Friday, March 8, 2013

Speed trap ahead - flash headlights?

Have you ever flashed your headlights at oncoming traffic to alert drivers of a speed "trap" that they might be approaching? Ever been told it's illegal to do so?

Has anyone had the experience of being stopped for flashing anyone like that? (OK, no extraneous comments from "you-know-who")?

Ever been on Bull Valley Road and popped over a hill or another a curve, and there is one of Bull Valley's finest sitting in the weeds, just waiting for someone to come along at 2-3 MPH over the limit?

Read this article about a Florida man who persuaded a judge that flashing his lights was "free speech". Innovative; right?

5 comments:

Clem Kadiddlehopper said...

Since the article you cite was written, Florida passed a law that specifically allows flashing your headlights to warn other motorists about police cars ahead.

§316.239(7), Fla. Stat. was revised and went into effect on 1/1/2013.

If you want to impose "traffic taxes" with speed traps you hide in the bushes with your instant on radar gun and use unmarked cars.

If you are really interested in safety and reducing traffic deaths, you make sure you use only MARKED cars, plainly visible driving on the road or shoulder, you use always on radar, and you welcome other drivers flashing their headlights.

This is how you lower traffic fatalities, because you deter speeding far more by being a visible a deterrent to speeders.

However, since the Bull Valley cops are NOT interested in lowering traffic safety, but only interested in making money (review their budget some time, the cops pay for themselves), they chose to hide, use unmarked cars, and go after every violation they can, even to the point of making stuff up. (Recent Hoofed Animal charity incident concerning a non-existent overweight trailer violation).

Gus said...

Thanks, C.K.

I've felt the same way about primary seatbelt enforcement. An electronic sign on the shoulder advising motorists to Buckle Up would "educate" motorists.

Sucking up Federal grant money and assigning 3-4-5 cops and cars to overtime duty?

Why residents aren't at City Council meetings to protest, I have no idea.

Big Daddy said...

Bull Valley? Where is it?

Gus said...

Heh-heh... good one, Big Daddy.

Clem Kadiddlehopper said...

Why should the residents of Bull Valley care? If the cops didn't "pay their own way," they would have to pay even more in property taxes.

This way, "strangers" enhance the village's budget. After all BV has no business tax sources.

In Ohio this past week, a local judge effectively shut down a "red light camera" scam netting a town of 2100 people making $1.5 million per year in redlight fines. The judge wrote that the "traffic camera ordinance in a small village near Cincinnati is invalid and unenforceable."

They were giving out thousands of tickets a week.

Further he wrote: “Elmwood Place is engaged in nothing more than a high-tech game of 3-card Monty,” [Judge] Ruehlman wrote. “It is a scam that motorists can’t win.”

Ohio is considering legislation to ban red light/speed cameras.

See: http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/news/local/court-rules-against-traffic-cameras-ohio-consideri/nWkbw/

However, as we all know, Illinois is the "Where's mine" state, and "what's in it for me" always trumps the 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments.