If You Do This On Your Memorial Day Weekend Road Trip, You May Get a Ticket
It's legal in some states, but not in Idaho.
And still some drivers here think they can get away with it, and make us all stop and stare in the process.
In Idaho, hazard light use is "not permitted while driving except to indicate the presence of a vehicular traffic hazard requiring unusual care in approaching, overtaking or passing."
In other words, don't drive with the flashers on.
You can't drive with the hazard lights on in Idaho, or in Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Oklahoma, Montana, Washington or in a bunch of other states.
But you can do it in Kentucky, Georgia, Michigan, and in Texas, especially if it's raining. And Wyoming and Oregon are okay with the hazard lights too, while you're driving.
You might think the flashers should be reserved for emergencies like giving birth in the passenger seat, but in fact turning on the flashers in a rain storm is just fine with police in some states, not including Idaho. In fact they encourage it to help get the message to other drivers that they should slow down in rain storms, and reduce the potential for hydroplaning and skidding. Just don't flash other drivers any, um, hand signals. That's never a good idea.
And we thought driving was so easy. There's a lot to know about laws in neighboring states as we head out for the holiday weekend.
If something is really wrong and you do need to run the hazards on the road in Idaho, don't do it while you're in motion. Pull over to the side of the road, park, and wait for police to get there. They'll be the first to congratulate you on that new bundle of joy, and they probably won't give you a ticket for that.