Posted: 10/24/2009 4:50:51 AM EDT
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So I am driving back from XXXX and see a state trooper on a hill performing a speed trap. I don't care because I do not speed.
As I pass him in the rain, I notice my lights were not on (I just stopped and filled up with fuel and turned them off). I turn them on, and notice the high beams are on? I click the high beams down to regular halogen strength. Well an unmarked radio car is driving in the opposite direction and sees this. He turns around, hits me with cherries and I pull over. He states I was warning oncoming traffic of the trap. He lets me go with a warning, probably because he realizes I could be telling the truth, am an ex USAF cop, or whatever. What law states you cannot warn for a speed trap? Is that why he let me go as the bottom line? V OUT |
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Quoted:
So I am driving back from XXXX and see a state trooper on a hill performing a speed trap. I don't care because I do not speed. As I pass him in the rain, I notice my lights were not on (I just stopped and filled up with fuel and turned them off). I turn them on, and notice the high beams are on? I click the high beams down to regular halogen strength. Well an unmarked radio car is driving in the opposite direction and sees this. He turns around, hits me with cherries and I pull over. He states I was warning oncoming traffic of the trap. He lets me go with a warning, probably because he realizes I could be telling the truth, am an ex USAF cop, or whatever. What law states you cannot warn for a speed trap? Is that why he let me go as the bottom line? V OUT I don't think there is a law about it, he was probably just being a douche. Of course, there could be a law about it that I don't know, but that doesn't mean he wasn't being a douche. |
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from what i have gathered, you are free to have your lights on or flash lights at people to warn of a speed trap when it is daylight or when lights are not otherwise required to be on. this is covered under freedom of speech or something along those lines. yes some guy did take this case all the way up the court system...
if you are driving at night, do not flash the high beams or turn on and off your main lights as that is not legal and you can be cited for it, bullshit, yes, but you can be cited none the less. hopefully a WI officer will chime in on this as i am by no means an expert, and the info i have read on this was from another state. |
| I'm definitely not an expert in this area, but the only thing I think they could make an issue out of is that you would be interfering with a police operation by doing this, even though you were not. I don't think it rises to the level of obstruction of justice though. |
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347.12 Use of multiple−beam headlamps. (1)(a) Whenever the operator of a vehicle equipped with multiple−beam headlamps approaches an oncoming vehicle within 500 feet, the operator shall dim, depress or tilt the vehicle’s headlights so that the glaring rays are not directed into the eyes of the operator
of the other vehicle. This paragraph does not prohibit an operator from intermittently flashing the vehicle’s high−beam headlamps at an oncoming vehicle whose high−beam headlamps are lit. The statute says nothing about hours of darkness, so daylight would count. Not sure what distance you were at w/high beams on when you passed him but if you had your high beams on w/in 500' of another vehicle you could be cited for "Failure to Dim Headlamps." Hope this helps. |
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Quoted:
He states I was warning oncoming traffic of the trap. He lets me go with a warning, probably because he realizes I could be telling the truth, am an ex USAF cop, or whatever. What law states you cannot warn for a speed trap? Is that why he let me go as the bottom line? Verbal warnings are not officially anything. If there was a real law, he would have given you a written warning with the statute number on the warning. He could have given you a bullshit cite for failure to dim soon enough or something retarded like that, but anything related to "warning" oncoming traffic about the speed trap would not have held up in court. |
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Quoted: Quoted: He states I was warning oncoming traffic of the trap. He lets me go with a warning, probably because he realizes I could be telling the truth, am an ex USAF cop, or whatever. What law states you cannot warn for a speed trap? Is that why he let me go as the bottom line? Verbal warnings are not officially anything. If there was a real law, he would have given you a written warning with the statute number on the warning. He could have given you a bullshit cite for failure to dim soon enough or something retarded like that, but anything related to "warning" oncoming traffic about the speed trap would not have held up in court. Bullshit. I stop cars and give verbal warnings all the time. My boss doesn't care if we drop paper on people or we just give verbal warnings. Even when we write warnings the driver of the vehicle doesn't get a copy unless there is something to be corrected (for example, a headlight out) which don't have a statute number on them either. As for warning oncoming drivers of speed traps? Correct, no law that I know of against that. |
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Bullshit. I stop cars and give verbal warnings all the time. My boss doesn't care if we drop paper on people or we just give verbal warnings. Even when we write warnings the driver of the vehicle doesn't get a copy unless there is something to be corrected (for example, a headlight out) which don't have a statute number on them either. As for warning oncoming drivers of speed traps? Correct, no law that I know of against that. I agree I stop cars and give verbal warnings all the time as well, and there is no law that I can think of about warning other motorists but, turning headlights off at night or flashing your brights could earn you a stop if the officer wanted. |
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Bullshit. I stop cars and give verbal warnings all the time. My boss doesn't care if we drop paper on people or we just give verbal warnings. Even when we write warnings the driver of the vehicle doesn't get a copy unless there is something to be corrected (for example, a headlight out) which don't have a statute number on them either. As for warning oncoming drivers of speed traps? Correct, no law that I know of against that. I agree I stop cars and give verbal warnings all the time as well, and there is no law that I can think of about warning other motorists but, turning headlights off at night or flashing your brights could earn you a stop if the officer wanted. Then you don't know your statutes  I believe the statute was cited above and yes.........it's illegal to flash you highbeams at oncoming traffic within 500 feet and it they are on..............you have to dim them. 347.12 (a) does allow you to flash your highbeams to warn someone if they have their highbeams on. This is one of those probable cause statutes for a pull over thats real hard to beat from a civilian point of view.
