# Do you flash to warn about speed traps?



## Alex Von Königsberg (Jan 28, 2007)

In former Soviet countries, drivers almost always flash their headlights to warn oncoming traffic about speed traps. In Europe, drivers don't have this habit, but there are very few speed traps as well. In the USA drivers flash very rarely, and it depends on the state. In Washington state, they flash sometimes, and it actually helped me once on a 2-lane road in the middle of nowhere. 

What about you? Please also indicate where you are from.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

I'm from Britain, but now live in NZ. I never flash to warn. If people are speeding its their own darn fault. 

In NZ the drivers are pretty poor and the death rate on the roads is so high that people really need to learn to keep to the speed limit and so the more fines that are issued, the better.


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## LtBk (Jul 27, 2004)

I seen a bus driver do it once. Helped me slow down before a cop. There are few speed traps around here.


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## Czas na Żywiec (Jan 17, 2005)

It's not really common in the States like Alex said. In all the years I've been here, I've been warned only once. They still do it in Poland fairly often though from what I've noticed.


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## Timon91 (Feb 9, 2008)

When entering the town of Doorn, Netherlands, you go steep off-hill. When not breaking your speed is about 80-90 when entering the town. However, the speed limit is 50, so often the police puts speed traps at the beginning of the town. Here most people flash to warn those entering the town.


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## PLH (Mar 9, 2007)

In Poland we do flash pretty often, and I do so as well

It is pretty much connected with my style of driving
Others warn me, I warn otheres


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

I've only seen one speed trap in my 2 year of driving,and even that was watching the the other direction so I never had to flash for this reason yet.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

I usually flash, but not on fixed speed traps. 

Because i think 95% of the speed traps in the Netherlands has nothing to do with traffic safety, but is only about cashing.


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

Chriszwolle said:


> Because i think 95% of the speed traps in the Netherlands has nothing to do with traffic safety, but is only about cashing.


the same is here in Croatia, only collecting cash, it has nothing with safety. plus speed limits which sometimes don't make any sense - favourite places to do that. and flashing is a custom here to do here from ancient times


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## TallBox (Sep 21, 2002)

^^ Same (chriswollez). I sometimes flash if it's a mobile speed camera and not a fixed position.

Same on chriswollez's second point too. In the UK, it's mostly about making money :bash:


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

funny, here in Croatia we have opinion that in EU it doesn't have anything with money


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## Alex Von Königsberg (Jan 28, 2007)

^^ In the USA, it is the same. Otherwise, you cannot explain why police don't care about other violations.


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## TallBox (Sep 21, 2002)

I don't know about the rest of the EU, but in the UK, it is the local councils (districts) that place the speed cameras. And they do it entirely for money.


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## PLH (Mar 9, 2007)

^^ Same situation in Poland(for some cameras) - it's 100% making a mint


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

No. I don't care.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

I still never understood the argument about "making money". If people aren't speeding, they won't get ticketed and thus they won't lose money. 

It does seem like an overly simplistic conclusion to draw, but as a pedestrian or as a cyclist I very much appreciate it when people slow down through residential areas and when people stick to the speed limits on country roads thus I am 100% in favour of speed cameras and mobile speed traps.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

^^ Yeah, but in the Netherlands, speed camera's and mobile speed traps are usually on places where there are no pedestrians or cyclists.

For instance, on the ringroad of Zwolle, there is a section of 2x2 lanes with a median. You are only allowed to drive 50 here, which feels like crawling. Ofcourse, this section is littered with about 6 -7 speed camera's. 

You won't find a speed camera near schools here. Speed checking is okay, as long as speed limits are complying with the design speed of the roads. Since 70% of all speed tickets is for less than 10km/h too fast, i can only say it's only about making money.


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## AltinD (Jul 15, 2004)

Here we flash other peoples to tell them: "Get the f**k out of my way ... LOOSER!"


