I think there’s some law where it’s a ticket if you’re caught doing this. Not sure tho.

If I know the cop wont see me. I strobe it up... Unless youre speeding in my neighborhood

I still do but I'm old school anyway.

I’m sorry, did they have a constitutional convention to nullify the first amendment?

I still do it but honestly I don’t see cops near me all that often anymore

I had some one flash me on Newport Ave last week so people still definitely do it. I think it's not as common anymore since they have all the speed cameras up instead.

I still do it, yeah.

Get a radar detector, they’re cheap as hell now.

Waze works for me in most cases.

Honestly, I drive through a small town on my way to 95 and I drive through 25 mph speed limits. If someone wants to be an asshole and drive 40 through a residential area, they deserve the ticket

There is no such law. Courts, including the US Supreme Court, have repeatedly ruled that police cannot pull someone over for flashing lights like this.

I always thought this meant I didn’t have my headlights on and I would get confused bc they were on already lol

I sure do. A bunch of quick flashes for "cop ahead", or really any other unusual scenario where the oncoming driver needs to slow down and pay attention.

As opposed to just two flashes, to signify turn on your headlights or turn off your high beams.

This. Waze or people already so buried on their phones they miss the popo.

I do it! But, yeah, I seldom see it in return. It’s a bummer for sure.

I used to not really think to, but someone flashed me, and I greatly appreciated it, so I make sure to now, though I worry not many people in my age group know what I'm doing haha

I’ve only done it under 2 conditions: 1) I’m out of the cop’s line of sight and 2) oncoming traffic is fast enough they need to slow down. Maybe I should get back into it as a common courtesy.

Most of the time from what I see, people haven’t been competent enough that they’re going fast enough to be pulled over.

I did it today

Got pulled over in Narragansett for warning that there was a cop ahead..... Other cop came around the corner right as I was flashing. Was a real dick, said it's illegal to use alternating beams of light. Figured he was full of shit as he didn't give me a ticket.

I wouldn't say 40, my limit is 60 one time I seen a dude doing 90 but that was in Connecticut

Wait, there’s a count? Is it official? 2 flashes for “turn on your lights” and how many flashes for “cop ahead”. How many is in a bunch? Are there other codes and how many flashes?

Report locations on waze.

I still do it!

I used to do this maybe a decade ago or so. Then I just started driving the actual speed limit everywhere I go and now I never have to worry about cops or care about speed traps or buy extra equipment or sign up for any apps. I just drive around where ever I want to go listening to music not even looking for cops or cameras. Totally oblivious to all of that stuff. It's really nice and takes a lot of the stress out of driving. Best part, it was totally free.

Fancier cars. My high beams automatically turn off when there are lights around. I’m don’t know if I can flash my brights at another car.

Plus, you save on gas and tickets.

WHAT? For real? I did not know this! Wow AI is ruining everything 🤣

Not official, but I think it's mostly generally understood...?

I'd say like 4+ flashes for cop ahead.

Other codes:

• Single flash of the hazards as a thank you from a semi truck

• Double flash for "all clear" when someone wants to change into your lane in front of you

edit: here's a wikipedia article with a summary of meanings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlight_flashing

Yes, you can

I always do

Headlights are so bright these days, I can't tell if someone is flashing at me, or if they just went over a pothole.

Now people just mark it on Waze or Google maps.

But are people driving around looking at their phones to see the warnings? Jeez. I must be getting old. I think it’s courteous to give a little flicker of a warning.

> But are people driving around looking at their phones to see the warnings?

the apps have audio alerts.

Not a thing anymore. And not worth bringing back (I mean how would you anyway?).

Um maybe in someone’s head but no.

This!!! Most new cars have this setting (or the option to turn it on). So it’s becoming something that marks that you learned to drive say between 1970-99.

No. Especially if the cop is near where I live.

If someone is driving way too fast I don’t want them warned I want them caught and given a ticket. That is how the system is supposed to work.

I’m tired of seeing people doing 50 in residential areas and getting away with it.

I do, I also flash tf out of people in gray and black cars driving in the rain without headlights/taillights on. DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS AREN'T HEADLIGHTS.

Hear! hear!

Hear! Hear!

I do it, but I believe it's illegal...

We can’t flash the brights when they’re on all the time

You go 60 through a residential area?

