Flashing the high beams to signal a speed trap or road hazard was common practice in up state NY in the 60's when I was growing up there. Can't say about the 70's or later - I wasn't there then………
High beams as a warning
- Thread starter waffles
- Start date
It used to be common place here,but seems to have died out over the last 10-15 years
Fairly common in the motorcycling community. Especially around Sturgis week.
Pat the top of your head = cherry top
Pat the top of your head = cherry top
Here in rural middle Tennessee it is a thing fairly common done.
Used to be common in Texas. Not so much any more. Kind of like almost every driver on a two lane in Texas used to give each oncoming driver a single finger salute. No, it wasn't the middle finger. That isn't seen much these days, either.
In northern CA and elsewhere, it's common for folks to flash there headlights when:
You're approaching da fuzz
You're approaching a hazard
To warn a passing car of your presence as he approaches you head on.
You're approaching da fuzz
You're approaching a hazard
To warn a passing car of your presence as he approaches you head on.
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jeffsmith
Member
If you've ever lost a family member to a speeder then you might want them caught asap.
My opinion is that current drives have forgotten/never learned/don't care about road courtesy. The flashing of high beams to warn of a speed trap was a common action and a general practice years ago. But now it is very rarely done as more self-centered and "To heck with everyone else" drivers are on the road.
ACORN
Member
I seem to recall that flashing lights to warn of a speed trap was ruled as free speech.
Could be wrong though.
Could be wrong though.
It's common here in flyover country, for officers on the side of the road for whatever reason, for accidents, and for slow moving tractors out of your line of sight, which is very common this time of year. In some states, you can be ticketed for obstructing a police investigation. I don't think that's common, though. Other states view it as an attempt by the public to bring other drivers in compliance with the law. If you search for the subject on the interweb, there's a lot of interesting stuff out there . . .
Nice to see at least one person here with some common sense.
Telecaster
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Everyone is a speeder. A small number of speeders cause accidents, an even smaller number get tickets. If flashing one's lights gets someone to slow down, that's all that matters. It shouldn't be illegal to tell someone there's a cop around.
RangerRRP
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Flashing one's vehicle headlights to warn other motorists of law enforcement presence was illegal in Illinois. Seems like this is another example of governmental over reach and a violation of our 1st Amendment.
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Lights blinking/flashing, warning about cops was very common in the 60s and 70s in my area (Albany NY) It is still use but IMHO not as common as it used to be now. The drivers of today use their cell phone way too much when driving (illegally) to play light games.
In my area up here on the lake 9 out of 10 times when you see light action there are deer by the road or a family of ducks/geese crossing the road. LEOs unless on a call spend very little time in my rural, on the edge of the county area so speed limits are more of a suggestion than law.
In my area up here on the lake 9 out of 10 times when you see light action there are deer by the road or a family of ducks/geese crossing the road. LEOs unless on a call spend very little time in my rural, on the edge of the county area so speed limits are more of a suggestion than law.
I used to do it, but our roads in PA are generally so bad people can't speed! In town I'll quick flash a car if they're trying to make a left turn, to let them know I'm letting them turn in front of me. Trouble is most of these people in Pittsburgh aren't from here and don't know what the heck that means, or their heads are in their phones. I heard it used to be illegal to warn others of a speed trap in PA, but I never heard of anyone getting caught.
This news article is from 2014…
Federal judge rules drivers allowed to flash headlights to warn of speed traps | Fox News
Federal judge rules drivers allowed to flash headlights to warn of speed traps | Fox News
Always loved to be in front of Judge Autrey. He's got a large framed picture of Jimi Hendrix in his chambers . . .