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## CborG (Dec 2, 2003)

Usually I don't flash, only when oncoming traffic is nearby when i just passed a spot where they regulary check. Then it's likely that drivers who are familiar with the road get the message because they know that spot too.


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## PLH (Mar 9, 2007)

Svartmetall said:


> I still never understood the argument about "making money"


yeah, but most of speed cameras/speed traps are in places where it has little to do with safety

If You blindly belive in speed limits and consider them as ALWAYS being logical and justified, then speed cameras are perfect. for me, they are not 



AltinD said:


> Here we flash other peoples to tell them: "Get the f**k out of my way ... LOOSER!"


sometemes as well this


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## Captain Chaos (Feb 8, 2006)

AltinD said:


> Here we flash other peoples to tell them: "Get the f**k out of my way ... LOOSER!"


It's not big or clever. :bash:

So many drivers in Dubai are fucking idiots, plain and simple; especially those that flash others to say get out of my way. I had 3 years watching these types of dickheads on Dubai's roads, driving at ridiculously high speeds. Bullying/scaring people out of a lane is nothing but arrogant, dangerous and idiotic. I've never known such a terrible place to drive, there's no wonder there are so many grave accidents there. 

Most of Dubai's brain-dead drivers need a truckload of extra brain cells to enable them to learn that driving at excessive speed, tailgating and scaring people off the roads out of impatience kills. That's what always gave me the shits about Dubai and its motorists; no-one has any respect for the value of life. Makes me want to puke.

Back on topic; here in WA, many people flash traffic to warn them of an upcoming camera. I am one of them. Why? Because while I understand the consequences of speeding, as others have said of speed-camera practices in their respective countries, in WA the proliferation of speed cameras are simply used to fatten the State Governments coffers. We never see that money ploughed back into our roads, it just sits there so the politicians can boast about the surplus they've raised come election time and how, if we re-elect them, they will spend it on this, that and the other; but it's never the roads! If they DID use the money to improve roads, I wouldn't have such a problem with it, but that still would do nothing to change the speeding habits of drivers. Moreover, it's the way they and the police try to lead us to believe they do not put cameras everywhere to make money, and by doing so it IS slowing people down. If that's the case, how come they make more and more from fixed and Multinova cameras each year? They must think we were all born yesterday!

The police and politicians argue that using speed-cameras educates drivers and changes their habits. It doesn't. Many can afford the fines. The only way they will stop speeders is to take 6 points off their licence when they get caught. The next time they'll have lost their licence. It's the only way you can make people slow down I think. Teaching people the value of their licence will never be achieved by imposing even hefty monetary fines. Only by jeapordising the continuation of their licence by imposing strict, harsh and severe point punishments will speeders stop and realise that it is a privilege to be able to own a licence to drive.


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## PLH (Mar 9, 2007)

^^ another reason why I flash is that when I see a black BMW or Mercedes doing 150(on regular road, NOT highway) I know when he will be fined, he will continue to drive like this again. He can also have some part of his front licence covered(i.e. with a leaf), so speed camera is also usless

I flash also because I'm also not absolutely saintly when driving in Poland, so this helps me to thrive as a driver I was not fined for 4 years now, despite the fact I do drive fast


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

Svartmetall said:


> I still never understood the argument about "making money". If people aren't speeding, they won't get ticketed and thus they won't lose money.


in my hometown and around i hate 2 places. first - entrance to city. 2 way straight road. through suburbian places limit is 70 km/h. when you pass the table with name of city, it becomes 50 and forbidden overtaking. and situation is absolutely the same as 7-8 km earlier where road passes through suburbia with no forbidden overtaking and limit 70 km/h. i don't know why they don't put limit 30 km/h in entrance to city centre on the same road if this makes any sense.

second place is in suburbia. road passes through village, but actually beside it. so there are few houses beside road, no intersections, clear visibility. but there is a table with name of that village which signs that you are in inhabited area and limit is 50. favourite place for speed traps. 2 km from that place road enters to really inhabited area of that village and limit is 70. it really doesn't make any sense.


