[cosimo]

So now we Porsche owners cannot greet other Porsches by flashing our head lights. That is in Montgomery County, Md (Wash, DC suburb). A guy was given a $50 ticket for warning other drivers of a speed trap. They said it was illegal to warn other drivers citing that flashing lights was the problem. The guy went to court and the fine was dismissed as the cop did not show up. The guy they ticketed was lawyer who works on whistle blower type cases. They picked the wrong guy. He is now demanding an apology and is going to fight the "law". Cheez, what's this world coming to. What are they going to do with Porsche drivers who want to acknowledge our fraternity?

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[Darryl]

I heard the same story on the news this morning...I have always "heard" that it was illegal to flash lights to warn oncoming drivers about radar, but never really knew how they could enforce it, much like a lot of other laws that are un-enforcable, but don't get me started.

You can also flash lights to tell other drivers to "turn your lights on". Flashing lights is simply a way of communicating. How can you get a ticket? I'm glad the guy fought it...you're right, they picked on the wrong guy.

- Darryl

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[flash]

while i understand that technically it could be construed as "obstructing justice" the argument could be made that unless the officer had already identified and decided to pursue the suspect, there was not yet any pursuit of justice to be obstructed, and that the flasher was merely being a good samaritan and pointing out a potential road hazard - there is plenty of documentation that will clearly show that a police car in the area causes erratic driving due to panic, and that is hazardous

the argument should be that "we are attempting to alert drivers that there may be somebody ahead abruptly applying their brakes, and possibly losing control of their car, and possibly causing others to do the same - issuing such a warning is in the best interests of the driving public, and therefore should not be prohibited

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[Mark]

The statute cited states it is illegal to drive with flashing lights.

Of course that would mean 50% of the idiots on the capitol beltway would be ticketed during a typical thunderstorm when they start driving with their flashers on.

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[flash]

i believe that laws like that is are intended to mean the "flashers", and not high beams - it is illegal in most states to drive with those on, but as you say, it happens all the time

just to be clear, was he flashing his high beams, or his flashers?

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[Mark]

flashing his high beams. His argument is correct in the statement "cannot drive with flashing lights" the word flashing is an adjective not a verb

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[rhudeboye]

I warn people all the time. And I'm greatfull for the occasions when a driver has alerted me, I feel its the right thing to do for those guys simply driving a few MPHs over with traffic.

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[Chris Vais]

It is human nature to warn others of impending danger. Were it not, our homonid ancestors living in Africa 4 million years ago would have been eaten by lions.

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[ds968]

<!--quoteo(post=74129:date=Jun 17 2009, 01:23 PM:name=Chris Vais)-->QUOTE (Chris Vais @ Jun 17 2009, 01:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->It is human nature to warn others of impending danger. Were it not, our homonid ancestors living in Africa 4 million years ago would have been eaten by lions.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

So I presume they carried flashlights with them everywhere they roamed to signal one another of an approaching
lion..

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[rhudeboye]

<!--quoteo(post=74131:date=Jun 17 2009, 02:44 PM:name=ds968)-->QUOTE (ds968 @ Jun 17 2009, 02:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->So I presume they carried flashlights with them everywhere they roamed to signal one another of an approaching
lion..<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Nope, flint rocks.

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[Big Carl]

By this standard, it is illegal to flash your headlights in order to signal the driver in front of you your intent to pass, as commonly used around the globe i.e. the autobahn...
This feature is built in to our cars (flick the highs when the lights are off and they still flash) and my friends triumph tiger motorcycle has a pass button which simultaneously flashes the lights and applies the blinker.
Only in America is a good driving practice construed as a driving hazard. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

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