Just got back from downtown san antonio. Cop pulls me over for my red/clears and clear corners. The cop says that it's a federal law that in the front and rear sides of a car it needs to have an amber reflector. I have re/clears and front clears that don't have amber on them. I know that cops are only doing their job but this is fu<king bull$hyt, i ^%$& hate cops. I'm too frustrated to f$%^ing type. Does anybody know federal laws about lighting for vehicles? Or does this cop just need another donut? FU<king @!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

you need side indicators on the front and back of your car... that is federal law.

 

for the front you need amber and the rear its red. the tails are still legal even with the clear out cause if you look close there is still a reflector on the red part of the tail.

 

but the cop said that the reflectors were the wrong color. I see red/clears and clear corners on other cars all the time.

 

did you get a fix it ticket? fight it if so...call a local police department or a few and ask them where to find laws on car lighting. that sux man...you shoulda said, "but officer, they look so nice"

 

BOOOO...thats a cop that ran out of donuts.

I have red/clears w/ clear corners w/ hyper white bulbs...best thing to do is not use the turn signal near a cop...


but yeah, thats a cop that got his paycheck back and wasnt happy...

you'd figure there are murders and drug dealers and ****...but they invest their time in shi.t like this...they are like the RIAA...

 

the sad thing about that is he gave me 4 of 6 violations concering my lights:
wrong color turn signal to rear(white); no front reflector(amber); white light to front side; white light to rear. The other 2 were due to improper placement of license plate and failing to signal lane change.

 

should just be a fix-it ticket. fix the problem, prove you fixed it, and its fine with them. he sounds like he was bored

 

Sound like you need an American car if you're motorin' in Texas.

 

you're in a maxima forum, why say that?

 

The cop is mistaken or you are twisting his wording a bit (or maybe you just misunderstood him). Many new cars do not have any amber lenses in the rear of the car. (most new BMWs, 1 gen old Civic coupes, neon's, mustangs.. the list goes on.) On the back of the car you are allowed either a red or amber turn signal, on the front, only amber. I take it that you have hyperwhite turn signals on the front and rear of the car, correct?.. I guarentee that he wouldn't have noticed your red/clear tails if you had amber bulbs in there. Swap the stock parts back in for the fix it ticket, and have it signed off or whatever the prodceure is, then just put everything back in except this time, use the proper color bulbs. If there is one thing that can draw attention to a car, it's the lighting.

 

"wrong color turn signal to rear(white)"
"white light to rear"

Hey do you have colored bulbs (red, yellow) in the rear signals? Cause if you have just a regular clear bulb i'm not suprised you got pulled over but he was still being a *****.

And how do you get a ticket for "improper placement of license plate" What was wrong with your plate?

edit: Sorry for any repeats ch13f posted like 5 mins before me so i didnt get to see it.

 

Probably took off his front plate and put it on his dash or something, which is illegal in TX

 

it has to be DOT or SAE approved. on my altezzas it's DOT/SAE approved. my clear corners have amber turning signals. i live in CA, never had a problem in the last 1 year.

i thought custommaxima's red/clear for 97-99 is DOT/SAE approved, someone please confirm with me...

 

I hate front plates, theres no way to make them look nice. I'll stick with my invisible one

 

Don't get me started on plates, here in PA we have no front plate which is stupid. Then, people put plastic covers over there rear plate making it unreadable, and just to be safe, there is a rectangular strip about 1/5 the height of the numbers that is similar to those things people have on their CRT's in finance where you cannot see the display from an angle, it makes it out of focus. Long story short is you cannot read the plate unless you press your face up to the plate. Is there any legitimate purpose to that besides evading the law, committing crime, doing hit-and-run? But due to loopholes in the law, that's what we have here. I'd love to see those people take a nice day-trip to NYC--will be one-way.

 

Take out the Super Rice White Cop Magnet bulbs and use the correct AMBER bulbs in your clear lenses and nobody will ever bother you.

It's pretty simple, really.....