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## PLH (Mar 9, 2007)

^^ both model examples of how safety is important when making speed traps...:sleepy:


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## Alex Von Königsberg (Jan 28, 2007)

Here, local municipal police likes to set speed traps right after the entrance to the city where the speed limit drops from 100 to 50 (in California from 90 to 40). Although, I always slow down myself (can't afford more fines), I still flash to city-bound traffic. What I don't like is when highway patrol hide in a grass median on a 2x2 expressways (motorways) that don't have any bicyclist or pedestrian access outside of the urban areas. I really believe that the above case has nothing to do with the safety.


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## AltinD (Jul 15, 2004)

Captain Chaos said:


> It's not big or clever. :bash:
> 
> So many drivers in Dubai are fucking idiots, plain and simple; especially those that flash others to say get out of my way. I had 3 years watching these types of dickheads on Dubai's roads, driving at ridiculously high speeds. Bullying/scaring people out of a lane is nothing but arrogant, dangerous and idiotic. I've never known such a terrible place to drive, there's no wonder there are so many grave accidents there.
> 
> Most of Dubai's brain-dead drivers need a truckload of extra brain cells to enable them to learn that driving at excessive speed, tailgating and scaring people off the roads out of impatience kills. That's what always gave me the shits about Dubai and its motorists; no-one has any respect for the value of life. Makes me want to puke.


LOL, it was a joke ... I didn't say I do that (well, sometime when an idiot blocks the fast lane, driving slower then the limit and don't go right even that the lane is free and every other attempt to catch their attentions fails)

I have driven safely 180 - 200,000 km in Dubai roads so I know very well what's going on and how to be actively protective against morons.

ON TOPIC: Most of the roads here have separated carriages, even inside cities so it is impossible to warn other drivers even if you want to.


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## mojaBL (Oct 24, 2007)

In Bosnia drivers are flashing very often if not always. Old tradition.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

I also flash in the dark when people have a broken headlight. 

But only if there is nobody driving in front of me, otherwise he/she/it can be distracted.


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## madao (Feb 18, 2007)

i see it sometimes in the netherlands

and in morocco every body flashes to each other it helps alot


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## eomer (Nov 15, 2003)

AltinD said:


> Here we flash other peoples to tell them: "Get the f**k out of my way ... LOOSER!"


I hope it's a joke.
People acting like that should not be allowed to drive any longer.

Flashing can appear a bit old-fashioned but it's still the most efficient system: Citizen Band doesn't work any longer and new GPS-linked systems ("Coyot") need more users to work.


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

People do that alot here, near to where a police car is parked pratacly every car does that.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Chriszwolle said:


> I also flash in the dark when people have a broken headlight.
> 
> But only if there is nobody driving in front of me, otherwise he/she/*it* can be distracted.


It?


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Yeah, with some people, they are men, but drive like women.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

:lol:


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## 1000city (Sep 8, 2007)

I do flash because like in ohter countries speed cameras here are for taxing rather than safety. Speed limits in Poland very offen do not meet conditions of the road, they're usually at least 20km/h under reasonable level plus cops like to hide in bushes, behind bus stops etc. You wont't meet them around schools or sth., because drivers in those places usually slow down, so hunting is poor. I also flash to warn about traffic disruptions or if someone oncoming forgot to turn ON lights (24/7 lighting is mandatory in Poland). Sometimes I also flash to ask someone to move from the fast lane (if it's possible of course) while I want to drive faster. Don't do it offen, because most silesian drivers don't need to be asked, and if they do turning on left indicator usually does the job. Another use of flashing common in Poland is when I give way someone despite having the right of way (to allow someone leave the crossroad or get in to traffic flow). I write it because foreign drivers offen don't understand it. Another confunding for some foreigners in Poland is usage of hazard lights or indicators. Flashing hazard lights during driving means for person behind us "watch out, there's danger ahead you can't see, i'm slowing down". It's espeicially common on highways/expressways when there's t-jam or accident. Another usage of hazard lights is to thank someone for giving way or say "sorry" if we did sth wrong. Some drivers (me too) use indicators (e.g. left right left sequence) instead of hazards to thank.


