Is this illegal?

11/19/2009 9:18:55 PM

I know in NY it is. Not sure about NC.

11/19/2009 9:25:48 PM

DO NOT FLASH YOUR LIGHTS AT THEM! This is a common Bloods gang member "initiation game" that goes like this:

The new gang member under initiation drives along with no headlights, and the first car to flash their headlights at him is now his "target". He is now required to turn around and chase that car, then shoot and kill every individual in the vehicle in order to complete his initiation requirements.

Police Depts across the nation are being warned that September 23rd and 24th is the "blood" initiation weekend. Their intent is to have all the new bloods nationwide drive around on Friday and Saturday nights with their headlights off. In order to be accepted into the gang, they have to shoot and kill all individuals in the first auto that does a courtesy flash to warn them that their lights are off. Make sure you share this information with all the drivers in your family!

11/19/2009 9:25:56 PM

lol

11/19/2009 9:26:42 PM

yeah i think thats an urban legend

11/19/2009 9:27:50 PM

:carlface:

11/19/2009 9:34:23 PM

i think he may be kidding guys

11/19/2009 9:37:12 PM

Hey joie. I think you know a girl i work with in the summers. (completely non-creepy facebook find)

11/19/2009 9:41:38 PM

i don't understand why it would be illegal.

11/19/2009 10:00:10 PM

Obstruction of justice or some might even qualify it as "conspiracy" to commit a crime. I don't if these things ever actually get charged though.

11/19/2009 10:01:32 PM

how is reminding people to go the speed limit any sort of obstruction of justice?

11/19/2009 10:02:41 PM

I don't agree with it--but the idea is that you're interfering with the cop "investigating" speeding drivers. Really, you're obstructing their ability to make revenue, and they don't like that.

11/19/2009 10:05:03 PM

which is bullshit. regardless, i still flash my lights, and appreciate people who flash them for me.

11/19/2009 10:06:40 PM

I mean, the end result is speeders slow the crap down either way. But this way no one has to pay any money. Which is probably why the cops hate it.

11/19/2009 10:11:07 PM

It's very questionable, some people might argue that it is actually free speech. That's an extremely interesting question actually - speech does not need to be actual words. On the other hand, a police officer would likely argue that it is "obstruction of a law enforcement officer".. but that would be extremely questionable.

It's really no different than going into a convenience store where the cops send someone underage in to buy beer, and saying to the cashier "Don't sell to that guy, I know him, he's part of a police crackdown on beer sales to minors." This is not legal advice, but in my first-glance opinion I would say free speech. Each state varies of course.

11/19/2009 10:15:53 PM

In Alabama they'll hit you with failure to dim lights on a highway if you do it at night. They'll pull you for it during the day but they can't charge you officially. I've heard stories of them making the non-ticket as painful as possible though.

11/19/2009 10:18:06 PM

Quote :

"In Alabama they'll hit you with failure to dim lights on a highway if you do it at night"

Uhhh...wtf

11/19/2009 10:21:06 PM

Quote :

"i still flash my lights, and appreciate people who flash them for me"

11/19/2009 10:21:46 PM

i thought this thread was going to be about breasts.

11/19/2009 10:36:46 PM

what if you stood a quater mile up the road from a cop shooting radar that read "POSSIBLE SPEED TRAP AHEAD". would that differ from "WARNING: COP HIDING BEHIND PYLON AHEAD"

11/19/2009 10:39:10 PM

[Edited on November 19, 2009 at 10:43 PM. Reason : .]

11/19/2009 10:40:49 PM

Quote :

"In Alabama they'll hit you with failure to dim lights on a highway if you do it at night"

Yeah it's something similar in NY. Total bs if you manage to get the ticket.

11/19/2009 10:48:33 PM

I remember in High School I took a law class for like 2 weeks before dropping it. Is it legal for a trucker to use his CB radio to warn other truckers about a speed trap?

That's free speech, right?

