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Different cultures have different unwritten behaviours on roads. In the mountains of Italy, drivers give a short honk before entering a turn on a serpentine ro

• rootsudo 5y ago
  The same applies in southeast Asia/China/Japan, for both. It isn't exactly ubiquitous just in Europe. Not in USA though.
  • PretzelPirate 5y ago
    Other than trucks blinking left or right, all of these are pretty common in the US. As someone who grew up in a rural area, honking before going around turns on small roads or crossing single-lane bridges you couldn’t see the other side of was something we did regularly to avoid being hit. I don’t experience this as much in larger cities though.
    • code_duck 5y ago
      My father said honking is common going around corners on small roads in the mountains in Columbia.
    • macintux 5y ago
      > As someone who grew up in a rural area, honking before going around turns on small roads or crossing single-lane bridges you couldn’t see the other side of was something we did regularly to avoid being hit. I've never found this in rural Indiana, but I wish it were common practice. I've found people often simply assume no one is coming because there are so few cars on the back roads; very nearly experienced a head-on collision approaching one curve a few years ago.
    • obiwan14 5y ago
      It all depends on where you're in the US, though in general, especially in smaller cities, honking at another driver is taken as an insult. When I first moved to Baton Rouge, it took almost 3 months before I heard a car's honk, which surprised me, because in NYC, honking is a mode of communication.
    • kaybe 5y ago
      In Sicily in narrow crossings where you don't have the right of way but cannot see you can slowly inch forward, and if someone is around the corner they will honk at you to let you know to wait.
  • omoikane 5y ago
    I don't see those signage on cars in the USA, but there are a few places where cars are explicitly told to blow their horn, example: https://goo.gl/maps/WWC4ACVRdeyUQnZ57 https://goo.gl/maps/WWC4ACVRdeyUQnZ57
• martin_a 5y ago
  > I flash them a grateful hand sign when passing their mirror. You'd probably use the warning lights for this in Germany. At least with truck drivers this is a common thing.
• hr0m 5y ago
  I can confirm all of it for Germany as well (except the Italian serpentine road synchronization hack). I flash lights for oncoming traffics because of danger or police checks. I flash warning lights (or raise right hand) for thank you. Others do as well (especially buses, when you let them out of the bus stop, since in Germany they don't have the right of passage leaving a bus stop) I learned that truck drivers (and buses) flash left, when it's not safe to overtake. There are also some official rules regarding bus flashing at a bus stop (right, warning). But most of drivers ignore that.
  • fho 5y ago
    It's somewhat common among truck drivers in Germany to flash the turn signals left-right-left-right to say "thank you" after overtaking (another truck).
    • sva_ 5y ago
      I think it's usually right-left-right-left.
      • matja 5y ago
        Maybe it's the other way when driving on the left? :)
    • hengheng 5y ago
      Is that saying thanks? I thought they were just fumbling with the blinker control.
      • londons_explore 5y ago
        yes, that's saying thanks. It's equivalent to the hazard lights, but in some vehicles the hazard lights button isn't very accessible.
      • YeahThisIsMe 5y ago
        It's saying thanks as a response to the slower truck flashing its high beams to let the faster truck know it's now safe to move back over to the slower lane.
• Cthulhu_ 5y ago
  We've taken to ringing our bicycle bells if we're approaching a corner or intersection we can't quite see past.
• rozab 5y ago
  I've seen people flashing their hazards to say thank you in London, but never in Scotland. I suppose non-verbal, everyday communication like this can still remain very localised since the usual vectors for cultural transmission (social media, television, film, etc.) don't include such mundane things.
  • aosaigh 5y ago
    Interesting, I live in Glasgow and commonly see people do this (and do it myself)
    • Daneel_ 5y ago
      Trucks and some cars use their hazards as thanks here in Australia too (two blinks).
