Sydney lawyer reveals spike in fines over little-known driving rule with $2200 penalty

There has been a spike in motorists caught flashing their high beams on the road, according to one Sydney lawyer.

He said his clients had not been aware that they could be nabbed and fined for the act of alerting oncoming drivers of police presence on the road.

“I’ve received an increased number of inquiries from people who have been caught flashing their high beams, warning oncoming drivers of police,” Astor Legal principal lawyer Avinash Singh told 7NEWS.com.au.

“Most of my clients have been caught doing this by a mobile speed camera or an RBT, which they don’t realise can catch them out on this offence.”

The offence comes with an on-the-spot fine of $112 and one demerit point, and a maximum penalty of $2200.

It is considered an unlawful use of headlights on high-beam, according to the Australian Road Rules.

“It is an offence to drive on a road with high-beam headlights on if there is another vehicle in front, travelling in the same direction within 200m; or if there is another oncoming vehicle within 200m,” Singh said.

“Similarly, road rules state that a driver must not use any light fitted to their vehicle to dazzle, or in a way that is likely to dazzle, another road user.”

“It is arguable that flashing your headlights to warn of police would fall into the definition of ‘hindering police’ in the execution of their duty “

But a spokesperson from the Police Commissioner’s office previously told The West that the offences for flashing headlights to warn drivers of police were “extremely difficult to prove”.

Motorists on Reddit have described headlight flashing as representing “a camaraderie between motorists” with one calling it “the Aussie way”.

But opinions are divided over how the action impacts driver safety.

“Traffic laws are meant to act as a deterrent for dangerous driving, flashing a fellow motorist has the same effect the ticket is meant to but with more immediate results. It should be widely encouraged,” one commenter wrote.

“I feel it only changes the driver’s behaviour for a few seconds, but removes the deterrent of getting a fine. So it probably makes traffic, in general, more dangerous,” another said.

“The headlight flashers have transitioned to the Waze app,” another wrote, referencing the map application which alerts drivers to the location of police based on user reports.