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## go_leafs_go02 (Jan 16, 2007)

Not too many here in Ontario.

it is actually illegal to flash your lights, and you can get a substantial fine too if caught, not sure how much though.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

1000city said:


> Another use of flashing common in Poland is when I give way someone despite having the right of way (to allow someone leave the crossroad or get in to traffic flow). I write it because foreign drivers offen don't understand it. Another confunding for some foreigners in Poland is usage of hazard lights or indicators. Flashing hazard lights during driving means for person behind us "watch out, there's danger ahead you can't see, i'm slowing down". It's espeicially common on highways/expressways when there's t-jam or accident. Another usage of hazard lights is to thank someone for giving way or say "sorry" if we did sth wrong. Some drivers (me too) use indicators (e.g. left right left sequence) instead of hazards to thank.


We do that too in the Netherlands  Truckers use it extensively.

Some nice Slovakian people flashed me to go, (i was on my bicycle), even they had the right of way. It's all pretty common i think


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## Timon91 (Feb 9, 2008)

go_leafs_go02 said:


> Not too many here in Ontario.
> 
> it is actually illegal to flash your lights, and you can get a substantial fine too if caught, not sure how much though.


Sounds like a typical American law.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

I think it isn't allowed in the Netherlands either.


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

Never done that. Anyway, if someone is speeding before a speed trap, it's their own problem, not mine.


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## ElviS77 (Aug 3, 2007)

ChrisZwolle said:


> I wonder if they give you the chance to go to an ATM. Not everybody carries a lot of cash while traveling, at least I don't. I usually have 50 EUR cash and use my credit card in the first place. If you do carry a lot of cash, it's gonna raise questions, maybe they think you're a money launderer.


AFAIK, that excuse won't get you very far in Norway. I believe the police take credit cards...


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## koloite (Jun 16, 2009)

ChrisZwolle said:


> I wonder if they give you the chance to go to an ATM. Not everybody carries a lot of cash while traveling, at least I don't. I usually have 50 EUR cash and use my credit card in the first place. If you do carry a lot of cash, it's gonna raise questions, maybe they think you're a money launderer.


Yes, they do. You can also come along to the local police station to pay there by credit or debit card.


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## Glodenox (Mar 26, 2007)

ChrisZwolle said:


> I wonder if they give you the chance to go to an ATM.


They do. It's not a personal experience, but I saw one such occasion on a Dutch TV show 

Greetings,
Glodenox


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## dia (Mar 12, 2007)

Personal experience from Luxembourg and Germany- they take credit cards.


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

In Portugal they take credit cards and in the UK they give you a week to pay or somthing like that


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## bogdymol (Feb 4, 2010)

In Romania if you pay in 48 hours your fine is reduced at half.


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## arriaca (Feb 28, 2006)

Enjoy the funny Spanish speed trap :lol:


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## I-275westcoastfl (Feb 15, 2005)

^^Hahaha that is priceless!


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## Dr.Mabuse (Jun 6, 2009)

i said it before and i say it again

Do you flash to warn about speed traps?

YES!


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## pwalker (Feb 19, 2007)

arriaca said:


> Enjoy the funny Spanish speed trap :lol:


I think the police are the ones hitting the bottle here.


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## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

I did at night once and then realized I flashed an on coming police officer...haha. Don't really do it any more.


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## stormwatchforever (Nov 9, 2009)

Of Course baby, I flash like a Christmas tree because in Serbia police are only stopping people with old cars, speed traps are very frequent and I have NEVER seen they stopped a new car even if it's speeding in the front of their eyes.


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## Road_UK (Jun 20, 2011)

Yes. All the time. People in countries all over Europe have prevented me from paying astronomical on-the-spot fines, so the least I can do is warn people back...


