Here’s What It Really Means When Someone Flashes Their Headlights at You
You are driving along the road at night, and someone flashes their headlights in your direction – maybe it quickly lights up, then flashes the high beam. Or, even more amazingly, they do it in broad daylight. What does it mean? (And no, this is not a gang initiation ritual .)
Flashing headlights can actually mean several different things, depending on the context. Luckily, it only takes a second to check two things that another driver might be trying to warn you about: your own headlights and potential hazards ahead of you on the road.
Check your headlights
If you’re driving at night and you forgot to turn on your headlights, a friendly headlight flash is how another driver might tell you, “Turn on your headlights, dummy.”
If your headlights are already on, they may be telling you that you haven’t turned on your high beams. Remember that your “high headlights” or “bright” ones are for illuminating the empty road in front of you, and you should switch back to regular headlights when other drivers approach. Most states require you to turn off your lights if you are within 500 feet of an oncoming car or 200-300 feet of a car you are following.
Watch out for surprises
If your headlights are working properly or you are driving during the day, an approaching vehicle may be trying to warn you of something ahead. Often this is a speed trap: a police car waiting on the side of the road to stop speeding drivers. With advance warning, you can slow down and avoid getting caught.
Even if it’s not a speed trap, take the flash as an advice to slow down and pay attention to your surroundings. Where I am, in Pennsylvania, the next most likely possibility is that a deer is trying to cross the road. A flash of headlights could also be used to warn drivers of debris on the road or a person trying to cross the road, anything they may have seen and want to make sure you see it too.
Bonus: “Now you can go.”
There is another use for a quick friendly flash of lights – to signal to another driver that he can turn on the road.
For example, if you are trying to pull off the road onto a busy road, one of the cars on the road may slow down to give you room to exit. The flashing lights will let you know that they are intentionally slowing down and will wait for you to make your move.
Or let’s say you pull up to a stop sign around the same time as another car. They can flash their headlights to say “you go first” so you don’t sit and wait for each other. In my hometown, we have a more formalized version of this: the infamous “Pittsburgh Left.” If you stop at a red light and expect to turn left, a car in front of you going straight ahead may let you turn first. If they flash their headlights when the red light comes on, they let you know that you can go as soon as the green light comes on.
Here’s a time when you can flash your headlights to help someone: When a big truck tries to move into your lane on a busy road, they can’t always accurately judge the distance behind them. You can flash your headlights to say “You’ve got room, go ahead” and they will stop in front of you. Sometimes they even respond by activating the flashing lights on the back of their truck as a thank you .