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Title: Driver claiming 'free speech' sues after getting a ticket for flashing lights to warn others of speed trap
Source:
Daily Mail Online
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... ng-lights-warn-speed-trap.html
Published: Sep 12, 2011
Author: Laurie Whitwell
Post Date: 2011-09-12 20:03:40 by Sebastian
Keywords: None
Views: 7585
Comments: 9
Driver claiming 'free speech' sues after getting a ticket for flashing lights to warn others of speed trap A Florida driver is suing the state for wrongly issuing thousands of tickets to people who flashed their lights to warn other motorists of speed traps. Erich Campbell says the act is not illegal and has filed a lawsuit on behalf of every driver fined for the violation over the past six years, accusing police of misinterpreting state law and violating motorists' free speech rights. 'I don't like what the government is doing, especially now when most people have a hard time affording gas,' the 38-year-old told WTSP.com. 'And now they have to defend themselves against a made up charge that doesn't exist.' Class action: Erich Campbell is suing the state of Florida on behalf of 2,500 drivers wrongly issued with tickets for flashing their lights Mr Campbell, of Land O'Lakes, was driving the Veterans Expressway in Tampa two years ago when he noticed two black Florida Highway Patrol cruisers in the median, with their lights off. He did what he always does and flashed his lights to oncoming motorists to warn them of the impending speed trap. The officers did not take kindly though, and within 60 seconds they had pulled him over and were in the process of issuing him a ticket for $115 for improper flashing of high beams Mr Campbell says the FHP trooper told him what he had done was illegal. 'You could tell in his voice he was upset,' Mr Campbell told WSTP.com. 'He was professional, he wasn't rude, but you could tell he was irritated.' Mr Campbell later learned that flashing lights is not an offence, though, and had his ticket dismissed by Hillsborough County Judge Raul Palomino. Ticket: Mr Campbell says motorists are being unlawfully punished by frustrated police officers who feel they were disrespected Angered for others affected, Mr Campbell hired attorney J. Marc Jones of Oviedo, and filed a class action suit which says 'Florida Statue 316.2397' - under which Mr Campbell was cited - 'does not prohibit the flashing of headlights as a means of communications, nor does it in any way reference flashing headlights or the use of high beams.' Mr Campbell says police are misinterpreting a law which is meant to ban drivers from having strobe lights in their cars or official-looking blue police lights. The lawsuit states the FHP is fully aware they are wrongfully applying the state law and they are doing it as a means of generating revenue. In 2005, a court order was even issued saying the state law does not prohibit the flashing of vehicle headlights. Mr Campbell's lawsuit, filed in circuit court in Tallahassee, cites similar cases in Escambia, Osceola, Seminole and St. Lucie counties in which tickets for flashing were all dismissed by judges. Specifically, he discovered online the story of Alexis Cason, 22, of suburban Orlando, who received a a ticket in 2005 before winning a similar case in court. See the light: The suit says police are misinterpreting a law that's meant to ban drivers from having strobe lights in their cars or official-looking blue police lights Litigation: Some estimates put the cost to the state if it loses as high as $150million, because the suit is seeking $15,000 in damages for each driver 'In each of these examples,' the lawsuit claims, 'Florida courts properly found that (the law) does not prohibit the flashing of headlights as a means of communication,' which the suit calls 'a right of free speech.' 'This is a pattern, and it has mostly to do with frustrated police officers who feel they were disrespected,' Mr Campbell told the St Petersburg Times. 'When someone comes along and rats them out, they take offense to it.' Captain Mark Welch, a spokesman for the FHP, cited to the St Petersburg Times a law that says 'flashing lights are prohibited on vehicles' except for turn signals. But soon after Mr Campbell launched his case against the state, the Highway Patrol ordered all troopers to stop issuing tickets to motorists who use headlights as a signal to other drivers. 'You are directed to suspend enforcement action for this type of driver behavior,' said the August 29 memo from Grady Garrick, acting deputy director of patrol operations. The lawsuit estimates that 2,400 motorists in Florida were cited for headlight-flashing between 2005 and 2010. It asks a circuit judge to certify the case as a class action on behalf of those other motorists, which means that if the state loses, it could be forced to return a substantial amount of money. Some estimates put the cost as high as $150million, because the suit is seeking a refund of the $115 ticket plus $15,000 in damages for each driver. The state has not formally answered the lawsuit yet. 'For me, this has to do more with the principle than the cost,' Mr Campbell said, adding that the state is not being honest when it says it does not write tickets to increase revenue, but rather to get people to slow down. If that were true, Mr Campbell told WSTP.com, the FHP should be delighted with him, because drivers did decelerate before troopers could give them a ticket. 
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 8.
#3. To: Sebastian (#0)
If the were out actively pursueing bad guys (being useful) then the wouldn't be disrespected.... They could have meter maids issueing speeding tickets as far as I'm concerned.....
Raising revenue for the state is one of their primary objectives, in this case, under the guise of 'public safety'.
So catching bad guys isn't a priority anymore????? Guess we don't need cops then....
#9. To: CZ82 (#8)
It never was.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestTicket: Mr Campbell says motorists are being unlawfully punished by frustrated police officers who feel they were disrespected
#4. To: CZ82 (#3)
If the were out actively pursueing bad guys (being useful) then the wouldn't be disrespected....
#8. To: Sebastian (#4)
Raising revenue for the state is one of their primary objectives, in this case, under the guise of 'public safety'.
Replies to Comment # 8. So catching bad guys isn't a priority anymore?????
End Trace Mode for Comment # 8.
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