, etc.)
> 4. To warn other drivers (except those in barges) of a Police vehicle
> ahead.
> 5 To wan some law-breaker (hit and run, robber, violent criminal, etc.)
> of the presence of the Law down the road.
> 
> Any other good reasons?

Well, here in Vancouver, B.C. flashing lights is often used to alert other 
drivers that their headlights are not lit although it is dark out. (This is 
at least a little strange since you'd think they'd notice the fact, but 
many don't and there's reasons like streetlights, inattentiveness, etc. for 
that otherwise-strange-seeming phenomenon.)

I personally don't favour that approach - particularly since the offending 
drivers generally have their parking lights lit. They see the flashing 
headlights, see their own dash lights illuminated and promptly ignore the 
whole thing, figuring that there's some other reason why other 
drivers are flashing their highbeams tonight, or maybe that someone ELSE 
really close by who's really being dumb and driving without lights. "Wow, 
what a bonehead that guy must be! I sure am glad I have my lights on... "

My favorite approach (at least to watch) is where other drivers flash 
lights, gesture emphatically and hurl epithets while giving the 
no-lights-offender the very-well-understood middle-finger salute. That 
always makes me laugh.  

My own personal choice of solutions is to turn my own headlights on and off 
twice rapidly. This gets the message across more specifically that "Your 
headlights are not lit and it's dark out" without blinding anyone or 
hurting anyone's feelings too badly.

Anyhow, just a total WOB - sorry for that to anyone not enthralled by this 
fascinating topic of conversation.

best regards to all,

Aaron

p.s. for some mandatory BMW content, have a look at my webpage under the 
Just For Fun section where I've put up the first of my columns entitled 
"Adventures of a Do-It-Yourselfer" and featured in the October '98 
AUSBLICK, the BMWCCBC newsletter. My webpage address is:

http://www.civil.ubc.ca/home/bohnen
___________________________________________________________
Aaron Bohnen                     email: bohnen@domain.elided
- -Ph.D. Student, Civil Engineering Department, U.B.C.
- -Technicraft Engineering Services

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