Lorries flashing their headlights??

[fairy!]

I was just driving along the motorway, in the middle lane to overtake a slow lorry.  As I passed the lorry, it flashed its headlights at me... why did it do this??  It occurred a second time a few minutes later.

I assume they're letting me know I can pull in to the slow lane... but a) I can see this for myself & b) I wanted to stay in the middle lane to continue overtaking other vehicles.

I'm paranoid there's something wrong with my car & they were flashing to let me know... but I've checked & I can't see anything hanging off!!

Or maybe they were flashing at someone else??  Or I imagined the whole thing??

[KebabMeister]

What type of vehicle were you driving?

[Gnu]

It is a courtesy amongst lorry drivers to flash another lorry once it has overtaken them, to let them know it is safe to pull in.

If a lorry overtakes you, they generally appreciate the same courtesy.

In the situation you are describing, it may well be that they are being considerate, especially if you are driving a van or pulling a trailer so that judging the distances can be more difficult.  Alternatively, it could be an indication that you should pull in and use the left lane before pulling out to overtake the next vehicle.

[sddsddean]

Agree with all the above, but if you were just driving a car, we wouldn't bother flashing you in, as all us truckers assume that cars won't bother using  lane 1. We do flash in cars with trailers and caravans, cars with anything obviously wrong (flat tyre etc), but you say you've checked your vehicle over. The other biggy is flashing people who have left their rear fog lights on!

[AllYourBase]

You weren't hogging the middle lane were you?

[fairy!]

It's just a little Corsa, no trailer or anything & no, I don't think I was hogging the middle lane..

Maybe I hit my fog light by accident??

Thankyou for all your responses! :-)

[andy hughes]

You have to remember that sometimes drivers are actually flashing the cas behind them - which obviously flashes the headlights as well, and can be confusing. Otherwise, it does seem to be a simple courtesy thing, truckers have done it as long as I've been driving - thirty-three years.