I think one of the funniest things I read about supposedly flashing to warn of a speed camera ahead happened south of Taupo a couple years ago. Apparently a driver flashed his lights without knowing the car approaching was a police officer (I think he was in an unmarked car). This car turned around and stopped the flasher and issued him with a ticket. Flasher went to the media and bemoaned the fact that he thought the ticket was unfair as he had only been trying to warn motorists that they should slow down. Turns out the ticket was for having a defective headlight. only one was working the other didn't. Flasher drew attention to his defective vehicle. Hah hah!
intrade,
Dec 4, 2:05pm
i have to flash at them to warn them about upcomming road hazard its your duty to use the flash light for this purpose when i did my driving license test in europe a long time ago.
intrade,
Dec 4, 2:13pm
re #26 i went for a wof with m y merc istana ssangyoung van right checked all light before i went . When i got there all is well but low beam on left side is out . last wof it was the right side doing the same thing. and it was the bulb. So my point is i drove 6km and checked my light was ok and it was broken when i got there. whom knows maybe the rattly road gave it the rest because the wire just was heated for testing befor i went on to the 1km gravel road i have to drive here . I dont know why but it was the bulb busted that i just checked purchased a new one at wof so now both are würth bulbs from the wof place hopfully they both last now But you can see how you can easy get a ticket when clearly you do anything to make sure before you drive off. it is about gathering revenue because a headlight would only be a hazard at night if its faulty and i got 4 lights 2 drive lights also in the headlights. so even that would not be a hazard other then lowering my light lumens on one side with a blowen filament
gedo1,
Dec 4, 5:26pm
Huh? Not sure what you are getting at but we all know that we are required to keep our vehicles up WOF/COF standard at all times. Thus the "flasher" I wrote about in #26 failed on that. Okay? Still funny tho, I reckon!
2get1,
Dec 4, 10:43pm
the test would be to see with in the legislation that those offences are written in, what they have defined as the legal definition of "excessive" use of a warning device.
I though warning device was the car horn. I would be surprised if that means headlights as they would have said headlights. But yeah you would need to see the legal term for excessive. In statutes and legislation they have legal terms and definitions for everything.
2 flashes would by the dictionary meaning, hardly be excessive.
xs1100,
Dec 5, 1:44am
wonder if that works for the police I stopped beside one once and pointed out he only had one headlight going (not being a smart rrrsss) but genuinely pointing it out. saw him a week later same problem and thought "yeh good on ya " how many young fullas you nailed and cant even fix yr own car
mp3539,
Dec 6, 7:45pm
had some mates years ago put the rego of the camera van on there car and we had turns driving past the van at speed. hilarious. flick the camera sitters the bird.
mumsrule,
Dec 6, 8:13pm
I used to flash headlights to warn others about hidden cameras. Don't drive anymore. But aren't you surposed to warn fellow motorists about hazzards? Accidents, poorly signed roadworks, financial loss (police) and the like.
mumsrule,
Dec 6, 8:14pm
Too funny
2get1,
Dec 7, 12:26am
back in the days of the MOT and when the first pole mounted cameras got installed. I had mates in the Police who on nightshift, used to go the local satellite stations.they had the keys from the main station. back there there wasn't CCTV at the satellite stations. They would go and borrow the MOT cars. Back then they didn't work from 11pm to 7am. So they would put paperbags on their heads and drive past the pole mounted cameras at speed a few times. Then take cars and keys back to the satellite station .deny anything had happened and laugh at the outcry a few weeks later as someone was trying to figure out who did it. Better work stories.
gedo1,
Dec 7, 3:03am
Good story. but have heard it from blogs and media stories from all over the world. oh well.
therafter1,
Dec 7, 5:43pm
Agree 100% . I confine my headlight flashing to hazards, MVA's that may just have happened in tricky locations, wandering stock etc
russell.s.c,
Dec 7, 6:02pm
So, are you a 'cry wolf' sort? We know about that sort and if you are perhaps clatter would be a better name.
jantar,
Dec 8, 10:17am
I heard of 2 cases where the police took flashers to court on the charge of obstructing an officer in the execution of his duty (early 1980s in the Rotorua area). 1 pleaded guilty, but I can't remember the penalty. The other got off by challenging the police as to what duty he was obstructing. If his flashing caused any speeders to slow down then he was assisting the police by asking them to slow down. If no-one was speeding then the police had no duty to perform anyway.
Again I am only going from memory of a long time ago. I believe the judge in the second case was amused by the defence, and while finding the driver not guilty he was admonished to "not do it again."
321mat,
Dec 8, 6:17pm
Same here. It is the right thing to do.
And besides, even if the other motorists are just below/above the speed limit, it gives them a friendly reminder to check their speed.
cassina1,
Dec 10, 12:22am
Yes if you get flashed it is not always for a parked cop. I once got flashed for a tree across the road and another time ducks crossing the road. I have been flashed a few times where I have not seen any cop which gives me the impression they were perhaps hidden from view from my direction.
geedubu,
Dec 10, 12:30am
My father, who was an extremely law-abiding person (not so much as a parking ticket in his whole life) used to flash to warn on-coming motorists when I was a little kid in the 1950's. I think it is (was) a kiwi thing, and I still do it.
craigs_workshop,
Dec 11, 3:17am
some sad replies in here
but less care for your fellow human being is the way society has headed in our modern era
i cant remember the last time someone warned me about the taxation vans
redmouse,
Dec 11, 4:34pm
So am I a bad person for not flashing boy racers, courier vans and bloody milk tankers ?
billyfieldman,
Dec 11, 4:55pm
That's a good idea.
crosis_nz,
Dec 11, 5:50pm
I flashed a car recently that was obviously speeding on a long sweeping and blind corner leading into Wanganui from New Plymouth. All I got was the finger and the mouthing of various profanities from the driver.
I was tempted to turnaround and see how he got on as I was actually trying to warn him of an accident a few hundred metres up the road by Virginia Lake. Two cars had just crashed blocking most of the road and traffic was already building up.
luigi21,
Dec 12, 1:52am
lol yeh right .
ozz1,
Dec 12, 5:12pm
no . always wear my pants. whilst driving.
duncstars,
Dec 14, 1:42pm
They should put fake cardboard cutout police cars on the side of the road to slow people down. They won't though because then they wouldn't make any money. So clearly its about entrapment and punishment rather than prevention.
lusty9,
Jun 15, 8:02pm
No I don't beam my lights however if lights are beamed at me I raise my middle finger as a thanku gesture hahaha
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.