I often find myself behind the wheel in foreign lands.
Disclaimers/caveats: When public transit is easy and goes where I need, I'm happy as a clam to ride the train or bus. But as my travel tastes evolve and my destinations become increasingly off the beaten path, lately I find myself driving more, because that's really the only way to get where I want to go in a reasonable amount of time. I know others hate driving for a variety of reasons and that's OK, I don't. You do you, I'll be exercising my IDP. I try to be a good, responsible driver and a courteous guest. I've been driving a long time, I learned how to fly airplanes before I learned to drive cars, with the importance of safety drilled into me at a young age. I think I'm pretty good at both. Safety is of course my top priority, but I don't like to waste time stuck behind a slow moving vehicle ahead and that means sometimes you gotta pass one. I recognize and remember all the risks and consequences of driving.
(For what follows, I'll be referencing left/right assuming driving on the right side of the road, as we mostly do in the USA. Things obviously flip left/right where they drive on the left.)
I've noticed that in some places locals use turn signals and hazard lights in ways that differ from what I experience at home.
For example, at home in the USA, I have seen the following and it appears to be the norm in many places I've been (usually out in the middle of nowhere):
You're driving down a two-lane "highway", you're behind a large truck, bus or other big, heavy vehicle. The vehicle ahead of you is heavy, and moving well below the speed limit, often because it's going up a hill. You're in an area where passing is permitted, but because you don't have a clear view of the road ahead (either because the truck you're following is really big, or the road is just slightly curvy so it obscures your view of the road ahead), making it tricky, dangerous and/or nerve-wracking to try and get a "peek" at whether or not there is any oncoming traffic in the opposite lane.
Many times a truck or bus ahead, sensing that you want to pass, will turn on their blinker (turn signal) to indicate that the way ahead is clear, and that this would be the time to pass them. I've seen this in the USA (and also Mexico). Sometimes (not always) the truck/bus ahead will slow ever-so-slightly, and maybe inch over to the absolute edge of the pavement, to reinforce the idea that "this is a good time to pass me." But sometimes the road is too narrow and that truck/bus is already hugging the pavement edge, and they don't want to slow down any further because they're giving it full throttle just to maintain their current speed.
The trick here is the ambiguity of the meaning and which turn signal they use...
Typically, a left blinker usually means "it's clear, pass now." A right blinker (sometimes) means "don't try it now, we'll all die."
Of course, a left blinker can just mean "I'm gonna turn left" - though turning left usually is preceded by slowing down. Likewise, right blinker can mean "I'm about to turn right" and is slowing down is also expected. Or it could mean the driver ahead is clueless and just left their turn signal on. There's a lot potentially at stake, and you're left to try and interpret the meaning of the "code" being used by a stranger in a foreign country. So it's obviously not a highly reliable system.
Recently (in Scotland), I encountered vehicles ahead turning on their "hazard" flashers (both left & right blinkers). I had no idea what the intended message was (it was enough to make me even more cautious than usual). I THINK that was before a right turn (across traffic, because left-side driving). But it made me wonder.
Have you encountered this sort of driver-to-driver signal system before? Where, and what exactly did it mean? (Other than ALWAYS BE VERY CAREFUL!).