  • hornokpleas 5y ago
    When I lived in one part of South London, I never saw this, or at least so rarely that I never figured out what it was supposed to mean. After moving to another, more suburban, part of South London, I see it all the time. shrug
  • sdeframond 5y ago
    Trucks travel far though. I wouldn't be surprised that they would be a significant vector of road etiquette.
• avh02 5y ago
  apparently there was a time where there was an indicator on mostly larger vehicles for indicating takeover safety [0] (make sure you view the linked section). I remember seeing a few of these (though never in use) when traveling in a country that still had a lot of old ladas - so i'm not sure it was only on trucks. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_lighting#Rear_overtake_lights https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_lighting#Rear_overt...
• Xevi 5y ago
  > Here in Lithuania, flashing your warning lights (the four orange ones on the corners of the car) means thanks, for example if you let someone merge from one of the very short onramps. I've never seen this in Germany, where onramps are however much longer. In Sweden it's common to do this by using your blinkers. You blink once in each direction. So first left, then right. Or the other way around.
  • jrochkind1 5y ago
    In the USA, I at some point picked up flashing headlights as "thanks", I don't know how common it is, I don't see it that often (anymore?), but USA drivers may be unlikely to give thanks on the road. :| (Flashing headlights is also "i see you trying to merge in front of me and i'll give you space." Which I also occasionally do but don't see that often).
    • bane 5y ago
      I usually see the flashing headlights for "go ahead in front of me" around entrance ramps in busy traffic. Not common, but maybe I see it 3 or 4 times a year.
    • residentcoder 5y ago
      >Flashing headlights is also "i see you trying to merge in front of me and i'll give you space." I do this for the same reason - or more generalized - 'I see you are about to do _x_, and I acknowledge - go ahead'.
    • datameta 5y ago
      The only way I've seen flashing high-beams used is on the highway to signal from behind "you're going too slow for my liking" or from a distance away "watch out I'm serpentining through traffic 15-20mph faster than the next fastest car"
      • cjaybo 5y ago
        I think GP is talking about flashing the headlights by turning them off and back on quickly, rather than flashing the high-beams. This is what I've usually seen in the US when drivers want to say "thank you" or "you can merge in front of me" on the highway.
• calahad 5y ago
  Flashing the high-beams to warn of police is a thing in the US also, although you can get ticketed for it. (Apparently this has been successfully challenged in court as free speech though lol https://www.myimprov.com/flashing-headlights-in-florida-protected-speech/ https://www.myimprov.com/flashing-headlights-in-florida-prot... )
  • sjg007 5y ago
    Most people these days drive with their LED high beams on all the time.
    • genewitch 5y ago
      I don't understand how a car with detectors that dim mirrors can't also turn your high beams off when they detect another car in front of you. Easily 5/8ths or more of every vehicle I pass at night has their high beams on, and in areas without fog lines it gets old in a hurry - and dangerous.
      • sgtnoodle 5y ago
        Our 2020 GMC Acadia and the equivalent Ford Explorer both automatically turn high beams on and off depending on nearby traffic. It's presumably based on a forward looking camera in front of the rear view mirror.
      • wwalexander 5y ago
        This feature is present in at least a couple of Toyota’s newer models that I’ve had the chance to drive (specifically a Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime).
        • nereye 5y ago
          Ford Edge (US market) has this too when in 'automatic' mode for the lights. It seems to work reasonably well though it sometimes lags a bit so other drivers probably find it somewhat annoying.
      • 5y ago
• bane 5y ago
  > Here in Lithuania, flashing your warning lights (the four orange ones on the corners of the car) means thanks, for example if you let someone merge from one of the very short onramps. There's a similar custom in South Korea, where the warning lights are often used as a "thank you" if somebody lets you cut in front of them.
• silon42 5y ago
  They must not have cyclists in Italy... I drive on a twisty road like that often, and I'd collect a cyclist every month if I did that.
  • sdfjkl 5y ago
    They do, but having tried it, I wouldn't recommend it. If the cars don't get you, the stray dogs probably will. But don't worry, your bike will probably get stolen before either becomes a problem :-P Okay, that experience (dogs, theft and dead cyclists) was actually in Sicily, not north Italy, which is very different in many ways, except for the driving.
