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LARRY AND I WERE RETURNING HOME
from a gig in Minnesota a week ago when I met a car which appeared to
have his brights on. I tapped a quick flash of my high beams – like I
have a thousand times before. He didn't appear to dim his lights as we
met – as so many fail to do.
I shot a glimpse of him in my rear-view mirror after we'd passed and
noticed he did a quick u-turn. His red lights went on. I ran a quick
check: speedometer revealed 53 mph – under the speed limit. And nope,
hadn't been distracted, weaving or otherwise driving erratically. Hmmmm .
. . what's this all about?
I obediently pulled onto the right shoulder, grabbed my driver's license; and Larry and I exchanged puzzled glances.
A young patrolman approached cautiously on the passenger's side wielding
a jumbo flashlight which he immediately shone directly into Larry's
eyes. I promptly rolled down Larry's window.
Patrolman: “Do you know why I stopped you?”
Me: “No.”
Patrolman: “What did you do when you met me?”
Me: “I flashed my lights, 'cuz you had your brights on.”
Patrolman: “I did NOT have my brights on. Even if I did, do you think it's safe to BLIND me??!!”
Me: “It looked like you had your brights on, and I simply flashed my lights as a courtesy to alert you so you'd dim them.”
Patrolman: “It's illegal to flash your headlights – it's a violation of Iowa Code 321.415.”
Me: “You're kidding! I've done that for years. Why do they even make
this little pull-lever on the column if it's illegal to flash your
headlights?!” (I demonstrated by pulling the lever several times as if the patrolman had never seen a switch like that before.)
Patrolman: “Do you think it's safe to BLIND oncoming drivers?”
Me: “Uh no.” (thinking I'd better not pursue my counter-argument – don't want to get a ticket!)
What I wanted to say at this point was: “If a half-second flash of my headlights BLINDS you or anyone else for that matter, someone might need an eye exam!” But my better judgment kicked in, and I kept my mouth shut.
“I'm giving you a warning this time. Don't be flashing your brights anymore!” He curtly handed me the warning, did a quick about-face; and that was that!
Of course Larry and I had a spirited discussion during the remaining 15 minutes of our return trip.
“Well, I never . . .”
“Can you believe it??!!”
“I've been driving 50 years and blah, blah, blah . . .”
“I thought he was very condescending, etc. etc.”
“Talk about blinding someone - I almost said something to him about shining that flashlight right in my eyes!!”
“I don't believe that's illegal . . .”
Et cetera, et cetera all the way home!
Of course I had to look up the Iowa Code when I got home. Here's what it says:
321.415 Required usage of lighting devices.
1.
Whenever a motor vehicle is being operated on a roadway or shoulder
during the times specified in section 321.384, the driver shall use a
distribution of light, or composite beam, directed high enough and of
sufficient intensity to reveal persons and vehicles at a safe distance
in advance of the vehicle, subject to the following requirements and
limitations:
a.
Whenever a driver of a vehicle approaches an oncoming vehicle within
one thousand feet, the driver shall use a distribution of light, or
composite beam, so aimed that the glaring rays are not projected into
the eyes of the oncoming driver. The lowermost distribution of light, or
composite beam, specified in section 321.409, subsection 1, paragraph
“b”, shall be deemed to avoid glare at all times, regardless of road
contour and loading.
Well, I'm not a lawyer; but I don't see anything in there about it being illegal to flash one's lights – but it does
say that when approaching another driver – within 1,000 feet – one
should not aim “glaring rays” into the eyes of the oncoming driver (how
about aiming a flashlight's “glaring rays” into the eyes of a
passenger?)
So the next day, I ran it past my mother (who is a lawyer) and also my good friend Tressa Slack (who also is a lawyer.) I didn't get much sympathy – especially from Tressa who said:
“Because you 'flashed' your lights at him, technically you violated
section 'a' of the code, because your lights were glaring into his
eyes - for however a brief moment.”
I did a little more online investigation and found
that there have been several cases and considerable litigation
(especially by the American Civil Liberties Union) regarding the “right”
to flash one's headlights. The ACLU contends that flashing one's
headlights is protected under the First Amendment.
Still not satisfied, I called the patrolman's sergeant at the Iowa
Patrol district office seeking clarification on this somewhat vague
section (in my opinion) of the Iowa Code.
The sergeant was as congenial as the patrolman was brusque. She
patiently allowed me to blow off a little steam – even sympathizing with
me by sharing a couple examples of a few of the seemingly
counter-intuitive traffic laws on the books.
So OK, I felt better after venting to the Sergeant. But now a week and
half later, I still feel vaguely uncomfortable now that headlight
flashing is technically off the table for me – or for anyone else in
Iowa for that matter.
I'm curious what you think. If anyone out there has an opinion regarding
"To flash or not to flash," please share it with me by clicking here.
I will in turn share (anonymously) your responses with the subscribers in a future newsletter.
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