Posted: 4/24/2004 8:09:26 PM EDT
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Hey guys I have a question for y'all and would really appreciate your input. My friend and I got pulled over lastnight in his truck because he posted pics of his LED strobes, which he only uses offroad or on private property, and someone from Maine forwarded the pics to the local PD. Since then the local PD has had an open file on him and have been looking for the truck and well they found it lastnight. From my understanding it is/was perfectly legal to have/use alterntaive warning lights as long as they are white/amber up front and white/red/amber in the rear and you could have red/blue but only used off road. Is this correct or have the laws changed? Much appreciated |
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They are just LEDs wired in two housings hooked up to a flasher, LEDs in the tail lights and some above the rear view mirror. At first we thought that someone might have reported him using it in our parking lot or something. When he asked the officer how he knew he had them that's what the officer said. And i was just dumbfounded. Oh alternative, not alternating, such as a directional amber light bar in the rear, and hide aways in the front and rear corners. |
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Red and blue strobes can only go on authorized emergency vehicles. It doesn't matter if they are being used for "off road" use only. Why woul you use strobes for "off road" use, anyhow? It isn't like they are superior illumination tools. Lighting rules are pretty complicated and funky. Pretty much any lights one chooses to add to a vehicle, in addition to the standard factory ones (not as replacements) run the risk of violating the traffic laws as they are written, and alot of the after market replacement lights, like tail lamps with clear lenses, aren't legal either. Red and blue strobes or other colored flashing lights are a particular sticky subject, as those are generally reserved for emergency or service vehicles, and have strict rules about how and when they can be used. When you start putting emergency vehicle lights on a non-emergency vehicle, LE obviously becomes concerned about the whole impersonator issue, which is something that seems to come up a few times a year in every major metro area in this state. The bottom line is that unless you are specifically authorized to put flashy lights on your vehicle, you probably can't, even if they are "off-road" only. |
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What Natez said. Our problem on this topic is folks putting strobes in their windshield washer nozzles, fog lights, turn signals, hubcaps, and even on the roof. Green, Red, blue, violet, combinations, When your purple wheelwell strobes can be seen over a mile away you've gone a little too far. If your friend put red/blue strobes in his vehicle, the first thing that comes to MY mind is "police impersonator." As for the Maine website deal, I don't believe your friend for a second. There's more to the story. |
| Oh I know the problems that are associated with the wiper nozels and stuff like that. When I say "off road use" i'm talking about when we're on a friend's 1000 acre ranch or at car shows and stuff like that. Are the directional warning lights legal to have on the back of a vehical and what about the clear hide away strobes? |
| Look at the item or the package of the item you are installing. If it does not say "DOT Approved" then you are installing an item that does not conform to Texas traffic law. The Department of Transportation regulates what equipment can go on to a motor vehicle and Texas does not allow epuipment on a vehicle that is not allowed by the DOT. |
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TRC 547.305 (a) A motor vehicle lamp or illuminating device, other than a headlamp, spotlamp, auxiliary lamp, turn signal lamp, or emergency vehicle or school bus warning lamp, that projects a beam with an intensity brighterthan 300 candlepower shall be directed so that no part of the high-intensity portion of the beam strikes the roadway at a distance of more than 75 feet from the vehicle. (b) Except as expressly authorized by law, a person may not operate or move equipment or a vehicle, other than a police vehicle, with a lamp or device that displays a red light visible from directly in front of the center of the equipment or vehicle. (c) A person may not operate a motor vehicle equiped with a red, white, or blue beacon, flashing or alternating light unless the equipment is: (1) Used as specifically authorize by this chapter; or (2) A running lamp, headlamp, taillamp, backup lamp, or turn signal lamp that is used as authorized by law. (d) A vehicle may be equipped with alternately flashing lighting equipment described by section 547.701 or 547.702 only if the the vehicle is: (1) A school bus; (2) An authorized emergency vehicle; (3) A church bus that has the words "church bus" printed on the front and rear of the bus so as to be clearly discernable to other vehicle operators; (4) A tow truck while under the direction of a law enforcement officer at the scene of an accident, or while hooking up to a disabled vehicle on a roadway. The rest of the section goes on to talk about highway maintenance vehicles and tow trucks. Hopes this helps. |