• vollmond 5y ago
  I always hear/read about the speed trap warning. In motorcycle circles, IIRC tapping the top of your helmet is that same warning. I haven't ever actually seen either of those in practice, though. Motorcyclists do usually wave at each other, or sometimes point at the road with a foot or two fingers, just as a greeting. The one I do see (in the USA anyway) is flashing your high beams to let a semi truck know they have space to merge in front of you (eg after passing). They usually tap their brake lights a couple times to signal thanks after merging.
  • ballenf 5y ago
    I feel like Waze has killed the high beams flashing warning, although I miss it. It sounds crazy as a say it out loud, but the signals between drivers always gave me warm feelings of some kind of community with other drivers. Now everyone on the road seems much more internally absorbed or focused. Cars are quieter, podcasts instead of radio, etc. While they were never very common, CB radios were also less rare in cars (we always had one for road trips and both my grandparents had one in on all the time in their cars).
    • pomian 5y ago
      what's waze?
      • isoskeles 5y ago
        Some app that a small minority of people use which includes warnings about traffic, hazards, speed traps, etc.
      • gnicholas 5y ago
        A navigation app owned by Google, which is popular largely for its police and hazard notification system. Apple has recently copied this feature in Maps, and you can use Siri to report hazards/etc. (which I believe cannot be done in Waze, at least on iOS).
  • Daneel_ 5y ago
    There's two common motorcyclist signals for police: Either tapping the top of the helmet, or pointing up at the sky while moving your arm in a circle (to mime spinning police lights). Other motorcyclist signs are sticking the left leg out to say thanks, holding your hand out and rapidly opening/closing it to say "you've left your indicator on", and pointing at dangerous spots on the ground like potholes, gravel, or other unseen hazards.
• LeonM 5y ago
  Even on racetracks indicators and high-beams are used in their own way (that is: if the race car is equipped with such lights). Hazard lights (both indicators): Used in yellow zone, both to confirm to the marshals that the driver has seen the yellow flag. For drivers behind it is extra indication that yellow zone is ahead. Indicate to the right: Acknowledge the faster driver behind you, indicating it is safe to pass. Also to acknowledge to marshal that the blue flag was observed. Indicate to the left: Indicate to car in front that you are faster, please let me pass (same as blue flag by marshal). Obviously not used in competitive racing, but very useful recreational for track driving. High-beams are sometimes flashed to thank/acknowledge marshal on a flag signal.
  • JshWright 5y ago
    > Obviously not used in competitive racing, but very useful recreational for track driving. While actual race cars don't have turn indicators, actual headlights are common in some racing classes (especially for endurance racing), and multi-class races are common (where multiple different categories of cars are racing on the same track, often with _very_ different top speeds). Flashing headlights is a common way for a faster car behind to indicate to the slower class of car ahead that they're coming.
• keraf 5y ago
  I'm in Zanzibar, TZ at the moment. Honking is also used when overtaking or in general to make others aware of your presence on the road (especially for pedestrians and cyclists). The interesting part though is with indicators. They use the right indicator (driving in on the left) to signal incoming cars to the vehicles behind you, meaning it is unsafe to overtake.
  • pomian 5y ago
    haha! we have to add a note in this thread, for which countries drive on the left and right. So your warning for passing signals are the same using the same logic.
• LegitShady 5y ago
  >In the mountains of Italy, drivers give a short honk before entering a turn on a serpentine road, which usually can't be seen around. If there is no responding honk, they will take the full width of the road (making the very tight turn easier and faster). Tourist drivers have to pick up on this :) It seems like it should be illegal (and also partly suicidal) to go into the opposing lane in a situation where you cannot see if there is an approaching car. You're relying on someone in an opposing lane hearing and understanding your horn, for relatively little gain, and potentially fatal results. Any situation where you can do everything 'perfectly' and you have a significant chance of dying or killing someone because someone else doesn't notice is a good situation to avoid. If you hit someone's car under these circumstances it would be criminally negligent in my opinion.
