Illegal to flash your high beam to alert police speed trap?!
 

This video is for Ontario
Video: Is it illegal to flash your headlights to signal a speed trap? - The Globe and Mail
I am sure the cops here in BC will ticket us for the same thing.

I do this all the time..

Truckers do this too....even better when they have a Radio inside too.....it's Good too because i do it for Ghost Cars when i see Cage in the back of the SUV and lights in the grill :troll: :fullofwin:

Yes.

yeah we all know the law is not perfect, if police really wanna get people in trouble, they can just say it was an 'obstruction of justice'

having said that, I kinda have a feeling he might win the ticket...there's way too many grey area since there's no law that prohibits warning other drivers.

I've been saved a few times in the past by people flashing their lights so I usually reciprocate.

Richmond doesn't understand what flashin high beams in any sense of the action.

Feels bad man
Posted via RS Mobile

...traveling home after school, Ka flashing like mad and I beamed buddy in a 335i to slow down a few months ago... i guess he thought i was just trying to make him go faster, lol. he got nailed by the chev as everyone else drove by. but he did deserve it doing at least 120 in the 80 zone before Surrey.

I always do this, interesting to hear its not illegal, as I totally thought it was.

I actually did get caught doing this on the Coq, but the cop in the oncoming direction just flashed his blue & reds, but he never turned around to come get me. I guess that makes sense now that I know technically it isn't illegal.

I would love to see them try to give out an obstruction of justice ticket, especially when the radio is broadcasting information about speed traps daily. I would have a field day fighting that ticket....

Soooo...who got stopped on lougheed tonight? :troll:

along the same lines here is my question.

assuming i wouldn't be blinding people who were actually moving. like only targeting vehicles stopped at intersections. could i use my 30" led bar to blind the fuck out of idiots driving around with their high beams on? since flashing my high beams back doesn't ever get the point across.

30" light bar is like 13-14k lumens

could you get in any serious trouble for this? or just maybe some illegal light ticket.

Those lights are fucking intense. I definitely wouldn't use them for oncoming traffic. Would scare the shit out if a little old granny who accidentally turned on her h. Beams after making a turn
Posted via RS Mobile

they can't nail you for obstruction of justice (its not possible to prove that was your intent).

they will get your for improper use of high beams. (or anything else that they feel like. V.I anyone?)

did this not happen a few years back on knight st? drivers going northbound coming off the bridge were hi beaming southbound traffic to tell them there was a radar trap on the approach and there was another cop hiding in the northbound side streets pulling people over for it?

Your light bar SHOULD have an opaque cover while on the road... like any other off-road lights.

I've heard that most of these cases get thrown out in Canada as there is already a precedence that this act is not illegal. They compare the act to a radio announcer alerting everyone of the speed traps location.

Some fucker in a typical tough guy jacked up Dodge diesel duallie truck with one of those crazy lightbars on Hwy91 was pissed for whatever reason at some BMW behind him and turned on his rear-facing lightbar during the S-Curve in high traffic... almost caused like 5 accidents unrelated to whatever his loser beef was on the highway as everyone slammed on their brakes trying to figure out what the hell was going on/thinking that somebody had spun out.

On a semi-related note... why does EVERY SINGLE eighth gen Civic I see drive around with its highbeams on?! Is it super easy to flick the headlight stalk forward on that car or something???

Same thing could be said about Corollas

i do this all the time.
sometimes i turn my fog light (bright as fawk yellow) in replacement of my highbeam .
either or, i appreciate when other drivers warn me, so i do the same.

That's exactly what it is. I have noticed the same thing with that gen Civic. It wasn't until I drove a 8th gen Civic and a CSX did I realize those stalks get flicked in the highbeam position easily when using the turn signal, and most drivers of those particular vehicles don't realize what the highbeam sign is in their dash.

My biggest annoyance is semi rigs that are running HID's, though pickups with light bars come in a close second. Almost got into an accident the other night driving down Hwy1 just before Sorrento. There's a ton of twisties that's covered in ice right now, and in the middle of one such turn, a semi truck came barrelling around the corner, HID bulbs going full blast in halogen housings. I couldn't see shit and had to rely purely on luck and what little of the road I could remember seeing before taking the turn.

:rant

As much as I like LED light bars, there's a reason why they're deemed suitable for off-road use only and are not road legal. Too many bro trucks with Alberta plates running around here at night with their light bars turned on all the time. :mad:

Under the MVAR using your high beams is ILLEGAL under some circumstances...

4.06 (1) The headlamps of a motor vehicle must function so that the driver may select lamps capable of displaying

(a) an upper beam of light which, regardless of the load on the vehicle, will reveal an object at a distance of 100 m, and

(b) a lower beam of light which, regardless of the load on the vehicle, will reveal an object at a distance of 30 m and the high intensity portion of the lower beam will not strike the eye of an oncoming driver.

(2) The lighting system must include a tell-tale lamp which clearly indicates when the upper beam of light is being displayed.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to a motor vehicle manufactured before January 1, 1940.

(4) If an automatic dimmer switch is installed, the device must have a manual control.

(5) A person who drives or operates a motor vehicle must not illuminate the upper beam of a headlamp if another motor vehicle is within a distance of 150 m from that vehicle, unless the driver has overtaken and passed the other vehicle, so that the high intensity portion of the beam does not strike or reflect into the eye of the other driver.

(6) Whenever a motor vehicle is parked or standing on a highway, the upper beam of the motor vehicle headlamps must not be illuminated.

[en. B.C. Reg. 476/98, s. 2.]


So chances are, if you are warning another vehicle, you are most likely doing it within 150m

Also, you guys shouldn't go by Ontario's motor vehicle regulations. Every province has their own laws.

I've been saved a couple times by people flashing high beams (UBC highway, 2 Rd Bridge and 2 Rd, Knight Street) so whenever I see a speed trap I do the same.

If I can prevent one guy from getting a speeding ticket I'm happy.

crap you are reminding me of the city of burnaby municipal truck i had to follow to work on friday. it had all its rear service spotlights on and it was like driving into the sun.