It’s Illegal to Ever Use Hazard Lights While Driving in Texas: True or False?

You've probably seen someone doing it recently, hell you might do it yourself. With the spring downpours coming down on Dallas, TX and across the state of late, I've seen an uptick in drivers using their hazards in hard rain. So, is that legal?

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Nope. Using your flashing hazard lights while moving is illegal in the state of Texas.

While you may think you are making yourself more visible to other drivers, you aren't. In fact once the hazards are turned on your turn indicators become useless and you are now potentially more of a danger on the road.

In Texas, it is legal to use your flashing hazard lights while you are moving. Hazard lights exist to make your car more visible to other drivers in any unsafe situation. That includes situations when your car is stalled on the road or situations when rain is so heavy that visibility is significantly reduced

I've heard it put this way by a police officer friend, if you feel the weather is so bad that you want to turn on your hazards, you probably shouldn't be driving in it.

Perhaps there is a misinterpretation of the use of "hazard" in this instance. These lights are not for use during hazardous driving conditions, but for when a car has to pull off to the side of the road, stopped in heavy rain or fog, hazard lights may be used to to warn other drivers that they are stopped or disabled -- the car has now become the hazard.

Just remember that hazard lights should only be used when your vehicle is stopped or disabled on the side of the road.