flashing headlights

Have you ever been driving down the road and noticed cars traveling in the opposite direction with their “headlights flashing”? Many times that means that a “speed trap” may be set up just around the bend or over the hill. If you came to this site to discover ways to get better gas mileage you will most likely not be speeding but the do unto others rule applies here. Wouldn’t you like to be alerted if you happened to inadvertently be going faster than the posted speed limit?

Wikipedia defines headlight flashing as ” 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, in an effort to communicate with another driver or drivers. This signal can be intended to convey a variety of messages, including a warning to other drivers of road hazards or of speed traps, and it can also be a form of aggressive driving. The legality of headlight flashing varies by jurisdiction.”

The practice of flashing headlights to warn oncoming traffic of possible “radar” in the area, used to be illegal in Florida but effective January 1, 2013, Florida motorists will no longer be ticketed for flashing headlights for any reason, including as a warning to other drivers that law enforcement officials are nearby. That could be welcome news for drivers who felt they were doing fellow motorists a service by giving a heads up that police were waiting in the shadows.

The original legislation, HB 1223, was introduced by Representative Ben Albritton (R-Bartow, 56th District), and proceeded through its assigned committees before being passed unanimously by the House and Senate. The law, approved by Governor Rick Scott on April 27, 2012, included provisions that amended section 316.97, Florida Statutes, pertaining to headlights. Here’s a link to the actual statute that it amended:

The measure contained several other provisions, including the creation of additional specialty tags and a revision of the definition of “swamp buggy”. For a summary of the legislation, please click here.

Keep in mind that the laws regarding “headlight flashing” vary from state to state.

Be a careful driver, slow down (this usually goes hand in hand with getting better gas mileage) and know the laws for your state.

After my last post, A Friendly Drive to better Mileage, it occurred to me when reading other gas mileage saving tips around the web that coasting in neutral might be illegal in Florida.

Not wanting to advocate breaking the law to save money on fuel, I asked my wife, Ofie, to look into it for me.

Here is what she found out.

HB 4019 passed the House on March 24, 2011 and passed the Senate on March 30, 2011. The bill was approved by the Governor on April 27, 2011, chapter 2011-9, Laws of Florida, and took effect on April 27, 2011.

The law repeals unnecessary language 316.2024, Florida Statutes, relating to motor vehicle operation. The language being repealed prohibits motor vehicle drivers from travelling on a downgrade with the vehicle in neutral or the clutch disengaged. (In other words, “coasting in neutral”).

So if you live inFlorida, you can now coast in neutral without fear of getting pulled over for it, which is unlikely anyway.  More importantly, you can do it without feeling guilty that you are doing something wrong.

Does coasting in neutral really save gas?  Is coasting in neutral safe?

Stay tuned for my next post ……