A Florida judge ruled yesterday that flashing headlights at oncoming traffic to tip off fellow drivers to an upcoming radar patrol is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution.
The ruling came as part of a lawsuit filed by a ticketed 25-year-old headlight flasher against Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Circuit Judge Alan Dickey ruled that Florida law does not prohibit such actions.
At a hearing Oct. 20, the judge said, “If the goal of the traffic law is to promote safety and not to raise revenue then why wouldn’t we want everyone who sees a law enforcement officer with a radar gun in his hand, blinking his lights to slow down all those other cars?”
Several states, however, consider the practice to interfere with police investigations and, therefore, allow officers to write tickets when they witness such an event.
According to a September article in USA Today, Florida deputies stopped writing tickets for headlight flashing just five days after a similar class-action lawsuit was filed in Tallahassee in August.
The custom of flashing headlights at other drivers is used to convey various messages in the United States, from us-against-them speed-trap warnings to potential problems with one’s vehicle to warnings to get out of the way. Laws about the legality of the practice vary by state.
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