Unsuspecting drivers are being hit with huge fines for doing something many think is a friendly act but don’t realize is illegal.
Motorists in New South Wales can be fined up to $2200 for flashing their headlights, which is often done to warn other drivers of a speed camera or RBT ahead.
Senior lawyer Avinash Singh of Sydney law firm Astor Legal said there had been “a marked increase in the detection of these types of offences, particularly where mobile speed cameras or RBTs are installed”.
“Many people believe they cannot be charged for flashing their headlights to warn police because there is no specific rule against it,” Singh told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.
However, this offence can carry a fine of up to $2,200 in New South Wales.
Rule 218-1 of the New South Wales Road Traffic Rules 2014 states that it is an offence to drive on a road with your high beams on if there is another vehicle ahead, travelling in the same direction within 200 metres.
It is also an infraction if another vehicle approaches within 200 metres.
Drivers in New South Wales who flash their headlights to warn other drivers about a speed camera or RBT can be fined up to $2200
Sometimes police place officers around a speed camera or RBT to catch unwary drivers.
Regulation 219 also states that a New South Wales driver must not use any light fitted to his or her vehicle so as to dazzle, or in a manner likely to dazzle, another road user.
“Most other states have similar laws,” Singh said.
Police usually catch drivers watching the act.
“In the case of RBTs or mobile speed cameras, there will often be a few officers within a short distance of the RBT or speed cameras to watch out for drivers trying to avoid the RBT or flashing their headlights to warn other drivers,” Singh said.
Other states and territories have similar rules to New South Wales, with 200 metres being the standard distance someone using high beams must maintain from other vehicles.
In Queensland and the Northern Territory, laws state that drivers “may briefly flash their headlights before passing another vehicle.”