alright, so got a ticket for my tails being black a couple months ago and i have court for it tomorrow. The citation on the ticket was "defective brakelights". The ticket is $197..which I dont have, so Im going to try and fight this one, plus I do belive that my tails are technically legal since i have not altered the lense. So heres my game plan, took a bunch of pics that im going to take up there and im trying to track down the specific law reguarding tail lights right now.

Anyway, I want some quick opinions on the pics. Let me know if any of them might NOT help me in court.

Process Of Painting Tails








The Tails On The Truck


(from 50 feet)




(also 50 feet)




Compared to OEM Tails

 

 

i know in california, the lights have to be visible from at least 100 ft away. My tails are pretty dark, and im suprised i havent gotten stopped yet. But if i do, i will tell the cop to stand 100 ft away and booyah.

 

post up the law when you find it. Just google it.

PS. If the cop doesnt show doesnt it just get thrown out?

 

will do.

i think it does, but for the cop to show up i have to schedule an official court date and whatnot (which i will do if it doesnt get immediately dismissed)

and i doubt he would show cus it was a state trooper

 

well this is about the closest thing i could find....

Sec. 547.322. TAILLAMPS REQUIRED. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or vehicle that is towed at the end of a combination of vehicles shall be equipped with at least two taillamps.
(b) A passenger car or truck that was manufactured or assembled before the model year 1960 shall be equipped with at least one taillamp.
(c) Taillamps shall be mounted on the rear of the vehicle:
(1) at a height from 15 to 72 inches; and
(2) at the same level and spaced as widely apart as practicable if a vehicle is equipped with more than one lamp.
(d) A taillamp shall emit a red light plainly visible at a distance of 1,000 feet from the rear of the vehicle.
(e) If vehicles are traveling in combination, only the taillamps on the rearmost vehicle are required to emit a light for the distance specified in Subsection (d).
(f) A taillamp or a separate lamp shall be constructed and mounted to emit a white light that:
(1) illuminates the rear license plate; and
(2) makes the plate clearly legible at a distance of 50 feet from the rear.
(g) A taillamp, including a separate lamp used to illuminate a rear license plate, must emit a light when a headlamp or auxiliary driving lamp is lighted.


Sec. 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.


Tint Law
^on a side note..looks like you can have 25% tint..sweet. i need to change mine out then

 

What I would do (because I've done this) is go to your local police station (not the one where the ticketing officer works) and ask them to do a "safety" check on your vehicle. They do these for free as a courtesy to the citizens of their respective jurisdictions and will for any person, usually. Tell them you just bought these tail-lights and think they may not pass the law. You're a concerned citizen after all, right? Ask them to do a safety inspection. Also, record what the officer says, as it will be admissible in court (insure you're state allows recording with 1 person consent as you would be the consenting person). Not only will the officer let you know if they are actually legal or not without worrying about a ticket, but he will give testimony as a sworn officer of the law through admission in the recording.

Note: Don't forget you have Federal, State, City, and County laws which all my contradict or be worse than the one above it. They can always add but not take away. And Fed law might say you may have no tail-lights, while your city law my state you need 300 candle power spot-lights in order to drive in city limits.

I would assume however, they appear to pass the quoted law from above, of course they are not as bright as the OEM lights.

I was pulled over and ticketed for having my child seat in the front seat. I turned off the passenger airbag of course.

However, Ga law states that any truck with 2 doors or less and the ability to turn the airbag off my put a child safety seat in the front passenger or middle seat as long as it meets standards for being buckled in. I went to my local sheriffs office, recorded what the officer said, as he said it was fine and quoted Ga law, and was able to permit it in court. I also quoted the Ga law in court,which was in my favor.

Other than that, you could get an independent lab to do some testing and have them certify the results. Although they would have to be a trusted, licensed, and respected place for it to be admissible in court, for sure. Of course I assume money is the issue here and that would be unreasonable.

I know this first advice sounds far fetched and unlikely, but it really does work. Good luck.

 

hm i didnt know they did that, i got the ticket dismissed this morning, but i may put the old ones back on and see what they say. thanks for the advice bud

soyeah, got it dismissed. sooo glad i didnt have to shell out 200 bones ha.

i had to go out to my truck with the court officer to verify that i 'fixed the problem'.

I discussed with the officer while we were out there about my aftermarket tails, and at first he started rambling something about reflectors being 'too shiny' or some b/s. Anyway he was like they look nice and all but what it comes down to is what they say in austin and austin says theyre illegal, so i showed him the law reguarding taillights and reflectors and my pictures. Then he says that DOT must not have approved them, so i showed him the original auction that says they tails are DOT/SAE approved. So then he just says, "well you know it would probably just be easier for you to not have them on", and walked back inside lol.

anyway after payin a stupid $10 'dismissal' fee i was outta there!

 

I would include a picture showing you clearly removed the outer lens and have painted only the interior of the light assembly. I suspect the cop thought you altered the lens itself, which certainly would impact the performance of the unit. However, the modification you made appears to be primarily aesthetic in nature.

 

I can't seem to find in my Texas Transportation code is book is the law for "defective breaklight." Unless he meant stop lights, tail lamps, or parking lights. I don't know.

You should have posted this on officer.com in the "Ask a Cop" section for better and accurate replies.

 

If would keep a record of them being DOT approved, and your painting process in your truck, just in case they hassle you again. Just fold those 2 pieces of paper and put it with your registration.

 

Seems to me by painting them, you have voided the DOT approval.

 

Blacked out headlights and taillights are illegal in most states. Not to mention, I wouldn't want the legal liability if involved in an accident.

 

Tint law has always been 25% but most shops wont install darker then 35% due to most factory windows have some tint already in them. So if you put 25% tint over a smoked glass your gonna read lower then 25% and then its unlawful

 

glad to hear you got it dismissed. im going to be tinting mine this thursday and i hope i dont have any problems with johhny law but i dont go to austin haha and ive seen several trucks with tinted tails just in my apartment complex so i think ill be good.