Is Flashing Your High Beams at Another Car Illegal in Connecticut?
Last week at around 5 AM, I found myself in a flashing headlights battle with another driver on the Exit 7(Super 7) stretch of highway heading towards the radio station in Brookfield.
The car driver traveling in the opposite direction began flashing his brights at me even though I didn't have my brights on. I then flashed my brights at him, and he proceeded to flashback, and so it continued.
This ordeal got me to wondering if flashing your headlights at another driver is considered legal or illegal in Connecticut. I must have consulted 7 or 8 different websites as I searched for the answer. My first destination was the Driver's Manual from the Connecticut DMV, and on Page 38 under the heading of "Lights", I thought I had struck paydirt. Here is how it read:
• Use your high beams whenever there are no oncoming vehicles. It is important to use high beams on unfamiliar roads, in construction areas, or where there may be people along the side of the road.
• Dim your high beams whenever you come within about a one-block distance of an oncoming vehicle.
• Use your low beams when following another vehicle or when in heavy traffic.
My next stop was Wikipedia where they actually had a listing for "Headlight Flashing". They did state the definition, which reads,
Headlight flashing is the act of either briefly switching on the headlights of a car, or of momentarily switching between a headlight's high beams and low beams.
That was certainly no help whatsoever, but they also wrote that "the legality of headlight flashing varies by jurisdiction." I found this YouTube video called Ask Trooper Steve from a Florida TV station about whether it's okay to flash your brights behind a driver so they would move over.
My next stop was the I-95 Facebook Page, where I asked the question, "Is it legal or illegal to flash your high beams at an oncoming driver?" Thank you to everyone who responded. Alex said, "It's covered under the First Amendment. Flash your lights!"
Kristen responded, stating, "It doesn't matter; it's simply annoying." Matt checked in, saying, "I can't imagine why it would be illegal." David weighed in, saying, "It's legal; it says to do it in the leaner's handbook." WHAT?!
In conclusion, I discovered it is legal to flash your high beams to warn other drivers of a road hazard up ahead, and according to an article that Theresa posted, you CAN flash your lights at other drivers to warn them of a speed trap.
UP NEXT: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving
More From The Wolf
