Welcome to motoring in Britain, 2025 edition – where common courtesy behind the wheel is apparently a crime
You know that little flash of headlights you do to help out a fellow motorist – to say “watch out, mate, there’s a speed trap ahead”? Yeah… turns out that could cost you £1,000. Yup. One grand. For being a nice person.
Let’s set the scene. You’re cruising down a lovely British B-road in your pride and joy – maybe a classic Porsche 911 if you’ve got good taste (and deep pockets). Coming the other way is a fellow car enthusiast – say, a BMW M3 driver. He’s clocked a lurking speed camera van hidden in the bushes, so gives you a little flash of the headlights as a heads up. It’s the petrolhead code. Solidarity. Brotherhood. A small act of rebellion against The Man.
But now? That flash could be interpreted as “obstructing a police officer in the execution of their duty” or even “perverting the course of justice.” Seriously. To be fair, this has actually been the case for a while now, but it’s jumped back in the news, not least because of the big fine that awaits those looking out for fellow motorists.
The Legal Nonsense
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, using your lights to warn of a speed trap could be classed as preventing the lawful apprehension of a criminal. Which sounds a bit over-the-top when we’re talking about someone doing 35 in a 30 zone while trying to get their crying baby home. And yes – motorists can be fined up to £1,000 for this. A grand for being grand.
So What Are We Supposed to Do?
Apparently, just let fellow motorists get zapped and fined. Keep calm and carry on – eyes forward, no flashing, no waving, no head nods. Nothing to see here. Nothing to do with you. Just mind your own business. If you saw someone about about to walk into an open manhole, don’t move a muscle either. Let them fall. Because these days, we don’t look out for each other anymore.
You’ve got to ask – it is even about speed enforcement anymore? Or is it about control? Revenue? Making an example out of people for daring to look out for each other?
Have We Lost the Plot?
Driving is already stressful enough – 20mph zones popping up faster than speed cameras, potholes that can eat expensive alloys whole, insurance premiums costing more than your entire car, and low emission zones sending perfectly usable good old cars to the great scrapper in the sky. And now they want to criminalise courtesy?
At this rate, I half expect to get three points for smiling at a pedestrian.
The Real Danger
Let’s be honest: we all know why people flash their lights. It’s not to mess with enforcement – it’s to stop someone getting penalised for a silly, minor lapse in speed. It’s about awareness, not obstruction. If anything, it slows drivers down before the camera, making roads safer. Surely that’s the whole point right? Why else are speed cameras painted bright yellow? So why penalise kind behaviour that would also in itself, automatically deter speeding?
Unfair Prosecution
Another nail in the coffin of motoring culture. Another reason drivers feel persecuted. And another sign of a system that’s forgotten we’re humans behind the wheel, not criminals.
So, I want to know – have you ever flashed your lights to warn someone? Have you ever been flashed and felt grateful? Should this be considered a punishable offence, or is this just another overreach in the war on drivers?
Let’s get the conversation going – leave a comment, share the video, and subscribe for more straight-talking motoring commentary. Because car guys stand for drivers.
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