 

** I'm no law expert by any stretch - but my opinion is based on the transportation code referenced **

I would fight as much of this as possible. You can cite the Texas Transportation code. If you had clear lenses for the rear turnsignals, you need red or amber bulbs. If you have clear lenses for the front turnsignals, you can use white or amber bulbs.
The texas code specificies and limits the color of light emitted, not the color of the lense. Also, if it was not covered by the state inspection - the required service paid by you verifying that your vehicle is in compliance, then it should not be ticketed in my opinion.

Follow this LINK for texas transportation code

Regarding turnsignal requirements on the light they emit:
(1) a white or amber light, or a color between white and amber, if the lamp is mounted on the front of the vehicle; or
(2) a red or amber light, or a color between red and amber, if the lamp is mounted on the rear of the vehicle.

Regarding reflectors, only rear reflectors are required:
(a) Except as provided by Subchapter F, a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer shall be equipped with at least two red reflectors on the rear of the vehicle. A red reflector may be included as a part of a taillamp.

HERE are the federal codes... they are more restrictive. The texas code states that unless prohibited in that chapter, that the federal code applies. Texas code allowing white front turnsignals directly gives texas cars more flexibility in my interpretation. If not, the texas code is federally not permissible.

You may be able to at least not have to pay the fine if you can demonstrate that you trust the vehicle inspection to provide you with confirmation that your vehicle complies and that your vehicle was in the same condition it was in when it was inspected. Also, you may call a state inspector to witness that their book states that the front turnsignals may be white, amber or any color between. ( i asked the last car inspector I visited to look it up for me )

The front amber reflector is required federally, but I don't think amber front reflectors were required in the years our cars were built. I don't remember an OEM amber reflector on the front of my vehicle. If you can demonstrate that the car came from the factory without an amber reflector in the front, you may get away with that one as well. EDIT: front amber reflectors are required on some vehicles, but I'm not convinced yet it even applies to passenger cars. I'll want to see another source to be sure.

In any case, best of luck! Don't let the 'man' get you down.
-end of novel-

 

I love Maximas and the .org but Texas is Ford Truck country, that's all I'm saying (I like Texas, don't get me wrong). Likewise, go to Detroit and count all the imports on the roads.

 

Your car was not compliant, you got a ticket.

Sounds fair to me.

Ignorance is no defense.

My car doesnt have amber reflectors in the front, but I have amber bulbs, so it's harder to notice. If I get t ticket for it, I wontcomplain, I know what I'm doing wrong.

But, around here, cops aren't in the habit of stopping people for illegal lighting. Hell, according to AL vehicle codes, you only have to have 1 working tail light.

 

Your OEM amber bumper lights have amber reflectors in them.

 

Plead innocent, tell the judge that's how you bought the car, if the judge says "ignorance of the law is no excuse," just say you don't interpret law and show pictures that you corrected the car and did not intend to break the law.

Should get off easy. Also might help if you put your arm out when you do turns or slow down to avoid confusion in Texas.

 

Im pretty sure the cop was correct. Look at every car on the road (that isint modded obviously), on the side they will have an Amber reflector somehow in the headlight housing or somewhere in the front-side. And same goes with the rear having a red reflector somewhere on the side. So technically front DC's are illegal, yet they passed NJ DMV inspection no problem.

 

ok fine i understand some cops can be a PITA, but seriously, your that ****ed over the fact that you can't follow the law? & you got caught for it? If thats the worst thing to happen to you(cop confrontation wise) then you really don't have much to worry about. Sorry had to say it. I've been pulled over for my hyperwhites, so I put in orange bulbs, haven't been bothered since. But I AM prepared to be pulled over for my HID's and not b!tch about it.

 

I hauled out the old amber lenses, and mzmtg is correct. The smaller side lense reflects.

 

Just use orange bulbs in the side markers on the front, the ones that COME with the clear corners to begin with and you will be fine. I havent had a problem in the year Ive had mine.

 

Amber bulbs are in my DC's also - I thought it looked better.

 

So what I am getting out of everybody's comments is that if I am to put in amber bulbs in my front clears and amber bulbs in my rear red/clears I should be fine?

Anybody in texas know if we have to have amber reflectors? All i read is that:

§ 547.325. Reflectors Required

(a) Except as provided by Subchapter F, a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer shall be equipped with at least two red reflectors on the rear of the vehicle. A red reflector may be included as a part of a taillamp.

