An Alberta man is expressing frustration after he received a ticket for flicking his high beams at an oncoming driver who also happened to be a sheriff.

Jeff McLenaghan told CTV Calgary that he was driving to his home in High River, Alta. on Monday evening around 9 p.m. when he noticed a vehicle approaching him with bright lights that he thought were high beams.

“I did what probably everybody else and their dog does,” he recalled on Thursday. “I did a quick flick, probably about a tenth of a second, by my calculations about two feet of high beamage [sic].”

As it turns out, McLenaghan had flashed his high beams at a police sheriff who was none too pleased about it.

When McLenaghan turned into his parking space, the vehicle pulled up behind him with its blue and red lights flashing.

McLenaghan said he tried to explain to the sheriff that he had flicked his lights to signal that the oncoming car’s high beams were on and should be shut off. The sheriff denied having his high beams on and handed him a $155 ticket for using high beams within 300 metres of an oncoming vehicle, as detailed in Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act.

McLenaghan said he told the sheriff that he wasn’t aware of the law and pleaded for leniency because he’s dealing with some financial difficulties as a result of a recent heart problem.

“I begged with him. I said I’ve got some health concerns right now, finances are the way they are, I’ve got some things I’m trying to work through,” McLenaghan said. “I think there should be some leeway, either way, they certainly have some choices with what to do.”

Although he admits to breaking the law, McLenaghan said he plans to fight the ticket in court in January.

With a report from CTV Calgary’s Alesia Fieldberg