Flashing Your Headlights In Texas As A Warning – Legal?

You see a cop, hidden and watching for speeders so you flash your headlights at oncoming drivers. We all do it but, in Texas, is it legal?

In Texas ... and just about everywhere else I've ever driven ... , you see it all the time. Peeps trying to be cool and warn other folks about a speed trap to save them a ticket.

Depending on the situation though, saving the other guy a ticket could cost you one. I don't know exactly how common it is but it could happen.

Texas has no specific law against this but your intentions could be called into question and that's where the landscape for citing you can really open up.

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The question of whether it is illegal to warn drivers of a speed trap in Texas is not a clear-cut matter. Texas law does not explicitly prohibit the act of flashing headlights to alert others to the presence of law enforcement. Legal interpretations have varied, with some cases upholding the right to do so as protected speech under the First Amendment. - bryanfagan.com

The website where I found that in quote also cautioned Texas drivers that while this doesn't seem to be illegal, there is a "gray area" police can operate in that would allow a citation. They could cite you for having "flashing lights" on your vehicle or for distracting other drivers ... maybe even interfering with a police officer.

It's a reach but, according to Fagan, sometimes these citations hold up. I'm going to keep doing it myself but the lawyer's right, it could backfire.