We\u2019ve all done it: Flashed our own lights at an oncoming vehicle which has yet to turn on its own lights, or to warn of upcoming poor road conditions like standing water or a lane obstruction. But when it comes to flashing our lights to warn oncoming traffic of a speed trap, we have cause for pause. Maybe we\u2019re afraid to intervene because the warning is considered illegal in many states. Or maybe we think the guy speeding toward us deserves to get caught — it would serve him right!<\/p>\n
Either way, a federal court in Missouri has now ruled that penalizing drivers for the headlight flash violates their First Amendment right to free speech. \u201cThe order,\u201d reports the Associated Press, \u201cstems from a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri on behalf of Michael Elli. On Nov. 17, 2012, Elli flashed his headlights to warn oncoming vehicles of a radar set up by Ellisville police.\u201d<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s so wrong about warning drivers of impending consequences? Well, if you\u2019re the police, the warning may rob you of meeting your quota for speeding tickets. If you\u2019re the municipality in which the warning takes place, you may be robbed of your income from the offender\u2019s fees and fines. But if you\u2019re the offender who receives and heeds the warning, you have everything to gain.<\/p>\n
The Missouri judge, in his ruling, said that the flashing of headlights was essentially a good thing, sending \u201ca message to bring one\u2019s driving in conformity with the law \u2014 whether it be by slowing down, turning on one\u2019s own headlamps at dusk or in the rain, or proceeding with caution.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your excuse for not warning a brother or sister of impending consequences for their reckless behavior. Maybe you\u2019re simply afraid to intervene — afraid of getting involved in a sticky situation. Or maybe you think they deserve what\u2019s coming — it would serve them right!<\/p>\n
Maybe we should all approach a fair warning to an erring brother like the federal judge in Missouri, considering a warning essentially a good thing, sending a message to bring another\u2019s behavior into conformity with God\u2019s law, sparing them and others of the harmful consequences. In the end, when we help others safely and cautiously navigate the roads of life, we all have something to gain.
\n \u201cDear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself\u201d (Galatians 6:1, NLT).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We\u2019ve all done it: Flashed our own lights at an oncoming vehicle which has yet to turn on its own lights, or to warn of upcoming poor road conditions like standing water or a lane obstruction. But when it comes to flashing our lights to warn oncoming traffic of a speed trap, we have cause […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[608,2062,167],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5419"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}