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A comment on The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016). Parent comment

Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by hr0m on Monday November 29, 2021 @08:07AM (#29379376)
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.

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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by kriro on Monday November 29, 2021 @10:02AM (#29380627)
I'm pretty sure I learned that if a bus has the blinker on when leaving the bus stop you are supposed to let them into traffic. A quick check seems to confirm it (§20/5 StVO).
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by paledot on Monday November 29, 2021 @07:06PM (#29387086)
Here in Montreal the buses leave the right signal on while stopped at a stop, then activate the left signal as soon as the doors close, even if they're in a bus lane that they don't intend to leave. To complicate matters further, they use the hazard lights while stopped at a timing point, so you can't tell just by looking at the left side if the bus is about to merge or if it's going to be stationary for the next 10 minutes.

Parts of this make sense, and I appreciate the consistency, but the execution leaves something to be desired.

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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by Aissen on Monday November 29, 2021 @08:40AM (#29379742)
Somewhat tangentially related, but the french government did an interesting ad on this (very entrenched in France too) habit of flashing lights after police checks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNsVZu-2IaA
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by fho on Monday November 29, 2021 @08:13AM (#29379449)
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).
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by sva_ on Monday November 29, 2021 @08:51AM (#29379847)
I think it's usually right-left-right-left.
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by matja on Monday November 29, 2021 @09:48AM (#29380461)
Maybe it's the other way when driving on the left? :)
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by hengheng on Monday November 29, 2021 @09:04AM (#29379975)
Is that saying thanks? I thought they were just fumbling with the blinker control.
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by YeahThisIsMe on Monday November 29, 2021 @01:18PM (#29383176)
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.
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by londons_explore on Monday November 29, 2021 @09:40AM (#29380360)
yes, that's saying thanks. It's equivalent to the hazard lights, but in some vehicles the hazard lights button isn't very accessible.
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by matsemann on Monday November 29, 2021 @12:15PM (#29382367)
> I flash lights for oncoming traffics because of danger or /police checks/.

Why? Do you want dangerous drivers on the roads?

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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by throwaway0a5e on Monday November 29, 2021 @02:12PM (#29383886)
Attitudes like yours are what embolden governments to engage in revenue enforcement the proliferation of which leads to people tipping each other off about said revenue enforcement (e.g. flashing their lights to warn of speed traps). People wouldn't be warning each other about the cops if "people the cops shake down" and "people who were doing dangerous things just prior to being shook down" had more overlap.
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by Dayshine on Monday November 29, 2021 @03:02PM (#29384500)
I'm not sure I understand your point, unless you're arguing that national speed limits are deliberately low so that police can fine people driving at the "correct" speed? Or that police lie about your speed and fine you anyway?
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by Firehawke on Monday November 29, 2021 @03:39PM (#29384959)
The former is definitely true. There are towns out there in the United States that are on an interstate and play games with their speed limits. You'll see a speed limit of 60-70 up until you hit city limits then it suddenly drops to 30-40, with enforcement lined up at the city limits waiting to nab people.

They're making good money off of these fines.

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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by Dma54rhs on Monday November 29, 2021 @05:15PM (#29385979)
But why wouldn't you want lower speed inside the city?
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by Firehawke on Wednesday December 01, 2021 @12:14AM (#29400931)
You normally would, but this is just predation on through traffic. It's not like you're going through the middle of main street, these may be off to the side of town with several exits but close enough for the city to dictate speed limits.
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Re:The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous ... by niij on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @01:50AM (#29389638)
Flashing lights is meant to communicate to others they need to slow down or otherwise obey the traffic laws. How does that have a negative effect on safety?
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