A cop pulled me over today and warned me about my brushgaurd, I'm from virginia, the laws here are pretty tuff. I have a 99F150 and put a smittybilt brushgaurd on it. There are three bars that protect the headlightes on both sides, the cop said I needed to take them off. The bars are the diameter of a pencil, he said it would affect my lights and visibility which is BULL ____.. It don't affect my visibility at night at all. Has anyone had any problems like this. Thanks alot..

 

Hmmmm....

Something isnt right here. Did you forget to mention that as you drove by him, you gave him the bird?

 

Actually he pulled me over for speeding, and then he warned me of my brushguard. There are 3 small bars that are connected inside the brushguard, they actually protect your headlights and they do not block any light at night at all but he said they had to go. I disagree though.

 

Same cop that didn't like your pipes, right? Maybe you should get your hands on a copy of the Virginia Vehicle Code book. If it exists, it will lay out the laws for you. Maybe the dude doesn't like the way you part your hair!

 

Actually in most states anything in front of the headlights is illegal for on-road use. Grill guards were designed for off-road use but we like the looks of them and some of us never go off-road. Most officers will not pull you over just for that but if they already have you.............

Same goes for the smoked plastic covers. You can get a ticket for them as well.

 

I waited for over an hour for my VA inspection, and 5 minutes before I went in, a State Trooper showed up, to monitor inspections. He flunked my truck for the brush guard rods "obstructing my headlights". He joked about it, and said on any other day, I would have passed, but he was there, and the inspector had to follow the rules. I took it around the corner to another inspection station, and they passed it in 5 minutes! VA is a very tough state for vehicle inspections, but we have some of the lowest insurance rates in the nation!

 

Hey Chevy Killer, I have a Manik Brush guard on my truck and I also have the guards protecting my headlights too. I have not been pulled over yet. I guess in Texas they are not that strict. i do know that the blackout covers for the headlights and tail lights are illegal as well as the slotted covers for the tail lights in Texas. Just tell him you will add a set of driving lights to the brush guard to make up the huge difference in light that the guard blocks out and everything will be ok.

 

Most cops will give you a B/S reason for something else that is "illegal" so that when they write you up for speeding they can say "Oh well I did you a favor and didn't write you up for that other thing" That obstruction of the headlights thing is a load of crap, check the V&T (Vehicle and Traffic)law. They are usually more specific (in NY anyway) the law is that you must be able to see 2 white lights from a distance of no less than 2000 ft., and for the taillights (for those with blackouts) it is 2 red lights at no less than 1000 ft. So to the extent there is no additional clause or definition of obstruction from those specifications I'd fight any ticket received for such a B/S reason.

 

That has to be one of the most BS laws I heard of.

 

When I had a Ford Ranger, there was this one female officer, that always pulled me over for my tint, tailight cover, and headlight covers, needless to say I payed a lot of tickets.... You'd think the police have better things to do than look at vechiles for accessories we put on them... As for the F-150 I drive now.... never had an officer say anything about the tint, or covers..... But got pleanty on speeding tickets...

 

Horseman, your lucky in Indiana the cops make you take a razor blade and cut a strip out of your tint right there on the side of the road. They know when you get home you will take all of it off because it looks like crap. I know that here in Illinois if you roll down your windows that have tint on them the cops cant bust you since there is no obsturction of view.

 

It may not be proof of legal or not, but with window tinting aftermarkert tinting is not allowed as dark as factory tinting. See if a dealer in your area has any new trucks that have a conversion package or something like it with a grille guard on them. If they have the bars over the lights chances are the law may be similar to that of the window tint, where if it came that way they can't make you change it. How would the cop know if it was there when new or not?
Jeff