I was driving home like at 3 in the morning and a cop started to follow me. He followed me for like 3 miles directly behind me and he pulled me over. He gave me a ticket for the little clear lights on the altezzas. Are they illegal?
Thanks

 

I dont know if they are legal or not, but one thing I do know is CLICK HERE

 

 

anything that is not oem for your car is illegal. I know clear corners are and when you buy them they say for show or offroad use only so i imagine altezzas would be illegal too it should say if they are on the box or ask the company you bought them off of

 

not true. for instance, red/clear tails are not OEM and are legal. many cars come stock with red/clear tails (corolla, sienna). so not all mods are illegal. as far as the altezzas go, id say check your local laws. The usual restrictions I've heard are that your tailights must reflect red and have an orange or red turn signal. but check it out.

 

Stop scaring the kid. Altezzas are DOT approved. The department of transportation is a FEDERAL agency. Meaning that they are FEDERALY legal. From New York City to Los Angeles! From Seattle to Miami. Yes they are legal, don't let them porkers hate on you. Damn five 0 always hatin'! Death to most cops! (some are good, some).

 

not cool! most officers are nice, they're just doin their job

 

If they are not Ilegal they should be

 

ARE YOU GUYS SAYING THE WORST COPS IN THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD ( AKA VIRGINA COPS ) ARE MORE NICE THAN SOME OTHER COPS?!?!?!?!
LOOK AT MY LIGHTS... NO ONE PULLED ME OVER!!!!!

 

Ummmm ... the DOT doesn't "approved" anything. So your argument of the crap-tezzas being federally legal is nothing but bullsh!t.

Find me undeniable proof that altezzas are legal in all 50 states and I'll eat my words. Until then, stop spouting stupid crap you hear from other ricers.

And also, continue with the "Death to most cops!" crap and you'll find your posts mysteriously disappearing.

 

hey GTR rider, what kind of infiniti is that?! that's one if not the phattest infiniti/nissan i have ever seen!

 

take out that little bulb on the outside, having that on is illegal. put a red in there or leave it out all together and you'll be fine.

 

And RAZER, there are 4 (main) ways you can find out if altezzas are illegal. And asking Maxima.org is not one of them.

1) Search the internet. It's big, has lots of information and you can **** off to **** while reading the classic works of Lewis Carroll. Most states and cities have a website. Some even have laws posted on the website. If they do, the laws are probably up to date. Third party sites (such as this one) are not a reliable source unless they directly link and quote the site that they found the laws from. (Case in point: see Chino's post)

2) You can go to this big building that has a lot of books inside. It's called a library. The bigger the library, the better. The main branch of your city or town is a good place to start. Even if they don't have the city laws in the library, the librarians can point you in the right direction. Usually, that leads to ...

3) City Hall. Yep, that's the place where the laws are actually made. If they don't have a place where you can sit down and read and research your local laws, then you must live in some backwater hole-in-the-ground. Again, the information you find at City Hall should be up to date.

Last but not least:

4) The police station! *Gasp!* Yessirree, Bob! The place where the boys in blue work. Go in, be respectful and ask if there is someone that can help you with questions regarding the laws on modifications to cars and traffic laws. You'd be surprised at their responses to a person who actually cares about the law and wants to know more about it.

 

Yes, he can cite you for the rear white clearance lights. They are suppose to be red (per AZ vehicle code) Also your Altezzas do not have the red refectors for the rear clearance lights (per AZ vehicle code). You cant just depend on a red bulb for compliance because in the daytime the reflector is chrome in color.

The cop couldve cited you for the Altezzas altogether because they are not in compliance with Arizona's vehicle code:

28-949. Selling or using lamps

A. A person shall not have for sale, sell or offer for sale for use on or as a part of the equipment of a motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer or shall not use on any such vehicle a reflector that is required by this article, head lamp, auxiliary driving lamp, rear lamp, signal lamp or parts of any of the foregoing that tend to change the original design or performance unless the lamps or reflectors are of a type that has been submitted to and approved by the department.