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## diablo234 (Aug 18, 2008)

Since there are not that many speed traps near where I live I don't do it that often.


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

That Spanish video :lol:. Whoever came up with that is clever!


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## alserrod (Dec 27, 2007)

In Spain it is forbidden... and sometimes, when a radar check, a police is placed in opposite direction and... should a car flashes, they put them a penalty because "using lights if no need".

And flash penalty can be higher than speed penalty.


Anyway, at Spain there are too many fixed radars and are absolutely indicated. Should someone be punished there is because he wants to drive very fast... because you are adviced 500m before of the radar.

In those cases, obviously, no need to flash anyone, road signals "flash" them.


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## AlexisMD (Mar 13, 2010)

alserrod said:


> In Spain it is forbidden... and sometimes, when a radar check, a police is placed in opposite direction and... should a car flashes, they put them a penalty because "using lights if no need".
> 
> And flash penalty can be higher than speed penalty.


very questionable from a legal point of view, it's almost impossible to prove. One might "accidentally" touch the switch


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## nerdly_dood (Mar 23, 2007)

I usually flash if I see either a police car waiting for someone to chase, or if I see some other unusual hazard, like a rock that's fallen onto a mountain road or a recent traffic accident that hasn't caused a significant traffic jam yet. Flashing is pretty rare in this area, but so are good reasons to flash.


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## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

I never flash to warn about speed traps... if one drives too fast he deserves a ticket. I don't like being flashed for the same reason: I always think that something serious happened on the road ahead, until I see the speed trap and I curse this extension of the concept of "emergency".


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## flyinfishjoe (Mar 20, 2010)

In India, people flash their headlights when they are going fast and want the slower car/truck in front of them to move over.

In the part of the U.S. where I live, most people would not recognize flashing headlights as a warning of a police speed trap. Most people use it to yield the right of way to someone who would usually not have it in the situation. For example, an oncoming car flashing its headlights to a school bus turning left means that the school bus can go ahead and turn.


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## Lebanese_Almaghrebia (May 15, 2011)

Everyone does it in Morocco ! :lol:


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## poshbakerloo (Jan 16, 2007)

I've never even heard of this practise before!


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

g.spinoza said:


> I never flash to warn about speed traps... if one drives too fast he deserves a ticket. I don't like being flashed for the same reason: I always think that something serious happened on the road ahead, until I see the speed trap and I curse this extension of the concept of "emergency".


The only problem is, in some places there is a difference between "driving too fast" and breaking the speed limit, because the speed limits are unreasonable.

I just spent too much time on Google trying to establish the definition of "speed trap." Because I think speed trap originally meant not just a place where the police hang out (with radar or whatever) to catch genuine speeders, but a place where the speed limit is artificially low (and suddenly lower than the previous stretch of road) and the purpose is not safer roads but raising money. This used to happen all the time in the U.S. - if a small town had a major highway passing through it, tickets could provide a major part of the town's budget....

I couldn't find a dictionary on line that would back me up on this. But in browsing for such a thing, I learned that in many states "speed traps" defined in that way are actually illegal - meaning that if a small town (or whatever law enforcement agency) raises too much of its money on catching people breaking the speed limit, that town will be breaking state law and its tickets will be invalid. And it would appear that there are plenty of places that still have the reputation of speed traps in this sense of the expression, although they'll usually claim that it's in the interest of safety.

Check out this article - http://law.freeadvice.com/general_practice/traffic_law/speed-trap-traffic.htm
- particularly the beginning of the second paragraph:

"Defined under California law as 'an artificially low speed limit combined with excessively high enforcement,' "

Now, even though it's got quotes around it, as far as I can tell that's a summary of what the California law says rather than the actual language, but still, there it is.

I've run on a bit. Sorry. My point is that, at least in North America, some people feel that speed limits are often unreasonably low, and enforcement is often not motivated by genuine safety concerns but by the desire to raise money. And you can't just respond to us by saying, well, it's the law and you're disrespecting it by personally deciding it's unreasonable, because there are actually local governments out there that are in violation of the law of their states by establishing such limits.