  • sdfjkl 5y ago
    Visit Italy! Just don't drive there. These roads don't really have "lanes", it's more of a squeeze past each other kind of thing if you hear a returned honk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjPZhLiozAg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjPZhLiozAg Being Italy, of course they do race cars down these roads :)
• johnflan 5y ago
  >In much of Europe oncoming cars flash their lights to warn others about dangers and (especially) speed traps or police checks, so they can slow down in time. >Here in Lithuania, flashing your warning lights (the four orange ones on the corners of the car) means thanks, Those behaviours are common in Ireland too
• r00f 5y ago
  A friend from Syria once told me that in their country flashing warning lights means "f* you", and when he saw it for the first time when going abroad, he was really angry when someone thanked him. Like "I've just let him merge and that is how he acts to me?!" But I personally haven't heard of any other cases when this isn't considered a thank you gesture
  • unscaled 5y ago
    In Israel the most common meaning is "Get off my lane, RIGHT NOW!", so I wouldn't be surprised if it's not just Syria but a big chunk of the Middle East that follows that rule. It could also be used to call another driver's attention (e.g. if you have a broken taillight and did not notice), or to warn against a police trap (in the pre-Waze era) and maybe a few other things, but it never means "thank you".
    • throwaway0a5e 5y ago
      Its contextual. Car coming the other way flashes and it means hazard ahead. If it's at night and your DRLs are the only thing on it means "turn on your lights moron" At an intersection it usually means "go" to whichever party should be yielding to the flashing party. Of course if you're in the left land and flash your brights at someone who's clogging up the left lane there's a good chance they won't understand it because if they could understand the context they wouldn't be clogging up the left lane in the first place.
  • bee_rider 5y ago
    I'm surprised at the thank you gesture. The intended use of warning lights is to... warn people, right? I've always understood them to mean "something weird has happened, and so I may do something unpredictable." I can't see how that could have morphed to "thank you."
    • Jolter 5y ago
      Pretty sure the intended use is when stationary, to warn that you have broken down and are positioned badly. At least, that used to be the only time it was legal to use them here (Sweden). They recently added a rule that it’s legal to use warning lights while being towed, too. Either way, it’s certainly a traffic offense to use them while driving.
• tomxor 5y ago
  > In the mountains of Italy, drivers give a short honk before entering a turn on a serpentine road, which usually can't be seen around. If there is no responding honk, they will take the full width of the road (making the very tight turn easier and faster). I do this in the UK for the narrow lanes where there is only room enough for one car, because my Grandad used to do it, and because it makes a lot of sense... although the "take up the whole road" part is kind of unavoidable, which is the whole reason to beep ur horn. There are just a huge number of country lanes here that are so narrow only one small vehicle will fit, and when you get to a blind corner you have to go slow enough to be able to quickly stop... a couple taps of the horn help to warn other drivers that something is coming regardless of your actions, and just reduce the chances of a collision. To be fair I rarely hear other drivers do this any more, so it might be more of an old fashioned thing.
• ChuckNorris89 5y ago
  >If there is no responding honk, they will take the full width of the road (making the very tight turn easier and faster). Tourist drivers have to pick up on this :) And self driving cars too, if they wish to reach full autonomy everywhere. But since currently they can barely keep themselves from crashing into obvious obstacles on the highway without human intervention, I think their prime-time is further into the distant future than pioneers like Elon would like to admit as I can't imagine they'd be able to handle the roads in Italy/Paris by themselves without an accident any time soon.
• pdpi 5y ago
  Signalling your presence for safety is pretty much the only legitimate use for a car horn, so that makes sense. Of course, the part where they take up the whole width of the road kind of then causes a bunch of added risk...
• JackFr 5y ago
  In France they seem to use the horn, frantic (and frankly very rude) hand gestures and occasionally screeching tires to let you know that you did NOT in fact have the right of way entering the traffic circle.
