Today as I was driving to work on a two-lane road, I had a minivan next to me, and a Harley behind us. That particular stretch of the road is usually very open, so people drive rather fast. Since I've seen speed traps there before, I never take that risk.

Anyways, at the straight, a car coming from the opposite direction did a quick double flash of the headlights with no other cars in front of them, so I assume that the motorist is flashing the lights at our side, perhaps they are friends with the people in the minivan. But then the minivan immediately slowed to a snail, which led me to believe that something must be up ahead. The Harley biker behind us, irked that the minivan slowed down, didn't get the memo and proceeded to zoom past both of our cars to go ahead.

Lo and behold, at the blind corner at the end of the straight was a motorcycle cop waiting with his radar. Game over for the biker.

While I felt bad for the biker, I was also ecstatic that someone actually tried to warn us. That has never happened to me before, and it's quite awesome. Then I did some research and found out that it's actually illegal to do so in various states. So do you guys do the same for other motorists? And what do you think about this practice in general?

Man, if we all did this for each other, and if everyone know to do it, then the world would be a better place.

 

I do it all the time and I've gotten it all the time. Its always good to see people look out for one another.

Glad you got the memo!

 

I do it when I see it, yup. Warn motorists heading into the speedtrap that there's a cop up ahead, just sitting there, waiting for them.

I also do it if there's a problem...wreck, closed lane, etc.

 

where i come from its very common behavior. When you saw a police car you'd flash headlights so the drivers passing you know they need to slow down.

 

I do it all the time as well. Karma is a good thing.

 

I will be doing the same, thanks for the reminder (always wanting to improve situational awareness for increased safety on the road).

 

It's good manners for your fellow drivers - though the police don't appreciate it.

 

I do it as well, we need to look out after eachother!

 

Becareful...it's illegal is some states.
For instance FL.



"Florida state statutes state "flashing lights are prohibited on vehicles except as a means of indicating a right or left turn, to change lanes, or to indicate that the vehicle is lawfully stopped or disabled upon the highway".[24] There are some exceptions to the law, such as when a driver flashes his headlights to tell another driver that his headlights are off, but there is no exception for warning of speed traps.[24] A ticket for headlight flashing involves a moving violation and a $90 fine."


"IMPROPER USE OF HIGH-BEAMS" - citing FL statute 316.2397.7.

 

Flashing high-beams to oncomong drivers as a sign of police presence is nothing new. It was prevalent 40 years ago, when I first began to drive.

But some jurisdictions have made it illegal to do so. I've seen tickets issued to drivers who police catch doing that...they consider it interference with law enforcement. But it is, of course a dubious practice, and I don't know if any of those tickets ever held up in court, as any one of a number of valid "reasons" for flasing lights can sometimes be found in any one given spot, and it's hard for police to prove it.

 

Lol, this is illegal in some States?

This is quite a common practice in many European countries.

 

I do it all the time, I think its a common courtesy on the road.

 

Yeah, its a pretty common practice, but around here, aside from the highway, most speed traps are being replaced by cameras-- so besides it being blatantly obvious, you're also forced to slow down, anyway, as other motorist drop below the speed limit to avoid a citation.

As to my flashing to warn others? It really depends on the situation, but I rarely do, as usually, someone has already been caught.

 

I agree with the LOL.....it's a borderline case, and very difficult to prove. Flashing lights is not necessarily illegal, but some cops, near radar sites, consider it interfering with their work. Good luck to the cops trying to prove it to a judge, though.

It's probably harder in Europe, because there are so many more sped-cameras and electronic speed-regulation....there, it's a lot more than just a few cops on the side of the road with radar/laser guns.

 

It is, at least in California for trucks and 18 wheelers as far as I know. I used it in my trial by written declaration contesting for a high way speeding ticket. I reasoned the driving condition was made unsafe by other motorists who broke the law operating their commercial grade trucks while flashing their headlights. Later I was ruled in favor by the court.