JRizzle

im outraged, tonight i got pulled over for having the washer lights that are on your hood. the cop said its a 92$ fine just for those. since when is this? i thought it was just red and blue ones that were illegal. he said anything above the headlights is a no go

pr5owner

fight that ****! i never gotten pulled over for mine, but mine died somehow ?? they still light up but it won't light up when i flip the switch ? WTF! oh well i just riped mine out as well as my underbody since that died too.. lol

zuMP5

It all depends on the laws in your state...any color of lights can be illegal...btw he did you a favor...led washers are anyway

redrims

My friend got pulled over for his and got a $75 ticket. I got pulled over for mines and he just told me to take them off or if he caught me again he'll ticket me. It was just blue and red but now there trying to make all colors illegal. I heard that right now blue, red, and GREEN are illegal. They say that green is the military police.

protegeboy78

I talked to the police in my area and he checked the state laws. All the law says that is the front of the car can have only white and amber/yellow lights and the rear can have only white , red and amber/yellow lights. That leaves it open to putting white lights on the hood. This is MI i'm sure other states are the same but not all.

JJB

in New York state red, amber, blue, green, and even white lights have special uses and can likely get you in trouble with the cops if you have them on the hood..

see http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/emer-vt.htm for some more info...

heck, the http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/ts-place.htm has all kinds of other good info as well...

StuttersC

I'm willing to bet its not the light color that is making it illegal. Take a look at the headlight regulations or auxiliary lights for your state. I'm willing to bet there is a height minimum and a height maximum. Lights on the hood would be over the height max, and so would be illegal lighting on a street vehicle. Color probably has little do with it.

It falls under the same rules of why trucks with nerf bars and lights on top of those can't drive with them on. No light can be on a street vehicle over a certain height because it can effect other drivers night vision.

Now, yes I know that those stupid little windshield washer lights don't put out enough light to do anything, but the law is still the law, it is over the height max. Take them off and quit complaining.

For Colorado the law is exactly this:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"42-4-212. Spot lamps and auxiliary lamps."

(1) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than two spot lamps, and every lighted spot lamp shall be so aimed and used upon approaching another vehicle that no part of the high-intensity portion of the beam will be directed to the left of the prolongation of the extreme left side of the vehicle nor more than one hundred feet ahead of the vehicle.

(2) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than two fog lamps mounted on the front at a height of not less than twelve inches nor more than thirty inches above the level surface upon which the vehicle stands and so aimed that, when the vehicle is not loaded, none of the high-intensity portion of the light to the left of the center of the vehicle shall at a distance of twenty-five feet ahead project higher than a level of four inches below the level of the center of the lamp from which it comes. Lighted fog lamps meeting the requirements of this subsection (2) may be used with lower head-lamp beams as specified in section 42-4-216 (1) (b).

(3) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than two auxiliary passing lamps mounted on the front at a height of not less than twenty inches nor more than forty-two inches above the level surface upon which the vehicle stands. The provisions of section 42-4-216 shall apply to any combination of head lamps and auxiliary passing lamps.

(4) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than two auxiliary driving lamps mounted on the front at a height of not less than sixteen inches nor more than forty-two inches above the level surface upon which the vehicle stands. The provisions of section 42-4-216 shall apply to any combination of head lamps and auxiliary driving lamps.

(5) Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a class B traffic infraction.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, basically, the washer lights are illegal.

hihoslva

Yep - if the washer lights can be considered "driving lights" - you're screwed.

But fight it anyway - can't hurt, and you just might win.

~HH

Maxx Mazda

Ok, but down at work we sell the Silverado 3500's with all the clearance lights on them. (All over the roof, and on the wheel farings, etc.) How are these any different?

hihoslva

There are no laws against HAVING the lights, only USING them. This could explain all the lights on the Silverado.

~HH

Maxx Mazda

But they're turned on with the parking lamps, (and on Canadian models, you can't turn them off thanks to the "auto" lamp feature.) So this leads me to believe it's legal everywhere in Canada, or GM wouldn't implement it. You could argue that by definition, the clearance lights and the washer LED's are in effect the same thing.

mnkyboy

I second that. Also, I hate it when i see someone with tube lights, and they are malfunctioning, flickering on/off... next thing you know people are going to start putting the "Hot Donuts" signs in there cars... LOL

kcbhiw

Lighting laws vary between passenger vehicles and trucks. You typically won't see any marker lights on any thing less than a 1/2 ton truck. Wheel farings on the truck have marker lights because they protrude from the vehicle.

StuttersC

Clearance lights fall under a different law in Colorado...They are required on certain trucks and trailers, and other trucks have regulations regarding there use.

Windshield washer lights are not considered clearance lights because they are on the hood, not the roof. And passenger cars don't need clearance lights.

StuttersC

Well, I was bored so I searched through the Colorado Revised Statute (CRS) again and found the traffic code concerning clearance lights. I am posting only the part that concerns clearance lights, as the rest of the statute then goes into side markers for trailers and such and doesn't concern the topic here. That, and the statute is long as hell...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
42-4-207. Clearance and identification.

(1) Every vehicle designed or used for the transportation of property or for the transportation of persons shall display lighted lamps at the times mentioned in section 42-4-204 when and as required in this section.

(2) Clearance lamps: (a) Every motor vehicle or motor-drawn vehicle having a width at any part in excess of eighty inches shall be equipped with four clearance lamps located as follows:

(I) Two on the front and one at each side, displaying an amber light visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the front of the vehicle;

(II) Two on the rear and one at each side, displaying a red light visible only to the rear and visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the rear of the vehicle, which said rear clearance lamps shall be in addition to the rear red lamp required in section 42-4-206.

(b) All clearance lamps required shall be placed on the extreme sides and located on the highest stationary support; except that, when three or more identification lamps are mounted on the rear of a vehicle on the vertical center line and at the extreme height of the vehicle, rear clearance lamps may be mounted at optional height.

(c) Any trailer, when operated in conjunction with a vehicle which is properly equipped with front clearance lamps as provided in this section, may be, but is not required to be, equipped with front clearance lamps if the towing vehicle is of equal or greater width than the towed vehicle.

(d) All clearance lamps required in this section shall be of a type approved by the department.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Got it, good...There will be a test later.