I think I actually said it was ILLEGAL at the time. Ah, young Madman.

11/19/2009 10:48:50 PM

If it were legal why would they use code like "bear in the bush"?

11/19/2009 11:03:26 PM

I was 17 and noble.

I think I raised my hand and was like "yeah but that stops the police from doing their job".

11/19/2009 11:06:56 PM

Quote :

"In Alabama they'll hit you with failure to dim lights on a highway if you do it at night"

Many states require that you dim your high-beams for on-coming cars at night. That part isn't particularly controversial.

11/19/2009 11:20:46 PM

I do it anyway.......if I get a ticket for it I will make a thread and we can all complain about how unfair it is.

11/19/2009 11:55:02 PM

lol

11/20/2009 1:03:49 AM

Quote :

"It's very questionable, some people might argue that it is actually free speech."

Like making up a story about Dave, Julie, and the kids, right?

11/20/2009 1:43:18 AM

Who cares if it's illegal? The world would be a better place if everyone did it. Don't be a pussy and stop contributing to how much the world sucks.



[Edited on November 20, 2009 at 2:19 AM. Reason : l]

11/20/2009 2:19:21 AM

I'll do it during the day. I don't do it at night though, to avoid accidentally flashing my lights at another cop.

11/20/2009 5:37:38 AM

How about flashing your lights to warn of deer?

11/20/2009 6:15:15 AM

I don't see the problem.

This seems to be the same as an empty police car sitting on the side of the road. If it causes people to slow down, who cares?

I would think off duty police officers would do this all the time to cause people to slow down

11/20/2009 8:14:09 AM

I guess the "my hand slipped while trying to use the turn signal" somehow wouldn't work.

Also, it seems like the likelihood of getting caught would be rather small. I'd imagine that there would have to be a cop coming from the other direction to even notice. So do cops pull someone over and call for someone to circle around and around so they can look for this with each pass?

11/20/2009 8:18:39 AM

I also flash my lights to warn of deer, a wreck down the road, or some other reason for oncoming drivers to slow down...

what a stupid law.

11/20/2009 5:19:46 PM

Quote :

"It's very questionable, some people might argue that it is actually free speech. That's an extremely interesting question actually - speech does not need to be actual words. On the other hand, a police officer would likely argue that it is "obstruction of a law enforcement officer".. but that would be extremely questionable."

i direct your attention to:

Quote :

"Santilia was arrested and briefly detained by campus police Thursday morning after an officer saw her using a radio to let fellow students know where police were posted. She was released after she was given a citation ordering her to court in January to face a charge of resisting an officer. Police took her radio and cell phone."

from http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/19/california.tuition.protests/index.html

11/20/2009 6:23:30 PM

Quote :

"I would think off duty police officers would do this all the time to cause people to slow down"

I would think that most off duty police officers don't give a shit about speeding much more than anyone else. Tickets are largely about money, and cops have to write them if they want to continue being cops.

11/20/2009 10:10:16 PM

^^fuck that. that is just a pompous ass cop on a power trip. let's worry about all the pedophiles and rapists that have been popping up these past couple months rather than a light flasher....

11/21/2009 3:55:14 AM

I usually try to flash my lights to let others know. I expect them to do the same.

11/21/2009 4:00:33 AM

uh you want to warn other drivers? it is their fault son. I mean don't want a ticket don't speed.

Especially since our state needs some money right now, fine the hell out of speeders is one way to do it.......................

you all would hate me as governor.

11/21/2009 7:30:23 AM

Quote :

"some people might argue that it is actually free speech"

I totally would say this is a variation of free speech, but unfortunately like many of the "rights" afforded to us as Americans, it only applies when it is good for the gub'ment and their enforcers. Even though you have the right to say what ever you want, you can still get in trouble for doing it- It would be like if the cops were investigating a case and you leaked important information that would hinder the investigation. While this is a more negative situation of voicing what you know of their operations, it is along the same lines, and could be considered obstruction.

as for the legality of this, you should PM Repubilican18 or Restricted and ask them.... I think it is not illegal but I could be wrong. I just never heard about it one way or the other and have never heard of anyone getting in trouble. I always do it and definitely appreciate when other people do, although it rarely affects me because I typically only go 5 miles over the speed limit- no need for me to go speeding around town in my truck.