Always warn folks of the fuzz.

By doing it?

Yes please!

Yes! Someone did this for me recently, and I had totally forgotten it was even a thing, but I slowed down immediately, and sure enough, there was a cop waiting around the curve. (To be clear to this was on the Highway, not a residential area) Let’s bring it back, for sure!

If no one knows why you're doing it and you're just flashing lights and most people aren't making the connection (or not thinking it's worth it) - how are you going to "teach" people. I think the thing got ingrained in those of us of a certain age at drivers ed time but if that isn't happening now, unless you plan on going on tik tok and being widely successful - making it a "thing" is a ship that has sailed.

Don’t you think if people see a flash and then a cop, they’ll start noticing a pattern? Especially because I’m not trying to invent a new thing, just trying to keep a thing going. Even if you’re not speeding it’s just nice to know there’s a cop ahead. I get panicky when I see cops and it’s helpful to have a warning. Lots of cops pull over people of color and/or young women for no legitimate reason so it’s scary and it’s helpful to have a little warning

It’s not just about speeding though- if you’re in a group that gets targeted by police while driving (eg BIPOC drivers, young women) it’s helpful to have a little warning so you’re not startled by a surprise cop.

No but I think that's what folks are saying. I've been seeing it for years and because I'm a certain age, I know what people are "trying" to say but it's stopped being a thing for many people so it's not going to suddenly sink in NOW after dying off as common practice for decades. As someone else also pointed out, many new cars have "auto" settings that go on and off to high beams or on and off altogether because the sensors in their cars are doing it automatically so you're seeing a lot more automatic flashes that defeat the purpose. When I learned to drive in the 80s, flashing lights ONLY meant that. It's just stopped being a thing for all of the above reasons so you'd be 100% fighting a losing battle here. But you can sure try! I think most people also get their cop info from phone apps anyway which IMHO is very reliable (at least with Waze). It isn't about police brutality, it's about we're all doing something that now is for middle aged/old people and past the point of being adopted again.

At least to me, a couple high beam flashes means either turn off your high beams, or turn on your low beams. Low beams flashed on and off a couple times is the more polite way to say "turn on your headlights".

Then cop/danger ahead would be a bunch of high beam flashes, like 4+.

None of those are official, and I don't even know how broadly understood they really are either.

It seems like you might be ignorant of the meaning, and assuming that means there is none.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlight_flashing

• "Flashing can warn other drivers of road dangers, such as crashed cars or police speed traps."

• "Flashing can inform drivers of problems with their car, such as headlamps left off after dark, burned out or misaligned lights, or misuse of high beam rather than low beam in traffic"

• "Flashing can indicate the intention to overtake or pass another driver, or to signal a driver who has just overtaken that he or she can now return to the original lane"

No one said it didn't mean anything, it just means something to (largely) old people and is becoming less of a thing. But you do you.

"AI" making sure cars don't blind each other's drivers seems pretty benevolent.

They probably tried tbh

>No one said it didn't mean anything

Isn't that what you said in the comment I replied to?

> it just means something to (largely) old people and is becoming less of a thing.

How did you figure that? I haven't seen any kind of survey results about who knows what flashes means.

Because it's called driving around for 40 years and basically seeing the trend die out? Waze does it for you. Who is going to spend money on this when the answer it's something that's gone out of style specifically re the cop thing? Flashing for passing and intersections (as well as tailgating assholes) is still a thing but the idea that it's one if by land 2 if by sea is not widely used. It's just flashing. Or not. And rarely for cops because the apps have taken over.

Ah okay, boomer logic...my experience=universal

edit: hah, boomer snowflake blocked me for asking to see their sources too

Oh hell yeah! I do this all the time

Gen X thanks very much. Unwillingness to see another point of view and I'm never wrong - classic rhode island

So is jaywalking

Thanks, I had no idea. I always did the checklist, if you flashed your headlights at me I of coarse check my headlights first, then my speed for police, then all my surroundings. If I’m letting a semi out/in, I never counted, just always assumed the communication was understood.

Evidently it's a controversial opinion of mine, so YMMV. Seems like people have a lot of strong opinions on the topic.

