It Is Always Something

Did you ever drive down a highway and flash your headlights at another vehicle? I just did it the other day to warn oncoming drivers of a police vehicle that was ahead of them trying to get speeders. Maybe you’ve done the same, or maybe you’ve done it to tell a car it is ok to pass or that you are yielding the right of way. Whatever the reason, we’ve probably all done it at one time or another. This was something my father taught me when he was teaching me to drive. Well….. “flashers beware”!!!! Did you know that it is illegal in some states to do just that? You can be pulled over in states like Alaska, Arizona, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington so be careful! In Florida headlight flashing is considered free speech under the First Amendment and in Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has ruled that flashing one’s lights during the day to warn of speed traps IS legal. Can you believe a case like this went all the way to the Supreme Court in Pennsylvania!!! In a case in Ohio they actually debated whether the ordinance referred to a noun or a verb. Flashing lights as a noun is prohibited, flashing lights as a verb is not! Imagine being pulled over in Ohio and explaining to the officer that the act of actually flashing your lights is an action, thus a verb, and not a violation of the law! Not sure I would try that though…