It’s an unspoken rule of the road, you flash your lights to warn oncoming traffic that there is a speed trap ahead. I know for a fact I love it when people warn me, and I’m sure others appreciate my kind gesture but some cops hate party poopers.
Ryan Kitner of Orange County, Florida was being a friendly neighborhood motorist when he flashed his lights to warn drivers of the speed trap that he had just passed. The ‘Crouching Cop, Hidden Radar’ saw Ryan’s kind gesture and pulled him over. Kitner was given a ticket by the deputy for his flashing… of his headlights.
Kitner, feeling like he was treated unjustly, took the ticket to court where a Circuit Court judge ruled in Kitner’s favor. Apparently flashing your headlights to warn others of a speed trap is protected under the first amendment (the founding fathers obviously knew this would be a problem). Also, the judge said the deputy misapplied a state law banning aftermarket flashing emergency lights.
His attorney has also filed a class action lawsuit that charges the Florida Highway Patrol with violating a 2005 court order prohibiting police from ticketing drivers for flashing their lights.
Score one for Florida motorists, now you can now flash each other without getting a ticket. Wait, that came out wrong…
