Is It OK to Flash Your Headlights to Alert Other Drivers?

We have already had our fair share of daytime snow storms in Minnesota this winter, and it is just getting started. I saw plenty of people driving without headlights on during the day in those storms which is incredibly dangerous for the motorists on the road, as well as the drivers of the vehicles themselves.

Every time I saw a car in a storm without headlights I thought, "should I flash my headlights at them to let them know?" After all they might not know that their lights aren't on. But I didn't want them to get mad at me for flashing my headlights at them.

Apparently, I'm not the only person with this problem.

Reddit user u/Bad2thuhbone shared this on the Minnesota thread talking about drivers without lights on in a storm last week:

I'm a 38 year old woman, and been driving for years. My husband mentioned to me he doesn't think the younger drivers know the unspoken rules of the road. He asked me when was the last time I seen lights flashed at someone in a friendly way, and the more I think about it, it's only with semi trucks do i still communicate like this on the regular, such as to let them over.
Maybe I am a naive Midwestern idiot and times have changed ‍♀️

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The responses to the initial post were a mixed bag:

u/jayblinjables: "I do. I’m always astonished at how many people don’t follow, what we’ll call, driver courtesy that was taught in drivers ed."

u/HJHmn: "I just did this to someone yesterday and they didn’t turn their lights on."

u/Imwithdottie: "On and off, not high beams. High beams is like a middle finger. It rarely works."

u/JackChambers1965: "I saw this happen on 494 last week so it's not totally gone."

u/no5oupforyou: "Because some people react like children, I no longer do the flash. The last time I did this, the person got behind me and followed as I was going home. I had to loop around a few neighborhoods to lose them. Obviously, I had no idea why they reacted as such, and have decided if I am going to get an angry reaction to the point of getting followed, I no longer care if someone gets in an accident."

u/Coyotesamigo: "I’m 39 and do the same. I was driving down the gunflint trail last summer after a canoe trip. Tons of drivers were flashing their lights at me and it was so confusing because it was the morning and my lights were on. Then we went around a bend and a huge tree had fallen across the road and I had to slam on my brakes to avoid crashing into it. I think the problem with lights-off people is that if they’re inattentive enough to drive with their lights off, they’re probably not attentive enough to notice some weirdo flashing lights"

General consensus: pay attention to driving conditions, and other drivers, and be safe. And turn your headlights on.