I'm sure those Ricefactories actually submitted their riceTezzas to the State of Arizona for approval

Do a search next time. Its not that hard

 

Thats that new "G" ride= G35

 

You have the typical ricer logic. Why don't you pay for his ticket when he gets his *** laughed at after he argues to the traffic court that they're "DOT approved"?

OBX brought over ALL-clear taillights from Taiwan that had "DOT" and other "official"-looking markings molded into the lens to falsely represent their taillights as legally conforming. Of course all the ricers out there think its legal because it has "DOT" on them . Just a couple years ago NHTSA, a FEDERAL (duh) agency forced them to recall ALL of their clear taillights.

Today some companies provide certificates with their taillights stating compliance but who knows if they are actually authentic (any future recalls will let us know).

Besides, it is your state's vehicle code that decides whether a particular vehicle equipment is legal or not. Who gives a ***** if you can get away with ricetezzas in Iowa when you live in Kentucky? Some states such as Arizona (as stated in my prior post) and Georgia have language in their vehicle codes to express that no equipment other than what was originally designed by the factory are allowed on a particular car (that means no "Altezzas" or mAd TizZiTe s15 headlight and R34 Taillight cOnVeRsIoNz on your Maxima y0!).

And death to cops for pulling you over for illegal vehicle equipment? YOURE THE KID.

 

I want to re-type everything because I am immature and cannot refer to police by anything other than "pigs".

 

It all depends on the state, here in Idaho it is fine as long as you can not see any type of a white light from the rear, so as long as all the bulbs are red you'll be fine. i asked if they were illegal he said no. but he said that the cops want to outlaw them along with blue headlights, what *****es. good luck.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Maybe this will help:
POLICE OFFICERS DO NOT MAKE THE LAWS. THEY ONLY ENFORCE THE LAWS LAID DOWN BY THE PEOPLE YOU VOTE FOR.

YOU WANT THE LAW TO CHANGE? DON'T BLAME THE POLICE! YOU DON'T LIKE THE LAW? DON'T BLAME THE POLICE! YOU GET PULLED OVER FOR SOMETHING ILLEGAL AND DON'T LIKE IT? DON'T BLAME THE POLICE!!

THE LAWS ARE MADE BY THE POLITICIANS! NOT THE POLICE!

ANY FURTHER COMMENTS ABOUT POLICE BEING A$$HOLES OR BEING ****** OR WISHING THEM DEATH OR REFERING TO THEM AS "PIGS" AND THIS THREAD GETS LOCKED.

 

"Not a fan of refering to cops as "pigs" Club Member #1"

Was this there before my post? Relax bud, just being sarcastic. Geez... .....weirdo.

 

Uh-Oh....He's invoked the minions of Clee.

In WA State, as of jan 1st, ALL cosmetic modifications to a car that are not factory modifications are technically illegal.

And yes, most cops are nice (actually, pretty much all of them), and don't enforce it!

IanS

 

my uncles a cop I would like if you didnt wish them all death.. thanks

 

Altezza's have been illegal for almost a year now.. thats why APC did a recall on them.

 

I saw no hint of sarcasm in your post.

And yes, I put that line in my sig before you posted. It's a pet-peeve I'd had on this board for a while now.

 

Just make sure you replace the bulbs with amber or red bulbs. Do NOT put clear bulbs in the tails. They are not illegal as long as you put the colored bulbs so you do not have clear tails with clear bulbs. Got it? Good

 

Fine, my appologies to all who were offended.

 

I knwo that this guy was wrong to talk about cops being pigs and all, but you guys really MAKE SOME $H!+ up when you respond sometimes. clee, your assessment of laws and enforcement, in HUGE letters, was not entirely correct. Next time you decide to put stuff in giant letters, check all of your facts first. It is not that you were incorrect, it just did not tell the whole story. You seem to forget that there is police descretion. They choose how they interpret and apply the laws that you (correctly) pointed out that they do not make. They have been known to be wrong at times. Please keep that in mind when making blanket statements such as yours.

I am not trying to be a jerk about it, but when you climb on a high horse, it is a long fall back to earth.

Altezzas are not out and out illegal. In some jurisdictions, they are. It depends on state code and local ordinances.

