Anyone who has driven for a few years has probably experienced a friendly flash of high beams during a night-time drive. The gesture can mean many things. It could mean: “Put on your headlights, bonehead!” It can mean trouble ahead. Or more, commonly, it can mean: “Slow down, there’s a speed trap ahead!”

The debate about warning drivers of impending speeding doom heated up this week with the story of a Toronto-area man who fought the law. He won.

One Saturday morning last year, Brad Diamond flashed his high beams at oncoming traffic. It was a gesture to warn other drivers of a police speed trap. It ended up costing him $110.

Diamond thought something wasn’t right, and he did some research. Turns out there was no law on the books that makes it illegal to warn other drivers of a speed trap. Ontario isn’t the only place. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador have no laws that would make it illegal to flash the high beams as a courtesy.

Diamond fought the ticket in court, and police finally had to admit there was no formal law. Other drivers have taken their fight to the Supreme Court of Alberta. In the United States, the top court in Pennsylvania has dealt with the issue.

I say good on the courts for recognizing a no-win situation. Or maybe it’s a win-win situation.

What is the one thing both police and the motoring public want drivers to do? Slow down. I’ve been the recipient of a speeding ticket in the past. Other than lighten my wallet, it also reminded me to change my driving habits and slow down.

But I’ve also been on the receiving end of a flash of the high beams from a motorist who has just whipped past a speed trap. Guess what? The result was the same. I slowed down! Isn’t that the ultimate goal here?

The question of whether it’s right to expose police speed traps is one I’ve wrestled with for years. As a morning-show radio host, part of my job is to deliver traffic news. Many times, that information includes where police have set up shop to catch speeders.

The policy of our radio station is not to say outright, “Smokey with a radar gun on the 101 near Sackville.” Rather, we sugar-coat it and allude to the fact that you best slow down if you are driving on the 101 near Sackville. Either way, the message is clear.

We even have a Mountie as a regular character on the show who routinely tells us where he is nabbing speeders. Even many police agencies can’t agree on whether they like it known where the speed traps are.

A valley-area RCMP officer pleaded this week with drivers to obey speed limits. Young people are dying in record numbers on Nova Scotia highways. I don’t care if it’s a $110 ticket that gets them to remember the speed limit, or a reminder flash from a fellow motorist. Let’s hope the result will be the same.

Last time I checked, the purpose of speeding tickets is not to generate revenue, but to punish offenders. Fewer offenders will mean fewer speeders. Fewer speeders will mean fewer deaths. Works for me.

Tell ya what – even if you don’t see a speed trap, give a flash of the high beams every now and then, just to keep us on our toes. It’s a gentle reminder to slow down. You’ll do us all a favour, and you may save someone a $110 ticket and a few points on their license.

Also, see this article.