  • kergonath 5y ago
    And just about as often to mean that you did have the right of way but they don’t care. Not limited to roundabouts, though.
  • hornokpleas 5y ago
    In France drivers will flash their lights to warn you of police speed traps or other checks. (It's quite common for French police to stop and breathalyse all drivers on some rural road, especially on Sunday afternoons.) I have driven in France loads and have literally never reached a police roadblock or radar trap without being warned by a vehicle coming the other way.
• albrewer 5y ago
  > In the mountains of Italy, drivers give a short honk before entering a turn on a serpentine road, This was common in Puerto Rico when I visited.
• CraigJPerry 5y ago
  >> In the mountains of Italy, drivers give a short honk before entering a turn on a serpentine road At night i was on an airport transfer bus heading down the Amalfi coast and the driver was flashing his headlights before barrelling into a hairpin turn giving no room for oncoming traffic. I stopped stamping on the imaginary brake pedal quite so hard when i realised this signal must mean I’m coming through which is the opposite from here in the UK where it means I’m giving way to you.
  • mnw21cam 5y ago
    The highway code disagrees with you. Flashing your headlights or sounding the horn should only be used to draw someone's attention to the fact that you are there.
    • VBprogrammer 5y ago
      Oh please. That's like citing the dictionary definition of a word which has come to mean something else. The actual uses of flashing headlights are much more varied than the official version. For example "you are driving with your headlights off and it's dark", "you are blinding me with your main beams" and "a tree has fallen in the road ahead". I would wager that the unofficial version outweighs the official 10 to 1. The only danger with flashing someone to give way is when there is potential for it to cause a conflict with other vehicles, for example a cyclist on your left. For that reason I always check my mirrors and slow to allow someone to cross in front of me rather than flashing them. Most people figure it out but don't completely disengage their own perception.
  • climb_stealth 5y ago
    I learned both and it depends on the context. If you can see the other car and they can see you, flashing the lights means giving them right of way or showing them that they can go. If you are coming towards a blind corner it is just a way of bringing attention to you coming. I also do this when cars with high beams come over a crest. Flash your own high beams a few times and they can turn off their lights before coming over the crest blinding you.
• p_l 5y ago
  When riding in a car with a long trailer (glider transport trailer) from Poland to Spain and back in ~2002, we quickly found out that LTV truckers would use indicators to point out when we gained enough distance when overtaking to safely merge back into the lane. Flashing warning lights for thanks is also common in Poland.
• deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
• mjlawson 5y ago
  In Upstate New York where snow drifts can sometimes completely block visibility at intersections, honking is pretty common as if to say "ready or not, here I come!"
• dvirsky 5y ago
  In Israel, flashing the warning lights or hazard lights or whatever they're called when driving, means "hey car behind me, you're on high beams and blinding me, please stop". Since moving to the US I haven't found an effective way to signal people about this, they certainly don't understand this signal. Flashing high beams quickly is either a warning about police ahead, or "turn on your damn lights" (there is also a hand gesture for this, spreading and closing your fingers towards them to illustrate a light beam). If someone is blinding you coming in front of you, you just turn on high beams and blind them back.
  • dzhiurgis 5y ago
    How about when someone leaves their rear fog light on and you are behind them…
  • TylerE 5y ago
    > Since moving to the US I haven't found an effective way to signal people about this, they certainly don't understand this signal. Between lifted pickup trucks and shoddy, poorly-aligned aftermarket HID lights, it's probably that a high percentage of them AREN'T using brights, even if it feels like it.
    • kube-system 5y ago
      Or even poorly aligned OEM lights. Most US states don't have vehicle inspections, and the ones that do usually aren't checking headlight alignment.
      • dvirsky 5y ago
        You have to have your headlights alignment tested every year in Israel. And being caught with badly aligned lights can lead to a ticket if a police car is on the receiving end.
