...to think warning other drivers about police presence is a courtesy not enabling bad drivers?

[Boomerwang]

Yesterday the police were making traffic stops near a school as it was the first day back (Sweden) and I put it out on facebook, reminding people to check over their cars, go another way if they are in a hurry and watch their speed etc. I put it in a local community group. I was roundly chastised and the thread was removed not long after. Coming from England I thought it was normal that people gave a heads up but their argument was that this way the idiot drivers and people with alcohol or drugs in their system were now warned and won't be taken off the road or fined.

I mean, I don't take drugs or drive under the influence or particularly fast over the speed limit so I wasn't considering that, but if this situation occurs again, I'd like to know what the majority think before I try to help again?

I think if someone is going a few miles an hour over the speed limit its totally normal, fine and polite to warn them of a police camera.

Obviously if someone is doing 60 in a 30 then no, I wouldn't flash them and it would make my day to see them caught. But that is very rare! Someone going 35 in a 30 or 45 in a 40 isn't the devil.

@Boshmama

I think if someone is going a few miles an hour over the speed limit its totally normal, fine and polite to warn them of a police camera.

Obviously if someone is doing 60 in a 30 then no, I wouldn't flash them and it would make my day to see them caught. But that is very rare! Someone going 35 in a 30 or 45 in a 40 isn't the devil.

And if you are coming in the opposite direction, how can you possibly know what speed someone is doing until they are almost upon you?! Unless you are paying more attention on assessing the speed of the oncoming traffic than you are on what YOU are doing. Are you telling me that if you have passed a speed trap, then you assess all oncoming vehicular speed to determine if you should be courteous enough to warn them? You certainly couldn't tell if they were doing 5 or 20 miles over the limit in enough time to flash to warn them.

How about you concentrate on YOUR speed and surroundings and let others sort themselves out. Your idea of what "courtesy and politeness" is, is worryingly dangerous.

@isabellerossignol dual carriageways have 5-junctions? What dual carriageways have you been on?

The OP was warning people about a speed trap near a school. Do posters really think drivers who speed near schools should be protected by other drivers? Really? Because I think they should face the consequences of endangering our children.

[quote AbyssusAbyssumInvocat]@isabellerossignol dual carriageways have 5-junctions? What dual carriageways have you been on? [/quote]
Sorry, I don't know what you mean by 5 junctions

Actually, I've just realised, is that a typo from where I said dual carriageways have T junctions?

Every dual carriageway I have ever been on has got minor roads joining it T junction style. Isn't that what differentiates them from motorways?

There was a court case a few years ago near me around flashing lights to warn drivers of a speed trap. The prosecution said the defender was obstruction the law and the defence said he was stopping a crime taking place.
I wish I could remember what happened.

We get people phoning in to the radio to say where speed traps are (an in genannt) as part of the traffic info so it obviously can’t be illegal here.

I can't get my head round this. Warning people not to break the law is wrong?

@Bwlch

I can't get my head round this. Warning people not to break the law is wrong?

Yes, it's illegal and you can end up with a fine.

You shouldn't need to warn people not to speed!

@ExpectTheWorst

We get people phoning in to the radio to say where speed traps are (an in genannt) as part of the traffic info so it obviously can’t be illegal here.

It happens here too. The police even announce it on their social media pages.

It's still illegal to flash/signal to someone that there's a speed trap or camera up ahead.

Not all other drivers think like you do! Do you realise you could actually be the cause of an accident rather than preventing one..?!

Yawn. Don't be ridiculous.

@MintyMabel

Not all other drivers think like you do! Do you realise you could actually be the cause of an accident rather than preventing one..?!

Yawn. Don't be ridiculous.

Yawn...? What an extremely childish and pathetic response!!

What exactly is ridiculous about the fact that causing confusion (as can be seen by the responses to being flashed at have been shown in this thread) might distract someone from driving carefully and that might make them miss something happening on the road? Many accidents happen because people's minds were momentarily elsewhere.

When I see speeding drivers, I flash them so they think there must be a mobile speed camera ahead. But there isnt! And it does the trick because it slows them down 👍

@Saz42

When I see speeding drivers, I flash them so they think there must be a mobile speed camera ahead. But there isnt! And it does the trick because it slows them down 👍

For a few moments maybe, but they may be one of those that has no clue why you are flashing and spends a few minutes distracted, wondering why you flashed them and then they will speed up, maybe even faster than they were going to make up wasted time... 👎

Not RTFT.

YABU.

Bad, inconsiderate or dangerous drivers don't learn by someone kindly warning them that there could be consequences.

Let them be caught. Let them have the fine. They don't learn otherwise.

Sick of speeders tearing through my 20 mph zone village. It infuriates me that other drivers 'warn' them. Stop doing it OP.

I got deleted from my local Facebook page as someone had posted "there's a speed camera on xyz Road be careful" and I commented that if people didn't speed it wouldn't be a problem. Apparently that makes me a snowflake

Snowflake, my backside.

@isabellerossignol argh typo! Glad you worked it out!

No, what differentiates them is mostly, one has two lanes and one has three. Both are entered via a slip road.

@isabellerossignol where are you based? Uk?

@Boomerwang

My argument was that prevention was better than cure and even the most courteous of drivers can be caught out by a broken lightbulb, making a U-turn in the wrong place or a frayed seatbelt they didn't get around to fixing yet.

Then it's not then prevention is it! A broken lightbulb or frayed seatbelt needs fixing.

And if you want to avoid a fine for making an illegal U-turn, then the best way to do that is to not make illegal U-turns.

[quote AbyssusAbyssumInvocat]@isabellerossignol where are you based? Uk? [/quote]
Yes, UK.

I have rarely ever seen a sliproad onto a dual carriageway, even a really busy one. And I don't recognise the description of dual carriageways having two lanes and motorways having three either.

I can't find a description in the highway code but I did find a government road safety leaflet online which said that one of the main differences was 'Dual carriageways allow traffic to join from the left and cross from left to right'.

I can only think of one occasion where I flashed another driver. They were speeding heading towards a hill on a country road and there was a horse and rider just over the hill. This however wasn't for the drivers benefit it was for the horse.

I meant to attached this to my last post. This, is just one of dozens of junctions on a really busy dual carriageway that I drive on regularly (main road from Belfast to Dublin) and that's not including all the driveways from houses that go straight onto the road.

@isabellerossignol that doesn't look like the dual carriageways I know.