Lane Ranger

Florida law is against the headlight flasher

The other day, I was driving up Interstate 75 when a car coming the opposite way flashed its headlights at me.

As veterans of the interstate highway system know, flashing headlights are the universal signal that trouble is up ahead.

Sure enough, within a mile I saw a fleet of Florida Highway Patrol cars and motorcycles on the shoulder. In all, five cars had been pulled over, presumably for speeding.

I'd always been told that flashing your lights to indicate the presence of John Law was illegal. At the very least, I was convinced it was frowned upon by authorities - and few sights are more intimidating than a frowning cop.

Let's consult our Florida statutes, shall we? Title XXIII, chapter 316, rule 2397, subsection 7, to be precise.

"Flashing lights are prohibited on vehicles except as a means of indicating a right or left turn, to change lanes, or to indicate that the vehicle is lawfully stopped or disabled upon the highway," the code says.

There are a few exceptions, such as when you flash your lights to indicate that another driver's high beams are on. But none of the exceptions has anything to do with speed traps.

While it's technically the law, enforcing this code is not high on officers' priority lists. They'd rather be pursuing speeders and drunk drivers, not folks who flash their high beams.

"If push came to shove, you could find something to write them for," said FHP Lt. David Apgar, though he said he tends to look the other way when it happens.

For some cops, looking the other way isn't an option.

"Blinking the high beams on and off? That's illegal," says Hillsborough County sheriff's Deputy Patty Morris of the department's traffic safety awareness team.

Morris said she and the rest of the team try to stop all the flashers who interfere with radar patrols. But she said drivers who are written up often claim they were flashing because an oncoming driver had his bright lights on, making it tough for the tickets to stand up in court.

Still, the very threat of a moving violation and a $90 fine may be enough to keep some drivers' high beams off.

Of course, I did slow down when that driver signaled at me on I-75. So don't worry - the law may not forgive you for flashing your lights, but I sure will.

WARNING: The Lane Ranger has determined that smoking may be hazardous to your car's health.

Here's an antismoking message for you. A few weeks ago, up in the flavor country that is Seffner, a Thonotosassa woman was driving her Mercury north on Kingsway.

All of a sudden, she lost control. Not of her car - her lit cigarette.

As she fumbled with the fallen cig, she rear-ended a shipping van, "becoming trapped in the framework and tires," according to the crash report.

The truck dragged the Mercury 358 feet down the road before pulling off the road.

I'm sure it was a terrifying ordeal for the woman, but you know how some smokers are. The woman may have still been searching for the cigarette in the floorboard.

Luckily, the woman is still alive with pleasure; she was treated for minor injuries on the scene.

But her car sustained a whopping $5,000 worth of damage.

Guess she'll have to walk a mile for her next Camel.

Brandon Times headlines