Blue Lights

[PMK]

FWIW, here in Florida, a couple years ago, pulling onto the Florida Turnpike, riding two up, the wife and I, and pulling the RT622 trailer, headed out to go Christmas shopping we got pulled over for supposedly having blue flashing lights.

Turns out, the Highway Patrolman knew little about HID headlights. What he saw, in daylight was the edge band of light from the HID that is slightly blue. We were stopped a while as he insisted I turned on the flashing blue lights. I explained that these are from the manufacturer and not aftermarket. Also, I explained what he saw and he did not beleive me. Finally, he walked well infront of the Spyder, and looked. Next, he came back, said I needed to follow him so he could look for himself in the mirrors. Ultimately, nothing happened, but the FHP officer wanted to be right and write me up.

After that, I accidentally learned a better way to explain the HID blue edge. Open the frunk and let the light shine on the inside of the lid.

 

[johnnyrocket]

I have the led USA flag on the back of my Spyder, also. I was waiting for a friend to catch up with me and a deputy stopped to see if I needed any help. Told him I was waiting and he got ready to leave he said I like your led flag. Hopefully all police are as patriotic. Also, speaking of blue lites being illegal, I followed some Harley riders back to my motel one day. All 5 of them had blue lites on the back of their bikes. I talked to a couple of them in the lobby and told them how well they could be seen but did they ever have trouble with police, they replied we are all retired police and have been stopped before but not ticketed when we show them our id's. I said that's not fair and they just laughed. Being smart, I just laughed too.

No blue lights in Illinois. You will get pulled over at some point..

I am using the LED flag and been lucky up to this point.

But why would they pull me over for displaying the American Flag anyway :shocked:

 

[KX5062]

BUT.....do they have the authority to prevent you from driving an "illgeal" vehicle ??

Anyone who insists on doing this should have a fuse or switch to disable it........just incase.

If I understand your question correctly. No, they really don't have any authority to "stop" you from driving a legally deficient vehicle. They can only ticket you as a way of enforcing legal compliance. In Commiefornia, the ticket is a fix-it. Meaning, you get ticketed, you fix the violation, then you have a legally authorized authority sign off the back of the ticket to prove compliance. After that you give the ticket to the courts, pay an administrative fee, and then you go about your merry way without a trace on your driving record. Just like it never happened, except your wallet is lighter.

The switch is a good idea. This is what I did. I have the LED American flag on the back of mine. I installed a hidden switch in the trunk so I can turn it off at will. I found the LED lights to be somewhat obnoxious at night, so I alway turn it off at night. I also turned it off when I traveled into Canada. I figured it would be illegal in some fashion and I didn't want to offend, so I kept it off the entire time.

FWIW, I've traveled all over the western US, as seen on my map on the sig line, and so far I've never been hassled anywhere.



As a funny and maybe interesting side note.

In the old days in the land of fruits and nutz. Blue lights to the rear were legal and treated differently. It was authorized for state legislators to display on their way to a session of the state legislature. The reason for that is those official could NOT be stopped for ANY violation of law when displaying that blue light.
Think that might have been abused?? Duh!
Former speaker Willie Brown (current US Senator Kamala Harris' former married boyfriend) was the worst offender. It got routinely covered up, among other transgressions. He's the reason we have term limits and this law was changed. (As a public servant, he used to wear $1000s hand tailored Italian suits and drive a red Lambo......)

 

[Easy Rider]

then you go about your merry way without a trace on your driving record. Just like it never happened, except your wallet is lighter.

So......what happens in the ensuing hours, days or weeks before you get it "fixed" and you are stopped again ?
Carrying around the first citation with you doesn't magically mean that it isn't illegal anymore......does it ??

What if, for instance, both of your headlights were out ??
Or both tail lights or brake lights ??

 

[Cruzr Joe]

In all reality, a deficient vehicle can be impounded if the deficiency is a serious enough safety hazard, and yes the police do have the authority to impound a seriously deficient vehicle.

If you care to test this theory, try driving through town with a windshield busted bad enough that you can't see out of it or try driving with only three tires and a rim and see what happens.

Cruzr Joe

 

[Chasinsparks]

FWIW

Those would be
Legal in Maryland.

[FONT=&quot](iii) Blue dot illumination: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1. May be located only on the rear of a motorcycle as part of or adjacent to the rear brake light; and [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2. May not exceed three-quarters of an inch in diameter. [/FONT]

 

[Chasinsparks]

Look this up 625 ILCS 5/12-209.5, if I'm reading this correct as long as they are not red and white. Looks like this was an amendment to illinois law

I just installed blue"BIKEVIS" V2 bullets on the rear of my RT-S. Has anyone else installed a blue light/lights on the back of their Spyder and if you have, have the local LEO'S given you any grief??

Comments.....?

Thanks!

 

[Tanshanomi]

I work for one of the three largest manufacturers of vehicle lighting in the USA, and I can assure you that making generalizations about this is almost impossible because this is an exceptionally vague area of law. Federal regulation CFR 49 571.108 requires that original equipment and replacement lighting for all vehicles must be amber or white to the side and front, and red to the rear. The exceptions are rear turn signals (optionally permitted to be amber in harmony with overseas lighting regs), back-up lights (must be white) and license lights (must be white, and furthermore can provide only indirect illumination to the rear). HOWEVER (and this is a HUGE caveat), those regs apply specifically to manufacturers—not to owner-modified vehicles. Most states do have statutes that require all licensed vehicles to comply with Federal regulations for required lighting. For example, swapping a blue bulb into your license light would be a violation. Also, there is very often an additional requirement (in harmony with Federal regs) that auxiliary lighting cannot interfere with the function of required lighting, a stipulation "blue dot" inserts often run afoul of.