(b) A reflector shall be:

(1) mounted at a height from 15 to 60 inches; and

(2) visible at night at all distances:

(A) from 100 to 600 feet when directly in front of lawful lower beams of headlamps; or

(B) from 100 to 350 feet when directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps if the vehicle was manufactured or assembled before January 1, 1972.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

 

You wont be legal because you wont have the correct reflectors.

But, you will draw less attention from the cops.

 

Guess I lucked out in the lighting department, I have had clear corners on my car for over 2 years with the hyperwhites in them, the only time I got messed with was by the base cops, but I proved them wrong and sat there with them while they went through our base rules and New Mexico law and nothing in there states that I can't have them. The only thing I saw in the law books was a blue and red light combo in your clear corners, highly illegal! Good luck though.

 

Stuff like that can be annoying I guess, but yeah, they could be concentrating on some other more important things. If cops drove around and ticketed *******s who don't like to signal, then I would be all for it...EVERYday to and from school, I see *******s driving on the road that don't signal when changing lanes on the highway, or even on local roads....****es me off.

 

yep.Good ol' Alabama. You can get away with pretty much anything here!

 

How are the lights DOT approved, yet not legal? I dont understand. I've got the Redline Maxima Red/clears, and hyperblack DC bumper lenses. I used the amber bulbs that came with them. Are you saying that even with amber bulbs I can still be ticketed? That doesnt make any sense. I'm seriously nieve on this subject. I'd like to find out if i'm driving around illegally or not. Any more insight?

 

what I understand about the law now is that you must have reflectors on the side turning signal lights both front and back. They must be amber or red...

People like myself have illegal front corner lights(clear corners). You can put amber bulbs in the clear corners but that only gives the illusion that there is a reflector in the bumper lenses. If a cop pulls you over, your busted. THERE MUST BE A SIDE REFLECTOR (RED OR AMBER) ON THE FRONT AND BACK TURNING SIGNAL LIGHT.

Red/ Clears in the rear unfortunately don't have amber reflectors but they do have red reflectors for your stop light. It's doesn't matter, your turning signal light must have a amber reflector on the side of the car. Or if your car just has red as the blinker then red reflector on the side of the car.

I read this information on Texas Transportation Code. This information did not help me form a strong case against my citations. It might help you to keep a watchful eye for donut munchers; what and what not to put on your car. I go to court on the 4 of January, that will give me enough time to study the law better. Hopefully I might get off with a small fine, if I fix it.

 

The DOT does not explicitly approve lighting products.

The publish the regulations. It is up to the manufacturer to comply. If they are built to comply, the manufacturer might say "DOT approved" on the package. That is misleading.

The DOT has not tested and approved every rice-boy bulb and lense out there.

 

Well then, if they are putting misleading info on the box, send the ticket to that company...haha

 

just to let you guys know they sell chrome bulbs that light up amber. basically the DC looks clear and all nice and sexy with no amber bulb reflecting all over the place, but it lights up amber. why you would want the bulb to light up white is beyond me...other then to cause accidents its there to let people know you are turning so they do not do something stupid and pull out in front of you, change lanes etc etc...why you would want to increase the chance of accidents INVOLVING your car is beyond me.

however i do feel the rear tails are fine in bright white because on my car its extremely apparent your turning light it on...but i think i'll be replacing these with chrome amber ones...

 

For the most part police/traffic is discretion. I have been pulled over a few times and I have never been ticketed for lighting equipment. I have clears with amber bulbs on the front and alteezas in the back. I feel that if you are cool and just say yes sir/no sir then for the most part you get just the speeding, no seatbelt or what ever the probable cause to pull you over on the ticket. When you start giving attitude and acting childish is when they start to pile on the citations. I am not saying that happened in this case cuz I know how San Antonio cops can be. I was told my alteezas were illegal but he didnt cite me for them.

 

You guys know that the cops are jealous of all of us cuz they are driving buicks, neons and oldsmobiles! Haha Just get a state law book and read the info on lights...if it doesn't say anything about your lights...bring it to the cop station and tell em to shove it...not really but you know what I mean.

 

you need to tell the judge, not the cops.