High beams as a warning

[waffles]

As a child in upstate NY and rural-ish CT, whenever I drove with my dad and we'd pass a state trooper running a speed trap, we'd flash the brights a few times at oncoming cars to warn them. Generally we'd get a wave of thanks, the cars would slow down, and often you'd get warned by other cars in the same manner if they spotted a cop first.

I've been in CO for 7 or 8 years now, and I still flash the brights at oncoming traffic if I've passed a speed trap (or sheep/elk hanging out in/around the road), but I almost never see it from others (maybe a dozen times in that time, and I do a lot of driving). I pulled up to a stoplight next to a woman I'd estimate to be in her mid sixties near Fraser recently and she asked if I'd been trying to get her attention, I told her no, it was to warn of the speed trap, and she replied that she'd not known of that. That got me wondering, is this just a regional thing? Do people in some areas not know of what was basically taught in our driving classes?

 

[JH1951]

I do not see the 'signaling' nearly as much these days as I have in the past.
IIRC, and I could be wrong, it is against the law (here in PA) to signal oncoming traffic about the presence of the law waiting to snag a speeder.

 

[pawngal]

I don't recall ever hearing that idea. If somebody flashed their brights at me I'd figure I had forgot to dim my lights. And I sometimes flash my brights at someone who doesn't dim theirs.

 

[Sam McCord]

I have flashed my lights to warn oncoming traffic of some type of hazard and had it done to me too. This was in SW Missouri, in Alaska where I live now we only have the road in the village. So yes I think flashing brights is kind of a universal thing. I don't know about as a warning for speed traps though.

 

[hittman77]

I think its more of a rural thing.

We did that and we also quickly flashed our lights at the motorist in front of us if we were about to pass (overtake) them on a 2 lane highway.

It seems now that the simple light flashing can be taken as a sign of aggression and trigger road rage. I don't do that any longer.

 

[Truckman]

I used to see it a lot in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas...It's been a spell since I've seen it now......Ben

 

[sigp220.45]

I always thought the universal "watch out - cops" signal was turning your lights off then back on.

Flashing the high beams was for someone driving with their brights on.

 

[dasnake]

Still goes up here........

Ever since I started in '64 it was really common, since the advent of daytime running lights it slowed down, but it's not as noticeable now.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I always thought the universal "watch out - cops" signal was turning your lights off then back on.

Flashing the high beams was for someone driving with their brights on.

That's the way dad did it when we lived in rural Okaloosa County. Road rage is a problem here and I am not flashing my high beams at anyone.

 

[Moo Moo]

Yeah, it happens here in Australia.

 

[rockquarry]

I saw this about a month ago in New Mexico; first time I'd seen it in many years. In Texas, I thought it was illegal in Texas to warn of radar, but maybe not.

 

[waffles]

I always thought the universal "watch out - cops" signal was turning your lights off then back on.

Flashing the high beams was for someone driving with their brights on.

The daytime running lights make that not as viable an option, but when I was younger (before that was common) that was reserved for telling someone they're driving without their lights on at all at night. Suppose it would serve the same purpose though.

The road rage comments are interesting, hadn't even thought of that as a trigger. I'd hate to get involved in something stupid over trying to save a guy a few hundred bucks and some DL points.

 

[bigwheelzip]

When you see lights flashed on Germany's unlimited speed Autobahn, it's a signal to someone passing in the left lane that a much faster car is behind them and closing the gap fast.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[Sistema1927]

Just recently we were going back to our camp site after a quick trip down the hill to the local town for a few groceries. I passed some cows walking uphill in the downhill lane, with a sharp corner right in front of them. You can bet that I did a multiple high beam flash to each and every vehicle coming down the hill for the next couple of minutes.

The speed limit was 45, and the grade was steep enough that I downshifted into 3rd while pulling my camping trailer back down that hill two days later. I hate to think of how difficult it would have been to avoid hitting them on that stretch.

 

[JET4]

Just had it happen to me a couple of days ago. Someone flashed there lights at me and right up the road was police.

 

[Jeff423]

Still see it a lot in my area here in MO. I always wait until the police can't see me before flashing my lights. In the past year it's probably saved me two tickets in a small town that must generate 80% of it's revenue from tickets.
It may be more common locally due to the above mentioned town. It's notorious for tickets on I-70 west of the St. Louis area.

 

[vt_shooter]

I've been saved a couple time by people flashing their lights at me. And I suppose I've saved a few.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

we still do it here in SC.

 

[Fishinfool]

It was common when I first started driving in CT in the mid 1970's. Flashing your lights in the day time usually meant a speed trap, or hazard in the road. Flashing your high beams at night meant an oncoming car had its brights on.

Then there was slamming on your brakes when a car came up behind you at night with its high beams on. That one never worked out very well...

Larry

 

[jeffsmith]

I once Flashed my Hi-Beams at an Oncoming car
because I believed they had their own Hi-Beams on

It Turned out that it was a Local Policeman
and we ended up having a Friendly Chat

No Citation issued