Cool AND Illegal?

Hot damn, with an endorsement like that we'd better crank up the presses and start making more.

If we could figure out a way to make them cool, illegal AND get you high, we'd really have something.

 

Another example is:

In many states Tinting the windows is illegal. or restricted by law. BUT that doesn't stop people or business from tinting them and in many cases the law is not enforced. Unless you get a policeman that is having a bad day and looking for something to write you up for.

Many "piddly poo" laws exist and are not enforced and for the sake of "coolness" we bend them! Sometimes we bend them nearly 120 degrees! <smile>

Here in Missouri, it is illegal to run without front plates, yet everyday I see Corvetts and custom cars on the road withtout them... One day on a one hour drive I counted the cars without front plates. My count was 27.

If you break the law... you take the chance of getting busted... How much do you want to spend to have cool lights? <huge smile>

 

HAHA...I'm not endorsing them from a law enforcement perspective. I'm a car guy like anybody else. I can say it looks good on the car but still have to acknowledge that its not legal. I might let you slide on it but dont count on the other 99% of officers doing the same. Thats the risk you take.

 

Very true PW. Most people dig their own grave when they get pulled over for speeding or something like that. If you are doing 80 in a 55 dont be a smart a$$ when you get pulled over. You got caught so take your lumps. The smart a$$ is the one who in addition to the speeding ticket gets one for illegal tint, illegal tail lamps, no front plate, not setting parking brake, etc etc. I have let tons of people go because they were polite and admitted they were wrong. Respect goes a long way.

 

This is certainly an interesting thread we have de-evolved into here.....

Just so you guys know my credentials are in place; my wife works for a certain, um, high profile law enforcement agency here in TX.

 

(ok, so back to the sport as you referred to it. )

You point out with your own post that changing the color of the lens is illegal, a cop tells you it's illegal, and since your wife work for law enforcement, it gives you the credentials to justify the product? Or are we missing something here?

 

Well, I don't know if I want to go too much farther down this road - we might be splitting hairs and getting **** here. As the officer pointed out, whether something is illegal or not and whether it is enforced or not can often be two different things. I'm reminded of a sign that used to hang over the bar at Gordo's in Austin many years ago: "Prices Subject to Change According to Customer's Attitude." I think Lawman is saying that many street cops treat these situations indvidually instead of applying a blanket rule of enforcement.

As far as Texas Dept Public Safety motor vehicle code goes, I see the key lines as being # c. and d. To wit:

c. Lamp does not completely emit a red light plainly visible 1,000 feet to the rear.
d. Lamp lens is painted, missing, discolored, or does not fit properly.

As one who has had to photograph hundreds of these darn things over the course of the past six months, I've discovered a few things that cause me to believe that the law is very open to interpretation. Here's an example: the OEM plastic outside taillight lens on a 2005 Mustang is an almost maraschino cherry red color. The the OEM plastic outside taillight lens on a 2005 Subaru Impreza/WRX/STi is an almost black cherry red color. Which red is the correct red? Both lamps emit a "red" light plainly visible 1,000 feet to the rear.

If you put our Smoke (NOT Stealth Smoke which is another subject altogether) vinyl covers on a '05 Mustang the resulting red color is almost indentical to the OEM black cherry red of a Subaru. And as best as we can tell, the covered 'Stang lens still emits red light plainly visible 1,000 feet to the rear. If it passes that test, is it illegal? Section d. of the Code only says that the lens cannot be "discolored."

Notice that the Code says that the lamp must "emit a red light plainly visible 1,000 feet to the rear." But the Code does NOT say if this must be true in the daytime, the nighttime, or both! Again, having photographed more headlight and taillights than I care to remember, I've discoverd that the color and intensity of the red emitted by the lamp is greatly affected by the amount of (or lack of) natural light on the scene at the time. Shoot the back of a car with no flash on a cloudy day and the lens looks dark. Shoot the same car on a sunny day and the lens looks bright.

So... I'm not really pushing any agenda here. It seems to me that everything is open to the individual's interpretation.

 

WOW!!!!

Am in Arizona, just had my windows tinted, BUT, I had them tinted to Georgia Specs since I'll be back inext Feb. I've read the other threads on the Tint law in Ga beingthrown out, but not taking the chance on getting pulled over by officer bubba when I get back to Effingham county LOL. My best bet is to be kewl, if pulled be a gentleman/lady to the officer. Warnings and smiles are the best, Tickets and lack of bucks in the pockets are not ..

 

yikes, I am not putting chrome door stripping anywhere on anything I would drive, let alone around the taillights. but to each their own... The blacked out center panel is interesting, kind of like the backs of the Ferrari's. I would want to see how they look in person though - fit and texture might make a big deference.

While I wouldn't buy a yellow car the back of the one pictured does look good! Not sure the point of the uptight argument so I wont comment. Being nice and polite is always a good thing, regardless if you just got pulled over, or are standing in line for coffee. When I had one of those 'cool cars with no good place for a front plate' I didn't run with one. I knew it might wind up costing me $100/yr But I don't go blaring through school zones or street race so I figured it was worth a shot. When you get right down to it depending on where you live there are laws on the books that don't make much sense...

Relax and enjoy! If you already have an 05 GT, I am jealous. The black 05 in the sig looks great with those wheels - really works with the brand new retro look!!

 

Sometimes you still can't win.

For example... Missouri Law used to specify what "Excessive Noise" was related to Exhaust. That is, a few years ago the law simply stated any motor vehicle or motorbike on public roads could not exceed 97 decibels measured from 30 feet.

I used to know this because I customized 4x4’s and Motorcycles to help pay for collage. That is also when I drove my cobra in the picture below. I actually carried a DB Meter with me for when the cop would pull me over wanting to give me a noise ticket and I would show him a copy of the amendment and hand him the DB Meter to prove I was legal. It got me out of a lot of tickets either at the point of the cop wanting to write me up, or in court if he was a jerk and didn’t want to take the time during the stop.

I guess Missouri got tired of guys like me doing that so the changed the amendment to state excessive noise due to “Modified Exhaust”, meaning if switch the factory muffler for an aftermarket one and a policeman wants to write you up - it WILL hold up in court today if you modified your system.

I guess what I am saying is the debate is mute. Most, if not everyone knows what their local law is regarding modifications to their cars and are willing to risk the ticket.

By the way… in Toridiway defense… It is NOT illegal in any state for a business to modify cars, even if they know those mods are illegal for street use! It is the car owners’ responsibility to keep his car legal for the street. THAT is why you see a lot of “FOR OFFROAD OR SHOW USE ONLY!” statements on a lot of aftermarket items like those Glow Lights, Running Lights, Tinting, Exhausts and the like.

By the way, most States charge either License Fees or Tax’s based on Horsepower and it is the owners’ responsibility to report modifications that increase horsepower to the appropriate authorities. Horsepower is also a factor in Insurance Rates. If you do not report your mods – you are breaking the law! I wonder how many of us will be illegal in that regard! <Huge Smile>
Exhaust