So I often, when I see a cop sitting by the side of a road, particularly in a hidden place, will flash a couple of times. If someone's really driving too fast, he should be ticketed, but my warning won't help him because he probably won't be able to slow down fast enough.

That said, I've "sped" past plenty of cops (doing, say, 75 mph - roughly 120 km/h - where the limit's 65 mph - roughly 105 km/h) and never, ever gotten a speeding ticket on the highway. (Knock on wood....) Because most people will be doing the same speed and there will be a few far faster people out there. And those far faster people will be caught, and should be.

[climbs off soapbox]


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## Tincap (May 23, 2010)

Yes, I do.

I also flash when there's potential danger for on coming drivers, such as road hazards, like deer standing next to the road...which happens a lot in my area!

~BG


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## Road_UK (Jun 20, 2011)

poshbakerloo said:


> I've never even heard of this practise before!


They do it in London, Manchester and Sheffield... But not in Moscow?


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## alserrod (Dec 27, 2007)

I flash always when a potential danger is on road.

As I said... police punish "using lights if no need". If it is to advice of a potential danger, of course it is needed. If it is to advice of a road police control, there is no danger to advice. 

The police responsible said some years ago that... should a driver takes all rules on road, no problem, no need to flash. Should a driver goes as he wants... it is the first danger you find on the road.

So then he made the question: Which is the danger?, A police control or a driver who requires always an advice before a police control?


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## Road_UK (Jun 20, 2011)

Police are ready to punish you if you're farting in your own car if you're not careful. You just can't play it by the book for a full 100%. Just don't get caught if you are in an area where the police are known to be notorious dickheads. Lorries flash each other all the time when one is overtaking the other, and it's safe to pull back to the inside lane, followed by a indicator left-right-left or whatever. Guilty as hell officer, arrest me!


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## Corvinus (Dec 8, 2010)

In Hungary, flashing to warn on-coming traffic is very common. Fix radar boxes have been recently installed on many motorway stretches, but on 2x1 highways, they are still very rare, so speed traps with real police "have to be used".

Many of the warning drivers also draw a circle in the air with their hand, indicating "speedometer". 

In Germany or Switzerland, warning is less widespread, but still exists. In these countries, however, fix radar boxes can be found basically anywhere, so "danger" is present without real police as well. 



alserrod said:


> As I said... police punish "using lights if no need".


That's also the case in the above countries ... "Using the high beam outside of its range of purpose" or the like is the legal background. In Germany, however, the fine is only about some 10-20 €, depending on whether it was "intentional" or "result-of-negligence" (accidental touch of switch) use.


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## bogdymol (Feb 4, 2010)

I have heard about something more than just flashing: trucks are equiped with radio stations so the drivers can talk with eachother. In Romania (and maybe not only) they warn themselves about the police presence on the radio, so if you see a truck going with 90 in a zone with the limit set at 50 you can be 99% sure that you won't be caught because there isn't any speed trap.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

CB radio. Most trucks have it. It was a big craze in the 1970's to have a CB radio in your car (though mainly in North America).


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## RipleyLV (Jun 4, 2008)

bogdymol said:


> I have heard about something more than just flashing: trucks are equiped with radio stations so the drivers can talk with eachother.


In Poland they equip light vehicles with this radio. They stand out with very long antennas. :lol:

Btw, is it true that CB radio is prohibited for trucks in Turkey?


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## Road_UK (Jun 20, 2011)

ChrisZwolle said:


> CB radio. Most trucks have it. It was a big craze in the 1970's to have a CB radio in your car (though mainly in North America).


Got one in my van. My boss fitted them in, as he was getting very angry about high mobile phone bills, even when we're driving in convoy.


