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I'm new to the motorcycle world I was curious about something the happened the other day. I was driving to work, in my truck, on a two lane expressway at 5:00am when a sportbike in the lane to the left of me flashed his high beam at the car beside me. I'm guessing he was trying to get the car out of the way even though we were travelling a little above the speed limit. The reason I brought this up is because his use of his high beam at that time temporarily blinded me. If we weren't on a straight section of road I could have easily veered over into the left lane causing an accident at speed. Is this commonly done by motorcyclist or was this just an idiot?

Just curious,
Bubba

Generally an idiot, over here in the uk

Nibblet99 wrote:Generally an idiot, over here in the uk

Absolutely.

You're saying that all three of you (yourself, the car beside you, and the motorcycle) were all travelling the same direction, and the car was keeping beside you, and the motorcycle behind him, wanting to move on faster? This actually is common practice. It should not be any more than a momentary flash though, and if the vehicle doesn't move out of the passing lane, there's no need to continue flashing - then you're getting into roadrage.

I find it difficult to believe that the motorcycle's high-beam would blind you at 5am in your side-view mirror (I don't know how long the light was left on, either. A notifying flash is only supposed to be a momentary flash of the high-beams). If this was a head-on situation, it would be a different story. Was this in the summer? At 5am in the summer you shouldn't be blinded by anybody's high-beam. 5am in the winter is totally different again.

Now, I'm not making any comments as to whether this practice should be done or not, but in answer to your question - yes, it is common practice, on motorcycle or in car, to flash your lights briefly to let the person in front of you know that you'd like them to move over and let you pass.

BubbaGee wrote:I'm new to the motorcycle world I was curious about something the happened the other day. I was driving to work, in my truck, on a two lane expressway at 5:00am when a sportbike in the lane to the left of me flashed his high beam at the car beside me. I'm guessing he was trying to get the car out of the way even though we were travelling a little above the speed limit. The reason I brought this up is because his use of his high beam at that time temporarily blinded me. If we weren't on a straight section of road I could have easily veered over into the left lane causing an accident at speed. Is this commonly done by motorcyclist or was this just an idiot?

Just curious,
Bubba

Standard operating procedure in Italy and Germany ... and people actually do move over for you, which is nice. Although, in Italy anyway, if a motorcyclist wants to pass, they'll just lane split. They may still flash though, just to let you know they are coming.

Yep, I agree with Neddog. It is common practice here in the US, though more people are either selfish or ignorant nowadays and don't move over. It's usually very quick flash of the highbeam and I wouldn't believe it could blind anyone unlesss it stayed on longer.

No kidding, slower traffic keep right...

Flashing your brights is common, would you prefer he ride up next to you and tap on your window?

Renegade wrote: ....Flashing your brights is common, would you prefer he ride up next to you and tap on your window?

I've done that. It works great. Works better with a little gasket hammer in your hand.

Flashing your brights is common here too, but not at point blank range in the dark

In Seattle, WA lately I have been having a hell of a time getting people out of the left lane in my cage. I start out by calmly waiting behind them. Then I move a little closer. Then I tap the high beams. Then I leave them on. Then I honk the horn. Then I find a way to pass on the right. It's really frustrating. I rarely go over 70 mph myself so I only do it to truly slow traffic. It really grates on me when this happens. I recently took a trip to the southeast US and drivers were so much more hospitable to faster moving traffic. I don't understand why cars want to camp out in the left lane.