11/21/2009 9:19:27 AM

ummm the lights and use of them on your vehicle are all completely regulated. Has nothing to do with "speech"

11/23/2009 12:19:11 AM

i thought that there was a law specifically for this...

11/23/2009 1:28:24 AM

The laws state how you are supposed to use your lights, and for the most part, I wish people would follow them. Lights on at dusk and with wipers are both pretty big deals to me.

11/23/2009 1:30:25 AM

I go by Duke's philosophy on speeding:

It's a premium driving tax.

11/23/2009 8:17:44 AM

VVRe: free speech.. Watch the Penn & Teller episode about Breast Hysteria. They have a constitutional lawyer talk about the freedom of speech applying to non-verbal acts. In the case of the episode it was baring your tits.

Basically what it boils down to non-verbal acts have to be sending a political message that is obvious. In the case of the tits, they were constitutionally protected because she was specifically protesting the ordinances that tell her not to bare her tits. It was obvious that she was protesting, there were fliers, tons of people, the media, and it was planned. If she were to just flash her tits on the side of the road, it would not be protected.

That being said, just flashing your lights would not be protected by existing case law as a protected First Amendment light unless you were doing them at a rally to protest speed laws or something. I'm not saying that it's illegal in NC (I'm not looking up the law), just don't expect to be able to argue freedom of speech.


V, Not when it violates other laws. You can't just claim "freedom of speech" when breaking laws and expect to get away with it unless there is precedent. And in this case the precedent seems to be you have to be sending a political message. And it has to be obvious. "Damn the man" probably doesn't count.

[Edited on November 23, 2009 at 8:51 AM. Reason : VV]

11/23/2009 8:45:43 AM

Quote :

"ummm the lights and use of them on your vehicle are all completely regulated. Has nothing to do with "speech" "

any form of communication to others is covered under the term "speech"... type isn't spoken- still covered under free speech. The reason everyone is talking about this being a problem with the law is not because it would be a safety hazard which would be the only reason it would be regulated. The point is that the cops would be upset that you would be warning other drivers about their presence- which would be like them yelling at you for standing on the side of the road with a sign saying "Watch Out." Speaking of which, that does remind me of how they tore down the sign on gorman right before the dominion when they would post up in that cul-de-sac type thing

11/23/2009 8:46:48 AM

Here you lazy assholes:

Quote :

"§ 20-181. Penalty for failure to dim, etc., beams of headlamps. Any person operating a motor vehicle on the highways of this State, who shall fail to shift, depress, deflect, tilt or dim the beams of the headlamps thereon whenever another vehicle is met on such highways or when following another vehicle at a distance of less than 200 feet, except when engaged in the act of overtaking and passing may, upon a determination of responsibility for the offense, be required to pay a penalty of not more than ten dollars ($10.00). (1939, c. 351, s. 3; 1955, c. 913, s. 1; 1987, c. 581, s. 5.)"

It's a crime. It'll cost you ten bucks. Probably more because you'll piss off the cop and he'll make other shit up. Stick it to the man if you want.

11/23/2009 8:56:37 AM

Quote :

"If she were to just flash her tits on the side of the road, it would not be protected."

Can anyone actually justify this type of law with something other than "uhh, that's the way it's always been."

11/23/2009 9:20:15 AM

I'm not saying I agree with it. It's puritanical bullshit (hence an episode of Bullshit! dedicated to it). The episode focused more on people giving breastfeeding women a hard time. Which is also total bullshit.

11/23/2009 9:40:40 AM