Saturday, September 15, 2012

T-171 : Brights Brake

What do you do when someone is driving either toward you or behind you with their high-beam lights on?

I'm pretty comfortable when someone's coming toward me giving them a quick bright-on/bright-off flash as a friendly reminder.  This usually works and I feel fine.  Occasionally the oncoming driver will either not pay attention to my dimming request or prove that I was wrong by turning their true brights on making me even blinder than before!  OK, I get it, I was wrong!  I console myself by hoping that if enough people continue to give them the flash that they'll get their headlights re-aimed.

I'm less comfortable knowing what to do when the car coming behind me is high-beaming my rear-view mirror.  There doesn't seem to be any universal signal for that gentle reminder.  Should I tap my break lights?  Should I shine my laser light in the rear view mirror right on their target?  I once was being followed closely by a vehicle with high-beams at close range while I was 4 abreast in the fast lane on the freeway in SLC.  I tapped my brake lights once but it didn't help.  I hit them a little harder than saw red and blue flashing lights and was cited for reckless driving.  Since then I've shied away from the braking action and either slow down a bit if the car's coming up on me or speed up a bit if I'm beginning to lose them.

If you've got a brighter idea I'd love to hear it!

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