Is It Illegal To Flash Your Headlights at Another Car in Wisconsin?
You are driving home late one night, and you see another car driving in your direction with their brights on.
As a reflex you quickly flash your headlights at them to let the other driver know that they have their brights on.
Seems relatively harmless, right?
Well, in some states flashing your headlights is actually illegal!
So, Is It Illegal in Wisconsin?
In Wisconsin, there are actually specific laws regarding this sort of situation.
According to Wisconsin Statute 347.12(1), when a driver is within 500 feet of another vehicle at night, they MUST, " dim, depress or tilt the vehicle's headlights so that the glaring rays are not directed into the eyes of the operator of the other vehicle."
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation allows drivers to flash their brights at another vehicle to alert them that their headlights are on. It's actually a stipulation in this statute.
"This paragraph does not prohibit an operator from intermittently flashing the vehicle's high-beam headlamps at an oncoming vehicle whose high-beam headlamps are lit."
Other Reasons It Is Legal in Some Places
Over the past decade this has become such a hotly contested issue all across the country that it has been taken to court multiple times, and the American Civil Liberties Union has even had to step in.
In 2014, a Delaware driver flashed his brights to warn of a speed trap. The Delaware branch of the ACLU said, "The First Amendment gives people the right to flash their lights to send a message."
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