But note that term "required lighting equipment." State and local regulations rarely include blanket statements regarding the color of additional, non-required or auxiliary lighting. Blue dot tail lights might be allowable only if there are other, federally compliant stop/tail/turn lights on the vehicle (for example, a central blue-dot tail light on a motorcycle that has additional saddlebag S/T/T lights).

As far as auxillary light colors in general, it's all over the board. In some states, blue is prohibited to the rear, but green or purple is permitted. In some states, blue is only legal if steady, but not permitted to flash. In many states, all flashing lights on private vehicles must be amber, except for municipal first responders and specific highway service vehicles (tow trucks, private ambulances). Some states differentiate between indirect lighting and focused beams (think under-chassis glow lights vs outward-facing fresnel lenses). Furthermore, some states have limits on the number of individual lights that can point forward or rearward.

Add in the fact that there's a BUNCH of ignorance and mis-education among LEOs and local prosecutors, and what it comes down is what you're going to get pulled over for in your town or in the state where your vehicle is licensed.

For what it's worth, in my home state of Missouri, "blue dot" tail light inserts are legal only on vehicles bearing a specially registered "Street Rod" or "Custom Vehicle" license plate.

 

[Bob Denman]

I guess you should try to remember that somebody who has something to sell you; won't be there when you discover (the hard way!), that it's not legal to install it! :banghead:

 

[40Xshooter]

Well, we certainly have quite a few experts here regarding what can and can't be displayed to the rear of a motorcycle. Again, thank you all for your input. What I'm kinda getting out of this is what it comes down to is how the officer feels at the time.

Tanshanomi, thank you for your input.

When (or if I ever) get pulled over for the lights, I'll let you know. I may hook them up to the brake lights so they come on only when brakes are applied.

We'll see.....

 

[Tanshanomi]

I went back and looked at your original post. I didn't realize you were talking about LED bullet lights, I thought you were talking about blue dot lens inserts. It doesn't really change the application of anything I said outside of my comment about Missouri law specifically, but I actually thought you meant these:

 

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

In California that will get your vehicle impounded and you get a ticket and walk home...

YES but fortunately you can get free needles, throw them in the street & then take a dump next to the needles and
never worry about a ticket. :yes:

 

[40Xshooter]

I guess you should try to remember that somebody who has something to sell you; won't be there when you discover (the hard way!), that it's not legal to install it! :banghead:

In this particular situation Bob, the seller wouldn't have any idea what's legal or not legal in Illinois. He's in the UK! You can't buy these particular lights here.

I kinda take offense to your statement Bob. I may be getting up in years but I'm not 12 nor am I an idiot. I'm familiar with the term "buyer beware". The onus for this one is on ME.

And BTW, NO ONE has actually determined if it IS illegal to run blue to the rear...The statute is pretty vague here in IL to say the least, but what I WILL do Bob is let you know when I get a ticket for them...

Have a great day. :thumbup:

I'm out!

 

[Peteoz]

I went back and looked at your original post. I didn't realize you were talking about LED bullet lights, I thought you were talking about blue dot lens inserts. It doesn't really change the application of anything I said outside of my comment about Missouri law specifically, but I actually thought you meant these:

View attachment 165144

I’ve never seen that style of light out here in Aus, Tanshanomi. What benefit does the blue dot provide?

Pete

 

[Bob Denman]

In this particular situation Bob, the seller wouldn't have any idea what's legal or not legal in Illinois. He's in the UK! You can't buy these particular lights here.

I kinda take offense to your statement Bob. I may be getting up in years but I'm not 12 nor am I an idiot. I'm familiar with the term "buyer beware". The onus for this one is on ME.

And BTW, NO ONE has actually determined if it IS illegal to run blue to the rear...The statute is pretty vague here in IL to say the least, but what I WILL do Bob is let you know when I get a ticket for them...

Have a great day. :thumbup:

I'm out!

Please don't "wear your heart so close to your hide..."
The point that I was making was that they don't care about the legality: they just care about making a sale...

 

[Tanshanomi]

I’ve never seen that style of light out here in Aus, Tanshanomi. What benefit does the blue dot provide?

Pete

Negligible functional benefit. The combination of the blue dot and the red lens combine to give the taillights a distinctive purple appearance. Supposedly made them easier to see back when tail lights were dim, 6-volt bulbs. They really took off as a popular modification in the original hot-rod era of the post-war 40s and 1950s.

 

[Bigmo]

Blue Light

I have blue light on the side and front under windscreen. None are flashing and all are on single switch, So I can turn off if told to..

 

[Gator37]

I guess you should try to remember that somebody who has something to sell you; won't be there when you discover (the hard way!), that it's not legal to install it! :banghead:

My experience in LE here in Washington is that you would be at a bare minimum Ticketed. Blue lights are reserved for Law Enforcement only. Why would anyone want to take that chance.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

BLUE LIGHTS

I just installed blue"BIKEVIS" V2 bullets on the rear of my RT-S. Has anyone else installed a blue light/lights on the back of their Spyder and if you have, have the local LEO'S given you any grief??

Comments.....?

Thanks!

I've read all the posts/ comments on this topic and your responses ............ So Why did you even ASK this question , imho your mind was made up before put fingers to the keyboard..........your welcome ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[SpyderConvert]

Colored Lighting

After a group ride with the American Legion post that I belong to, a retired State Police motor officer was giving a presentation about a motor cycle safety course that his company provides. He was asked specifically about colored LED lighting on motorcycles and his response was that blue and/or red lighting (any kind) on the front of any privately owned vehicle was illegal, flashing or steady! He did add, however, that ticketing for this violation was at the discretion of the law enforcement officer. Sometimes, he said, that it was the attitude of the vehicle owner that would determine his decision.

He also said that tinted windshields were illegal in Maryland, no one present knew this!