        • kube-system 5y ago
          A number of US states have inspections that cover proper operation of lights, but often in practice it isn't anything more than checking to make sure they aren't burnt out. Having improperly aimed headlights is also ticketable in the US but it isn't often enforced.
• hereforphone 5y ago
  "Tourists have to pick up on it" seems like a strange thing to bet one's life on. Does making the very tight turn faster get one home much quicker? Why not just slow down?
  • tasuki 5y ago
    > "Tourists have to pick up on it" seems like a strange thing to bet one's life on. Tourists are generally advised to pick up on local customs. I used to live in Amsterdam. Cyclists expect pedestrians to hear the bell ring once and get the hell out of the fietspad. If you don't, you will get hit. > Does making the very tight turn faster get one home much quicker? In Italian Alps where you spend half the time turning? You bet! > Why not just slow down? Have you met many Italians? :)
• esaym 5y ago
  A person know that spent time in Japan (I think, back in the 70's) mentioned while stopped at a traffic light, everyone would turn off their headlights.
• johannes1234321 5y ago
  > In the mountains of Italy, drivers give a short honk before entering a turn on a serpentine road, which usually can't be seen around. Swiss busses even have a special horn playing a piece (three tones) of Rossini's, Wilhelm Tell Opera Overture https://youtu.be/wMWEQdxMhdA https://youtu.be/wMWEQdxMhdA
• dzhiurgis 5y ago
  Friend from Canada (who cycled from Vilnius to Warsaw) would give short honks to cyclists as some sort of appreciation or something. I thought it’s kinda annoying for cyclists! Here in NZ will honk (or even call police) if you drive middle of the road - visibility behind corners isn’t great and tourists often confuse where they should drive. Whereas it’s fairly common to drive in the middle in Lithuania - sometimes it has better road surface.
• rimliu 5y ago
  Also in Lithuania: it is forbidden to use hong in urban areas unless it is to prevent an accident.
• davchana 5y ago
  In India if we are ahead, and road is not straight, means a driver behind me can't see far, I will blink the directional blinker one or twice to tell him that its safe to overtake me now, from this direction. A headlight flashes to incoming driver is saying, I see you want to overtake, don't, let me pass first. A honk at sharp turns on going uphill, telling opposite traffic that I am heavy, cant afford to stop & then start, you give me way if required. There, there is a text painted (officially or informally) "Honk" or "Horn Please"
• ganeshkrishnan 5y ago
  >And amongst truck drivers it's pretty wide-spread to blink right to tell a following car you think it's safe for them to overtake you and blink left when you think it no longer is In India, the truck drivers blink right to tell you its safe (or want you) to overtake from right and they blink left if it's safe (or they want you) to overtake from the left. Makes highway driving very confusing since a blinking left truck on highway means the exact opposite of city driving (YOU can go left vs I am going left). yeah, self driving car is not coming anytime soon to India.
• rubans 5y ago
  I've seen this sort of comment many times, implying that indicators, flashing lights, use of the horn is unique to certain countries or regions. Yet every time, there's replies saying "hey I'm from <region not mentioned> and we also do this". It seems to me people haven't realised the behaviour displayed in their part of the world isn't as unique or quaint as they think it is!
• tuckerpo 5y ago
  When I visited Iceland, it seemed commonplace to flash your highbeams at the person in front of you if you intend to pass. It becomes the person in front's burden to signal a clear, safe pass. Kind of strange, and I can't imagine this system ever working in the USA. People can't even handle motorcycles lane splitting out of a "they're cutting in line" mentality.
• raffraffraff 5y ago
  Flashing the warning lights also means "thanks" in Ireland.
• garfieldnate 5y ago
  I remember when I first moved to Japan that my friends and I got off of our bikes and moved to the side of the road to let a car pass (it was a very small road). The driver honked as they went by, and the other American and I thought they were being rude. Honking in the US usually means, "get outta the way!" Our Japanese friend corrected us, telling us that two quick honks meant "thank you." I was blown away that such a thing existed!