Also, "DOT compliance" often indicates that they meet impact guidelines, not illumination or reflective restrictions.

THe last important thing to remember is that the police can pull you over if they reasonably believe that you are in violation of the law. If the officer honestly thought that you were vilating the law, he can pull you over. In reality, he does not even have to believe that you were breaking the law- he only has to convince the judge or prosecutor that he did. If he can do that, any ticket written as a result of that stop (drugs, seatbelt, DUI, etc.) can stand in court in most jurisdictions, even if he was wrong about your taillights being illegal.

He can also stop you and then determine the legality of your lights.
He can also stop you, write you a ticket, and leave it for the judgeto sort out.

While these may seem strange to us, police, for better or worse, have wide descretion. 99.9% of the time, this is a good thing (for society), even when we are the ones getting the tickets. So the moral of the story is that unless the officer KNEW that the lights were legal, he could pull you over AND write you a citation. It sucks, but if they ARE legal, you just have to fight it in court.

Now I will get off of MY high horse.

 

is that so? http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ght=APC+Recall

 

...this much fighting over ugly lights...

 

ust because you got a ticket for them does not mean they are illegal (but, they are). Just because you got a ticket does not mean you have to change them. Just because you got a ticket does not mean you have to pay a fine. A ticket is a summons to appear in court. You have only been charged with a crime. You are welcome to plead not guilty and defend yourself.

And Clee was correct. It isthe officer's job only to enforce the law. How he does so is this discretion you mentioned. Whether or not the officer chooses to enforce a particular law does not set any legal precident. His choosing not to issue a ticket for illegal altezzas has no bearing on whether or not the lights are legal.



...and this is too much arguing about ugly azz lights...

 

Correct on all counts. I think we can all drop the thread, now!

 

My big bold letters spoke more truth than most of the other responses in threads like these. People who get pulled over and blame the police always seem to think that the police make up the laws as they go along.

Perhaps next time, instead of pointing out the slight bending of the truth to someone that actually respects the police, one should correct those who blame the police for all their problems when they get pulled over for having illegal items all over their car.

Those big bold letters were a culmination of the constant barrage of hatred against police for just doing their jobs. As far as I am concerned, this matter is closed.

As to the original topic: Check with your local authorities and see if the taillights are illegal.

 

I got a solution for all of you.
MOVE TO SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA.
The cops can careless about that crap.
I have all clear corners with clear blinkers. Every bulb in my car is hyperwhite including the little one in the altezzas in the back that you are referring too. I have 5% tint all around and a loud *** sound system.
Ive never beenstopped.
Well i have for speeding andi should be stopped for that. The cops dont seem to mess wiht "us" if we arent hurting anyone.

 

ROFL

Oh man, that's Gold
LOL

 

remember that the OEM red/clears use proper reflectors... we don't!
different states have different laws on them.

My suggestion, call your local PD and ask!

 

BINGO!

 

Why do people hate on Altezzas, I think having a Body kit that isn't painted on your car is tacky and horrible. However I don't see any post raggin' on them. Am I unaware of an event that would trigger such hate against Altezzas? BTW I do not own a pair.

 

I am an altezza hater. I hate on altezzas because they're ugly as hell. They look completely out of place on the Maxima. IS300, yes. Maxima, no. I think the stocks tails (after cleared out) look good, giving the back a wide look.

And I agree that unpainted body kits look tacky and horrible. But still not as bad as altezzas. At least you know that one day the kit will look hot. Altezzas will always look like crap on the Maxima.

 

To answer the original question, "yes". Police can pull you over for just about anything.

And to why people hate these lights. It wouldn't be so bad if they were at least of some decent quality. But they are really cheap(and ugly). So why would anyone actually pay $ to put on something that is of inferior quality to the oem piece is beyond my logic.

 

I agree with you and the 97-99 owners have no excuse! However 95-96 owners have a great excuse for owning Altezzas, and that is that no one makes the clear reds any more. So its Altezzas or stock (or the new "redding the out" technique). They do look out of place on the Max, except for when the body's paint is painted on them except for the actual lights. It gives it a R34 look.