Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Beat this or not, here's hoping you have a lot of spare time to deal with being pulled over every time the cops see your vehicle on the road.
Why would they be pulling me over more than the next guy? Are you suggesting they would have a 'score to settle', or would in some way waste taxpayer funding to teach someone a lesson? Nah, cops are above that, aren't they?
Mark Zaid, an attorney in DC, was cited with the same "flashing lights" statute. Because of his reputation and legal abilities, he had the County reverse their policy. No more tickets for motorists communicating that police are running radar. He wrote an email to the Police Chief, with a threat that if he ever received another ticket for flashing his lights, he would sue the county (donating the proceeds to the Chief's favorite charity). This guy made a difference. He reminded government that it should respect the rights of the people.
As long as each stop is legit, by-the-book, and doesn't show malice or harassment, I'd have no problem getting pulled over - when I break the law. If I get a random drug search every day on my home from work, I think we'll have an issue.
Not since learning you can get a ticket for that. And then, all of the urban legends re: flashing your headlamps, makes me nervous. LOL.
Does seem to me that getting a ticket for flashing your headlamps to warn other drivers is a violation of the freedom of speech. I'll bet a good attorney could make such a point.
Why would they be pulling me over more than the next guy? Are you suggesting they would have a 'score to settle', or would in some way waste taxpayer funding to teach someone a lesson?
I love to drive fast like many people, but there are times & places for it for obvious safety reasons. If some blithering idiot is driving too fast in area they shouldn't, I sure hope they get a ticket.
I saw where another kid was struck (hit & run) in a school crosswalk in Portland due to someone speeding. I find it neither amusing nor do I want to help a speeder remain a danger with their usual driving habits.
Now, I KNOW you are not meaning for people to drive too fast in school zones and hit kids, but my point is that people really do need to understand when they can speed and when they can't. And, IMHO, a few speeding tickets may hopefully change their attitude.
You need to pay more attention to details. He said a speed TRAP not just an officer on the freeway in clear view who is patrolling. Anyone with an IQ over a 100 knows the difference between a speed trap and an officer checking one's speed. I drive safe and don't speed and yes, speeders do bother me but I also know of speed traps in which the speed drops from 45 to 35 and there is a cop sitting right where the speed drops to nail those who are driving 50. That's obviously a trap. That is a lot different than someone driving 80 + in a 65 on the freeway.
And to answer the OP, I absolutely do flash my headlights in these particular situations in which there is an obvious trap like this
Why would they be pulling me over more than the next guy? Are you suggesting they would have a 'score to settle', or would in some way waste taxpayer funding to teach someone a lesson? Nah, cops are above that, aren't they?
Mark Zaid, an attorney in DC, was cited with the same "flashing lights" statute. Because of his reputation and legal abilities, he had the County reverse their policy. No more tickets for motorists communicating that police are running radar. He wrote an email to the Police Chief, with a threat that if he ever received another ticket for flashing his lights, he would sue the county (donating the proceeds to the Chief's favorite charity). This guy made a difference. He reminded government that it should respect the rights of the people.
As long as each stop is legit, by-the-book, and doesn't show malice or harassment, I'd have no problem getting pulled over - when I break the law. If I get a random drug search every day on my home from work, I think we'll have an issue.
Not only that, a police officer has to prove that you flashed those lights with specific regard to a speed trap/police officer which they can't prove. If you hired an attorney, they would be forced to throwing your ticket out on those grounds. There are a myriad reasons why one flashed their high beams.
Not only that, a police officer has to prove that you flashed those lights with specific regard to a speed trap/police officer which they can't prove.
Not in FL... And not in most states. Since there is no law specifically prohibiting communication between motorists (whether revealing police activity or not), there is no grounds for a stop, let alone a citation. What we have (in my case) is a frustrated officer who wants to punish the tattletale.
Think about it - if it was illegal to reveal LEO activity, radar detectors, bill boards warning of speed trap cities, the AAA's published speed trap locations, and the rush hour traffic reports that warn of police enforcement on certain roads would all be illegal. Yet, they're not.
If the mechanism you use to communicate is illegal (can't think of one), then they can get you for that technicality. But 'blinking' headlamps is a legal form of communication (FL 316.083(2)).
By the way, the whole "obstruction of a police investigation" has no application in this case either. Several state Supreme Courts and countless appellate-level courts have held that unless the person warning oncoming motorists KNOWS the approaching vehicles are in fact speeding, and the State can proved they know, it's not obstruction.
From a case in OH:
Quote:
We note that Ohio courts have previously held that the act of flashing one's headlights so as to alert oncoming drivers of a radar trap does not constitute the offense of obstructing a police officer in the performance of his duties, where there was no proof that the warned vehicles were speeding prior to the warning. Akron v. Matteson (M.C.1972), 63 O.O.2d 146, 299 N.E.2d 315; Warrensville Hts. v. Wason (1976), 50 Ohio App.2d 21, 4 O.O.3d 12, 361 N.E.2d 546.
I try not to intentionally aid lawbreakers. People here drive way too fast. Either they never get tickets or they're so stupid they don't learn from their mistakes. If anything this town needs more tickets issued.
With all due respect, LL, your mindset is all wrong. You assume those that are being flashed are lawbreakers. Why not look at it as me helping them utilize the resource that is otherwise hidden? In other words, suppose there's someone who desperately needs an officer... By me flashing them, they know one is nearby to help... It's all perspective.
Besides, by flashing lights, on coming traffic will naturally slow down (even if they're not speeding) - which at the end of the day, is exactly why you want more tickets - right?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Where's my First Amendment when I need it?