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## desertpunk (Oct 12, 2009)

I sometimes do. Speed traps are rarely effective in stopping speeders here and some of them are quite devious. I mainly flash lights if there's a big wreck or slowdown ahead of oncoming traffic.


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## alserrod (Dec 27, 2007)

bogdymol said:


> I have heard about something more than just flashing: trucks are equiped with radio stations so the drivers can talk with eachother. In Romania (and maybe not only) they warn themselves about the police presence on the radio, so if you see a truck going with 90 in a zone with the limit set at 50 you can be 99% sure that you won't be caught because there isn't any speed trap.


In Spain trucks do the same... but they can do little about speed because they have a record with the speed they hade in last week at any hour. It can be useful if local restrictions in a special point also... and that, of course, cannot be proved by police.
But truck traffic record is more important than that. They indicate which hours have you been driving and the speed at any hour. It is mandatory too for buses and should they have two drivers... one record for each driver.


Off topic... as far as I remember, they are allowed to nine hours driving per day but having 45 minutes rest after four hours at least.


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## poshbakerloo (Jan 16, 2007)

Road_UK said:


> They do it in London, Manchester and Sheffield... But not in Moscow?


I've never seen or heard about it so I guess not!


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

alserrod said:


> Off topic... as far as I remember, they are allowed to nine hours driving per day but having 45 minutes rest after four hours at least.


The digital tagograph. It's despised by truckers because they can be fined for the most marginal offenses up to 4 weeks later. It's not uncommon to get a multi-hunderd euro fine for having driving a few minutes over their hours. 

The European rules are rather complicated.

A trucker may drive no more than 9 hours per day, but twice a week this can be extended to 10 hours. A trucker may not drive more than 4,5 hours in a row, then a 45 minute break is mandatory. The break may be split up in a 15 and 30-minute break. A trucker may not drive more than 56 hours per week. A trucker may also not drive more than 90 hours in two weeks time. A trucker must rest for 11 consecutive hours, but is allowed to be shortened to 9 hours three times a week. In a whole week, a trucker must rest at least 45 hours. 

The American hours of service are significantly less complicated.

An American trucker may work up to 14 hours a day, including a maximum of 11 hours driving, after which a 10-hour rest period is mandatory. A trucker may drive 70 hours per week, after which a 34-hour rest period is mandatory. Then it begins again with 70 hours of driving.

Include higher truck speed limits in the United States, and this means an American trucker can drive twice as much distance in two weeks as a European trucker.


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## mediar (Dec 13, 2008)

stormwatchforever said:


> Of Course baby, I flash like a Christmas tree because in Serbia police are only stopping people with old cars, speed traps are very frequent and I have NEVER seen they stopped a new car even if it's speeding in the front of their eyes.


Same in Bulgaria. The police has never taken care for our safety, they just want money ( usually 10 or 25 euro / 20 or 50 leva per car ).


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## bogdymol (Feb 4, 2010)

ChrisZwolle said:


> The digital tagograph. It's despised by truckers because they can be fined for the most marginal offenses up to 4 weeks later. It's not uncommon to get a multi-hunderd euro fine for having driving a few minutes over their hours.
> 
> The European rules are rather complicated.
> 
> ...


14h/week = 2h/day


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## wkiehl101 (Jun 27, 2011)

I'm from the US, and originally from PA but have been living in NC. I generally flash to warn about speed traps, especially when I'm in areas with which I'm quite familiar or if I'm out on one of the interstates or similar freeways.


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## nerdly_dood (Mar 23, 2007)

bogdymol said:


> I have heard about something more than just flashing: trucks are equiped with radio stations so the drivers can talk with eachother. In Romania (and maybe not only) they warn themselves about the police presence on the radio, so if you see a truck going with 90 in a zone with the limit set at 50 you can be 99% sure that you won't be caught because there isn't any speed trap.


My uncle has a CB radio in his pickup so he can listen to truckers and get warning about potential speed traps ahead.  It's the next best thing to a radar detector since those are illegal in Virginia.


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