Is It Illegal To Flash Headlights at Oncoming Drivers?
We have all done it a time or two. However, we wouldn’t have understood the severity of the practice. What am I talking about? I’m speaking of flashing your headlights as a warning to oncoming traffic of a possible speed check down the road.
According to Louisiana statue 32.327c, it is against the law to flash your headlights unless you are warning drivers of a traffic hazard. If you know like I know, this is definitely not the reason most drivers flash their lights. When I was younger, there was an urban legend that if you saw a car flashing lights at you and you flashed back as a sign of acknowledgment, it could be a possible gang member trying to stop you. If you stopped, they would harm you. This was supposedly a means of an initiation for that individual to join that gang.
I remember I was traveling home to Mississippi at night a few years ago and saw this car on the other side, flashing their lights. I didn’t flash back, but up the road was a patrol car on my side. I took it as a warning to slow down, and I’m glad I did. So, just for you to know, it is against the law to flash your headlights as a warning to your fellow drivers unless, in fact, you are warning them of a road hazard.