Fined for warning drivers of a speed trap ahead

paulofessex

A DRIVER who flashed his headlights at oncoming motorists to warn them of a police speed trap has been left with a £440 bill for "obstructing police".

Full story here The Sun 05 Jan 2011

Who hasn't flashed their lights, certainly going to make people think about doing it now....unless of course you can agrue that your a well known person and flashing to say hello to your friends....lol

no-oneknowsme

paulofessex wrote: »

A DRIVER who flashed his headlights at oncoming motorists to warn them of a police speed trap has been left with a £440 bill for "obstructing police".

Full story here The Sun 05 Jan 2011

Who hasn't flashed their lights, certainly going to make people think about doing it now....unless of course you can agrue that your a well known person and flashing to say hello to your friends....lol

I got pulled over for doing this before.

i flashed at oncoming traffic and the bloody car was an un-marked police car:rotfl:.

They spun round and came after me...i tried to tell them that i was flashing at the car sat at a junction as i was going to let them out..

I was quite lucky i think because the female Officer was someone who i vaguely knew from growing up on the same Estate.

She gave me a "stern" warning and to be honest it has made me think twice about doing it ever since.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

Flashing your lights for anything is not good. I was even told not to during my driving lessons nor slow down to let someone out of a side road.

Whilst this seems to have got peoples heckles up he was in essence stopping the police from doing their job which is to catch people committing a crime.

I know lots of you will argue differently but i dont care.

Mankysteve

Your only meant to flash your headlights at other vehicles to lets them know your there. Being fined is a bit harsh.

I suspect he was being a A-hole to the officer who pulled him.

peter_the_piper

As there is a recent (ish) case where the judge(on appeal) said the police had to prove the people he was flashing at were in fact speeding, if they could not then he was not cobstucting them in their duties.

cyberbob

He's only got himself to blame for being such a Muppet. If he hadn't tried to challenge the Policeman and just apologised they would have just warned him.

The_Sun wrote:

after he challenged the officers, one of them told him: "I was going to let you off with a caution but I'm not now."

Also what he did was against the Highway Code. So either way he was in the wrong. He ended up in court because he was being a smartarse and paid the price for his stupidity.

Highway_Code wrote:

110

Flashing headlights. Only flash your headlights to let other road users know that you are there. Do not flash your headlights to convey any other message or intimidate other road users.

Stephen_Leak

Expect more of this, as the revenue from speed cameras and traps goes down, and the safety scamera pratnerships get more desperate for revenue.

I can foresee the day when driving below the speed limit is "perverting the course of justice".

GillsMan7

It's a fair cop really. The guy really can't complain. He wasn't trying to improve safety, he clearly was trying to warn motorists of the speed trap; he shouldn't have tried to argue otherwise. I don't flash my headlights in this scenario as I concentrate on my own driving. Not sure I'd automatically understand someone flashing me to be a warning of an impending speed trap either.

Dr.Rock

I've seen people dress up in Hi-Vis vests and hold placards near where there have been police speed traps before to alert drivers. Speed traps are there as a road safety measure and to ensure the traffic is moving within the legal limit. The guy in question was probably going about it the wrong way but his intentions were good. Unfortunately too many police forces/councils think they're a way of earning revenue which is only going to get worse.

daveyjp

I suspect an element of failing the 'attitude test' came into play here.

tbourner

He should have said he admitted to the offence of improper use of vehicle lighting.
Obstructing a police officer in the course of her duty implies her duty on that day was an order to catch motorists speeding, which goes against the speed camera campaigns that tell us they are there as a deterrant to slow people down in accident blackspots. If the aim of cameras and warning signs is to slow people down then he wasn't obstructing her duties, he was helping them albeit with improper use of his vehicle lighting.