When someone is polite to you in traffic, for example by letting you pass at an intersection or letting you into a lane, it can feel good to thank them in some way.
The method that many choose is to briefly turn on their hazard lights to signal their gratitude. This may be both common and nice, but what does the law actually say about the procedure?
Here you get the answer.
Warning lights as a thank you in traffic?
The answer to whether you can use hazard lights to thank others in traffic is no, it is not allowed.
The basic rule is that hazard lights may be used to warn when a vehicle has been left on the side of the road due to a breakdown, an accident, or the like.
When the car has stopped in an inappropriate place, you can use the hazard warning lights – Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
There are only a few exceptions to this. Warning indicators may, for example, be used when towing a broken down car. On modern cars, the indicators are also activated during hard braking.
On many cars, the turn signals also start to flash on all corners if the alarm is activated.
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Can be punished with a fine
Not only that it is not allowed to use hazard lights to thank others in traffic.
Doing so can actually be punishable by a fine. The fine amounts to SEK 500.
This is the same amount as the fine that you can get for not using your blinkers when you should have done so according to the traffic rules.
When were hazard lights invented?
Hazard lights, where the blinkers on all four corners of the car flash together, have been around since the 1950s, when they started appearing in the aftermarket.
During the second half of the 60s, hazard lights became a legal requirement on all cars sold new in the United States.
In the following decades, hazard warning lights were introduced as a requirement for new cars worldwide.
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