This right here. I'm 60, I do not flash to warn and ignore when someone else flashes anymore. Why? because people flash for everything just like a previous poster mentioned. Also, being blinded by someone else's high beams at night is not a courtesy, it's an a-hole move.

So. I strongly suggest asking questions before assuming. While I am white. My wife isn’t. So when we are driving yeah. We are targeted and have been. As our our kids 2 of the 3 are driving age. It’s a bit of the “talking down” when you are explaining to someone something they live through daily.

And it still doesn’t negate the NO. Usually cops are looking out for speeding and reckless behavior. I don’t have the time normally to identifying the ethnicity of another driver as their passing me. Anymore than most cops can either. The majority of racially motivated and targeting happens when the officer FOLLOWS someone and looks up their info and/or takes the time to identify the driver.

Flashing at someone hauling ass past you that there is a cop ahead is warning them for only one of two reasons 1) slow down it’s a speed trap or 2) slow down there is an emergency incident ahead.

And I’d flash someone for 2. But definitely not for 1. I want them pulled over and given a ticket dammit.

I think it’s interesting. I have enough going on in my life to worry if I flashed too many times or not enough or whatever code, but I do find it interesting. We are all different people with different ideas, I appreciate your input weather I use it or not, so thank you. None of us will ever please all of us.

All you're doing is blinding oncoming traffic. Just use Waze.

Absolutely, fuck the police. Someone saved me the other day.

I honestly have no idea why people in relatively new cars ever turn their headlights off…. basically very new car has an ‘Auto’ setting for headlights. No idea why people don’t use it.

When I was younger, I used to do this. I thought I was being a bro and protecting another bro from being harassed by the man.

As an adult, I now understand that some chode racing at 65mph down a 25 mph road is a potential threat to innocent pedestrians or other drivers. There is a speed limit for a reason.

Sometimes ignorant people need to take the hit to learn.

I still do it.

I still do it

No, I mean for getting angry at someone

And during the day?

Still using Waze.

but you still need to have navigation open, are people really using navigation to go to work and get home everyday?
If I'm going somewhere out of the norm, I'll mark it on google maps, but I still flash my lights.

That was knocked down on appeal. It's protected by freedom of speech because it's a communication method, just like your clothes are protected.

Had someone on 295S do it to me 295N I wasn't going fast anyways but sure enough one was patrolling next to the welcome to RI sign

I always do, but never feel like I get the heads up. Hopefully it's just earning me good karma. I'm seeing a lot of people saying x number of flashes me this or that, I'd never heard that. I always thought flashes of any type, meant check everything, your lights, your driving,
your environment.

I'll flashlights if someone looks distracted and they're drifting lanes, it feels less aggressive than honking.

Cars should also have auto on when the wipers are on, would be a really simple thing for automakers to do.

Like you would think that car A with no lights would see car B with no lights and say "man I barely saw that car" and then turn on their lights and it would be a chain reaction but no. I see almost side swipes all the damn time with 2 no light cars. Also why is headlight on but no tail lights an option. I work with cars and can't figure out the point of that!

Totally agree - it shouldn’t be a choice. When the wipers are flipped on, lights automatically come on too. No brainer.

I'm Brown. I don't get "targeted." When I have been stopped it was for a valid reason. Don't break the law or drive with a broken etc or expired plates and you should be fine.

I do this, but I have noticed people do it less.

I’m not talking down or making any assumptions about you, just sharing another point based on my experience. Some cops definitely target certain groups of people and do random pullovers. I’m not suggesting that drivers check to see who is driving and flash brights at specific groups. Just that if you give every car a quick warning flash, some people who get routinely targeted by cops might appreciate the few moments of warning.

Im glad to hear that you haven’t been unfairly targeted, however that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen to others.

Wuz a joke

The audio prompts, while annoying and overdone, are easy. I think it's weirder how apps tacitly encourage drivers to break the law to report hazards.

I think a lot of people leave the apps on just for the off chance of an alert.

I agree, and would add that I don't think any laws "work"... as the adage goes "locks keep honest people honest"

I doubt that it ever happens save for rare ocassions. And I didn't mean haven't as in ever. Sure, as a teenager and young adult, I have been pulled over by cops (guns pointed to my head). But, those were cops responding to 187 at the dead of night in gang plagued areas of California. Unfortunately, I didn't look unsuspicious (dress, demeanor, etc) but I do understand that. They have a gruesome job to do and there are bad people out there.

