This pretty much proves that a lot of cops are jerks.
Ask-A-Cop
One cop did have the point that there's not a darn thing they can do about you flashing headlights in the daytime.
Bottom line is, if it's you vs. the cop, the cop will win because traffic court is there to collect fines, especially in small towns. Yes it's crooked, but what are you going to do? If you can get a lawyer who is a friend or relative to fight it for free, then you might have a chance because odds are, the cops violated some procedure and traffic court judges hardly want to be seen as granting leeway to cops on procedure if they have any hopes of moving up to something like criminal court. (But don't count on even that, chances are, if they're in traffic court it's not because they're legal geniuses.)
It's like as $44 fine, is it really worth all the effort to fight it, even if you know it's unjust?