What's the legal situation here?

[davefb]

"flashing lights"

yeah, I try not to flash my lights, because it's often enough totally confusing to people... it also appears to have added to lazy driving, where people just flick the indicators and wait for a flash.. don't actually bother to look..

and yeah... coloured even worse by a near incident when I'd just started driving where two people felt they'd been flashed at, because someone 'helpfully' stopped at a junction and 'flashed' to let somone out...

same though for the cyclist(or any road user), if you see someone has stopped leaving a gap at a junction, that has to set the warning bells off that they're doing it to let someone thru..


"he flashed" doesn't help for who's to blame though does it ? I mean, it's still someone turning across the traffic without having looked properly?

 

[oldroadman]

A bit of sense when filtering is required.If you are in the fortunate position of being able to filter, when traffic is standing, steady and expect anything is clearly the required method. Pedestrians will leap through standing traffic and can't always be seen in time. Same with turning traffic - sight of a gap opposite a road should immediately switch on the thought "why", and expect something to happen. Whenit does not, fine, if it does, no harm done due to being prepared.
Flashing lights? Very dangerous and badly used. In most continental countries it can mean exactly the opposite of "come on", which is "I'm going comimng through!". Which simply shows the stupidity of the whole process, and now with so many overseas vehicles on the roads, asking for trouble.
Personally when in the car I might leave gaps for people, but do nothing else. They can then judge for themselves whether they want to move off, their decision, and I contribute nothing other than leaving a space.
Hope this helps.