As a responsible adult (who owns his errors and tries to avoid making them again), I rarely have been pulled over. When it happens, I was at fault.

If you're speeding, you're at fault. Try driving within the legal speed limit, it is better for everyone. Think about other people.

I flash the brights as a way to say “danger danger Will Robinson”, police or hazard, watch out

It doesn’t blind anyone, it’s just a quick little “toot toot” with the lights. Flick flick!

It has happened frequently to me and to people I know unfortunately. One of my friends tried to file a complaint with the local chief of police and they said that in order to file a complaint against an officer you have to give the officer who you’re complaining about your name and address, and it is up to the chief if they want to pursue it further. Not a great system if you’re being targeted by a biased cop. A lot of times with these pull overs, they don’t give tickets so there’s no record and it doesn’t go into the police data. In RI there’s an officer bill of rights that protects them from pretty much anything.

He was 100% full of shit.

Thank u! I was wondering how to tell them apart. Bc there’s also the double flash when your tell someone they can go ahead and turn before you

Yep my cop/hazard warning flash is much more frantic than a quick flash flash you can go

Hell yeah, fuck 12

I have known at least one person who literally didn't know there was a difference between her DRLs and her normal lights. She thought her normal lights were high beams and never knew how to actually turn the high beams on. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these people were like that.

Nope i let the assholes in a hurry get a ticket. People in this state cant drive as is telling then its ok to go faster seems beyond retarded to me

After getting pulled over on 95 for speeding I use Waze all the time now. The cop alerts are helpful but so are the traffic/accident alerts and redirections.

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It brings me great displeasure to read about you and your friend's misfortune. I hope your complaints get handled with care but from the looks of it the whole process appears very muddled and difficult to navigate with any form of earnest fact finding.

Hope you stay ok.

Thank you ❤️

Oh yes! Good example - this is a good reason to do it too. Or Turkeys

Honestly I’ve given up as it looks like every car is flashing me.

I’m singing that in my head as I read this thread

What's this? Logical reasoning? On Reddit? In this subreddit? Impossible...

if you don't know, you should try Waze

I still do it.

No, just drive the speed limit. Screw people who speed.

Boomer thing to do

I do, most of the time. If a cop is hiding in a definite speed trap I'll almost always try to warn oncoming drivers. On a lot of roads it's very easy to drift into questionable ticket territory without being dangerous to anyone else.

That said, if I see a cop and someone coming the opposite direction is driving like an ass or blatantly way too fast? Fuck 'em. They have that ticket coming.

I flash my flood lights. I don’t think anyone knows what I mean hahaha

That's fake news. Why on earth would anyone choose to blind someone else? It's always been "if high beams get flashed at you, or eventually left on, it's because your high beams are on and creating a Hazzard as opposing traffic has lost a clear line of sight ahead.

Low beam double flash, speed trap ahead.

And lights off when should be on, an extended lights off from the notifier. I've helped many drivers this way.

I am not sure I follow what you're saying...two flashes is a nice polite reminder, but two more flashes and the other driver goes blind?

That's for locks.

Wrong. Reverse.

Why is there a "Hazzard" button in every vehicle? Surely not only for my vehicle being a Hazzard, but possibly a Hazzard ahead?

Single flash of the Hazzard's? Da'fak?? Oh I'll never miss that. Thanks 🙃

You throw it in reverse to warn about a cop?

All high beams blind the other drivers. Even when there's a jersey barrier dividing the high way.
High beams in your/my face, means "hey man. You're blinding me...I can't see...oh jebus I hope I don't crash. I immediately check/turn off my beams. 'Cause I don't wanna blind anyone driving. Not from behind either. Just makes sense.

Lmfao 🤣🤣🤣 good one.

Even during the day? Cops aren't only out at night...

That would certainly get my attention

Of course.

I use Waze even when I know how to get where I’m going. Just so I can be forewarned about police on my route!

How fast ?

Yep, I do, but I set waze to just alerts (like heavy traffic, police, etc) — I know how to get to work, but I put it on for my commute for the alerts.

I moved to Norway from Rhode Island and the first couple times someone flashed their high beams at me I thought it was because there was a cop ahead. But nope, it was a moose 😄

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