When coming up on a very slow vehicle, or stopped traffic, do you ever think to put your four way flashers on?

I always do.
And I appreciate it when the driver in front of me does so.

Haha. If I did that I’d have them on all the time and it would be meaningless. I drive the freeways of Los Angeles.

I have, depending on the situation.

No, but only because I never think to use the blinkers. I do slow down early and blink my brake lights sometimes.

Not if I’m texting with my children in the car.

Very funny^^ well as long as they are not in their seat belts I guess thats ok.

I have, depending on the situation. Lighting/visibility matters a lot.

Two of you have said depending on the situation, what in your opinion would be the right or wrong type of situation?

Oh, yes. If it’s an unexpected thing, like construction on a highway. I don’t put them on at stop lights and stop signs, but I do watch my rear view very carefully.

When I was first learning to drive we were on vacation once. My whole family was in the car. My dad was up front with me. We had just come out the other side of this little town, where the speed limit changed to 60 or 70. I saw a line of cars stopped up ahead, waiting for someone to turn left off the highway.
I stopped…then to my horror I saw a big old Cadillac coming up from behind…and he was accelerating. I kept taking my foot off the brake, inching the car forward, anything but just sit there helplessly, watching. I kept saying, “Dad? Dad? DAD?”
Then the Caddy suddenly hit his brakes and that car was just screaming, tires locked, sliding on melted rubber. It seemed to go on forever….but he made it. He stopped with only a couple of feet to spare.
Everyone was shaken up. My dad said that if I ever found myself in a situation like that again, and I probably would, I just needed to throw the car into a ditch!
I also learned to keep a good car length between my car and the car in front when we’re stopped, so if I had to throw my car in a ditch I had the room to maneuver to do it.
And I always use my flashers.

@SQUEEKY2 If it’s broad daylight, and I’m on a long, straight Saskatchewan highway, and I can see for miles, I don’t need to turn on flashers if a car in front of me slows. If a car comes up behind me, I have plenty of time to see if they’re going to notice and slow down. If it’s dusk on a road with turns, I’m going to behave differently.

No. I use my emergency flashers if I’m broke down, parked in a slightly hazardous place, or when being tail gated.

@dappled_leaves, you would not believe how many people literally don’t look ahead, don’t scan the distance, like the driver of the Cadillac in my story. They don’t look at anything but the nose of their car.

@Dutchess_III Yes, I’ve seen that happen. I didn’t say “then I ignore all oncoming traffic”.

Exactly @Dutchess_III and not counting stop signs and lights if I have to slow down drastically unexpected I usually throw on my four ways regardless if I am in my big truck or my private vehicle.

It only makes sense to get attention any way you can.

Of course in todays world of distraction it really does make sense to give these idiots as much warning as one possibly can.

In my state, it is illegal to use flashers in a moving vehicle unless you’re in a funeral procession.

WOW^^ really and up here in the mountains there are signs that say slow trucks use flashers.

In many states it’s illegal to use flashers if you’re moving, but I think it makes sense to use them if you are moving much slower than the rest of traffic. Some people use their flashers when moving slowly in bad weather, and basically everyone is moving slowly, so it doesn’t make much sense, unless maybe it helps see the car, but the problem is, if the flashers are supposed to mean you’re stopped it can causes traffic behind to use their brakes when not necessary, which is bad. Braking when not necessary causes traffic waves and jams.

Yesterday, I was driving 70–75mph on the turnpike and suddenly traffic ahead was jammed up and braking. I pumped my brakes, not because I was so close I needed to brake hard and worried about skidding, but because I wanted the car behind me to really notice I’m braking. Luckily, he also was not driving very close behind me, and everyone was slowing down in a reasonable way. Slowing sounds too gentle. It was 70 mph down to 20 mph in a fairly sudden way.

To more directly answer your question. If traffic suddenly slows, I don’t think to put on my flashers. It’s not part of the traffic laws in any of the states I’ve lived in to do so as far as I know. However, I would say it’s not a bad idea to use them to make sure the guy behind you pays attention that something is wrong up ahead. Sudden stops I wouldn’t have time to reach over and hit my hazard lights, that’s why pumping the brakes is my go to.

I always think to use my flashers if I’m completely stopped on a road or even on the shoulder.

I’m traveling 50 miles each way to work, cars in the left lane doing 80, on average. Every so often traffic will come to a halt for some reason, like an accident, or a tow truck on the shoulder, or a cop on the shoulder. When everyone goes from 80 to a screeching halt, I’ll put on my flashers to warn the guy coming behind me, who is doing 80, that something is amiss. I do it once I’m stopped. Prior to stopping, I’m thinking of not hitting the car in front of me. Getting rear-ended wouldn’t make for a good day, for me or for the car in front of me.

I simply inform my chauffeur to drive through or face being fired

@jca But, once I’m slowed down, then the car behind me already knows all traffic has slowed down or stopped. How often are you stopped and there hadn’t been a car behind you stopping as well? I guess out in very rural areas that happens.

@JLeslie: When I’m stopped, after going 80, and I see the car behind me is way far behind, I want to make sure he knows to prepare himself.

I should add that sometimes, when we’re all going very fast in the left lane and there’s some kind of situatio where we all have to stop quickly, sometimes I’ll see cars swerving to avoid hitting the car in front of them. I’ve done it too. Pull to the left onto the shoulder because we might not stop in time. If I can do something to prevent getting hit, I’ll do it. When I see someone behind me swerving onto the shoulder, I am thankful he has quick reflexes and good brakes.

@jca Yes, thank goodness for the shoulder. I try not to drive tandem to a car next to me either so I have an out in a sudden situation.

I leave as much space as possible between me and the cars around me. For the most part, I control my own little bubble.

@Dutchess_III: As I’ve described previously on here, the road I’m on is full of traffic, all moving quickly (a commute highway, 3 lanes in each direction) so there’s no bubble.