The common road act Aussie drivers don't realise can attract a $2,200 fine

Drivers all over the country admit to doing this, but according to one lawyer authorities are catching on and cracking down.

Joe Attanasio
·Senior Reporter
·3-min read
A driver behind the wheel (left) with a highway of cars driving at night (right).
Drivers are being warned against flashing their high beams to notify other motorists of police. Source: Getty

Australians are being stung flashing their headlights on the road to notify "other drivers of police", a lawyer has warned, urging people to be aware of the penalties should they get caught out.

It's a common act many drivers all over the country admit to doing, but according to Sydney lawyer Avinash Singh authorities are catching on and seeking to crack down on those warning their fellow motorists.

"There has been a marked increase in these offences being detected, particularly where mobile speed cameras or RBTs are set up," he told Yahoo News Australia, adding that many drivers don't even realise "this is an offence".

A diagram showing how drivers must dim their high beams within 200 metres of another vehicle.
As a general rule of thumb, drivers must dim their high beams within 200 metres of another vehicle, either passing in front or behind. Source: NSW Government

As is the case with most road rules, fines vary from state to state, with each jurisdiction similarly enforcing their own penalties. In Victoria, for example, fines for flashing your high beams start at $45 and one demerit point, and go all the way up to $552 with three demerit points.

In NSW, the offence may attract an on-the-spot fine of $112 and one demerit point, with a maximum penalty of $2,200.

"It is an offence to drive on a road with high-beam headlights on if there is another vehicle in front, travelling in the same direction within 200m; or if there is another oncoming vehicle within 200m," Singh said, with the system a general rule of thumb in most jurisdictions.

"Similarly, road rules state that a driver must not use any light fitted to their vehicle to dazzle, or in a way that is likely to dazzle, another road user."

Last week, Singh of Astor Legal, also warned drivers against deliberately flouting road rules. The warning on Thursday came after NSW Police released a statement urging motorists against ignoring "keep left signs unless overtaking", like a ute driver did on the M5 recently.

"Don't be this motorist who ignored a 'keep left' sign, a VMS [variable message sign] board stating the same — and a Liverpool Highway Patrol car that was travelling behind them for three kilometres," they said, uploading images of a P-plater driver who was fined $410 and lost two demerit points over the act.

Singh said the provisional driver might've got off easy compared with the penalties they could have faced."On a road where there is a speed limit of more than 80km/h, you must not drive in the right lane, unless you're overtaking," he earlier told Yahoo.

"You can incur a fine of up to $2,200 for disobeying this rule."

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