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Bullshit. I stop cars and give verbal warnings all the time. My boss doesn't care if we drop paper on people or we just give verbal warnings. I was referring to this specific case. I was not inferring that y'all never give verbal warnings for real offenses. As a matter of fact, I personally have gotten verbal warnings for actual violations so it would be silly for me to claim otherwise. |
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Then you don't know your statutes....I believe the statute was cited above and yes.........it's illegal to flash you highbeams at oncoming traffic within 500 feet and it they are on..............you have to dim them. 347.12 (a) does allow you to flash your highbeams to warn someone if they have their highbeams on. This is one of those probable cause statutes for a pull over thats real hard to beat from a civilian point of view. Kettle, meet pot..... You contradicted yourself in your own quote and thread. It is legal to flash your headlights.... The statute clearly gives an exception explicitly for flashing. The Statutes states that you must dim them if you are within 500 feet but may flash them to alert oncoming traffic that they have their high beams on. No where does it state that flashing is illegal as it calls it out as explicitly legal. It would be pretty difficult for the officer to state with confidence or with authority that there was absolutely no car in front of his with its high beams on. It is not hard to beat from a driver point of view but would be hard to beat from an officer point of view. Just take it to a jury. The law says you can flash and all the person did was flash..... no probable cause for anything....
347.12 Use of multiple−beam headlamps. (1)(a) Whenever the operator of a vehicle equipped with multiple−
beam headlamps approaches an oncoming vehicle within 500 feet, the operator shall dim, depress or tilt the vehicle’s headlights so that the glaring rays are not directed into the eyes of the operator of the other vehicle...This paragraph does not prohibit an operator from intermittently flashing the vehicle’s high−beam headlamps at an oncoming vehicle whose high−beam headlamps are lit. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Bullshit. I stop cars and give verbal warnings all the time. My boss doesn't care if we drop paper on people or we just give verbal warnings. Even when we write warnings the driver of the vehicle doesn't get a copy unless there is something to be corrected (for example, a headlight out) which don't have a statute number on them either. As for warning oncoming drivers of speed traps? Correct, no law that I know of against that. I agree I stop cars and give verbal warnings all the time as well, and there is no law that I can think of about warning other motorists but, turning headlights off at night or flashing your brights could earn you a stop if the officer wanted. Then you don't know your statutes I believe the statute was cited above and yes.........it's illegal to flash you highbeams at oncoming traffic within 500 feet and it they are on..............you have to dim them. 347.12 (a) does allow you to flash your highbeams to warn someone if they have their highbeams on. This is one of those probable cause statutes for a pull over thats real hard to beat from a civilian point of view. I know my statutes just fine. I'm aware you have to dim your high beams, that doesn't mean you can't warn others of "speed traps" you just can't do it by flashing your high beams. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Then you don't know your statutes....I believe the statute was cited above and yes.........it's illegal to flash you highbeams at oncoming traffic within 500 feet and it they are on..............you have to dim them. 347.12 (a) does allow you to flash your highbeams to warn someone if they have their highbeams on. This is one of those probable cause statutes for a pull over thats real hard to beat from a civilian point of view. Kettle, meet pot..... You contradicted yourself in your own quote and thread. It is legal to flash your headlights.... The statute clearly gives an exception explicitly for flashing. The Statutes states that you must dim them if you are within 500 feet but may flash them to alert oncoming traffic that they have their high beams on. No where does it state that flashing is illegal as it calls it out as explicitly legal. It would be pretty difficult for the officer to state with confidence or with authority that there was absolutely no car in front of his with its high beams on. It is not hard to beat from a driver point of view but would be hard to beat from an officer point of view. Just take it to a jury. The law says you can flash and all the person did was flash..... no probable cause for anything.... 347.12 Use of multiple−beam headlamps. (1)(a) Whenever the operator of a vehicle equipped with multiple− beam headlamps approaches an oncoming vehicle within 500 feet, the operator shall dim, depress or tilt the vehicle’s headlights so that the glaring rays are not directed into the eyes of the operator of the other vehicle...This paragraph does not prohibit an operator from intermittently flashing the vehicle’s high−beam headlamps at an oncoming vehicle whose high−beam headlamps are lit. That would depend on if there were any cars in front of him or not. |
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I always wondered this because there seems to be a lot of rumors/misinformation surrounding this type of thing. For instance may people claim a cop can't be hidden behind a billboard or something. I don't know...or really care (I'm not a speeder).
In Madison on the traffic reports they'll announce areas the police have a speed trap set up on. I always wondered why they did this, but probably in case someone tried claiming it was some sort of entrapment/illegal sting operation or something. The officer could just say, "It was announced on the radio and TV that this area was going to be watched today...here's your ticket, you were already warned." |
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I always wondered this because there seems to be a lot of rumors/misinformation surrounding this type of thing. For instance may people claim a cop can't be hidden behind a billboard or something. I don't know...or really care (I'm not a speeder). In Madison on the traffic reports they'll announce areas the police have a speed trap set up on. I always wondered why they did this, but probably in case someone tried claiming it was some sort of entrapment/illegal sting operation or something. The officer could just say, "It was announced on the radio and TV that this area was going to be watched today...here's your ticket, you were already warned." There is no "anti-hiding" law... You can't hide any better than in a plane flying overhead and that is perfectly legal..... It isn't entrapment when all they are doing is watching you speed..... They can put on an orange vest and stand in with highway workers and clock you with radar, then have someone else pull you over. The warning not to speed is the posted speed limit...
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