Flashing Headlamps at Oncoming Traffic to Warn of Upcoming Speed Traps

An ever-increasing trend that you may have noticed while driving is headlamp flashing, particularly as a warning of a possible police speed trap up ahead. Often times in my own vehicle or when I'm in my work truck, I've passed by many motorists who had the courtesy to warn me of an upcoming speed trap by flashing their lights at me. I'll be honest, the first few times this happened to me, I was confused and didn't exactly know why the oncoming traffic was flashing their lights at me. However, by the second or third occurrence of this, I quickly figured out why they were flashing their lights at me. Seeing the police speed trap in the other lane of traffic after having just been "flashed" clued me in on what was going on. It wasn't long afterward that I began giving a "thank you" flash back to the other drivers. Now, as I mentioned before, I hardly ever speed anymore, and when I do, it's almost always by mistake, without me realizing that I'm speeding. However, I still appreciate the gesture from others drivers and I always thank them. It's still good to know where there's a speed trap around so it doesn't take me by surprise. Due to my past experiences with the law when I did used to speed, I still tense up when I see police on the road, especially when they're running radar, setting up speed traps, or doing other traffic-type patrolling. When another motorist warns me of a speed trap, this takes the surprise out of it and gives me a chance to double-check my current speed and slow down, if necessary.

So, keep in mind next time you're driving along and another motorist in the other lane seems to randomly flash his or her lights at you, it's likely that they're warning you of a speed trap. Of course, you may want to make sure you're not doing anything else wrong or have your high beams on, left a turn signal on, or something of that nature. In any occasion, be sure and return the favor by thanking the motorist of the warning. I hope this little tip helps you on your daily travels on the road.