Hid ticket in Miami

singlecamdude · Apr 9, 2011

Well I got hit with a ticket for my hid's in Miami, apparently the cop told me they are illegal. the statue that that he wrote on the ticket was 316.241 improper use of lighting. i didn't fight it because my friend thats a police officer says the Sargent who pulled me over does an off duty by my house So I just paid it. The funny part is that I have a paper stating they are 50 state legal and dot approved the officer laughed when I told him and I even tried to show him the paper. So watch out guys

crazystang25 · Apr 9, 2011

He was just bein an ass! Just trying to find some excuse to give you a ticket.

singlecamdude · Apr 9, 2011

Yeah after he gave me the ticket he said fix the lights and take it to court and I'll dismiss it what an a$$

crazystang25 · Apr 10, 2011

If they were illegal then manufacturers couldn't put them on cars either.

san~man · Apr 10, 2011

They aren't legal, no matter what the paper says. If it isn't oem, it doesn't meet FMVSS regulations and should be considered "off road" use only.

Cory281 · Apr 10, 2011

+1 with what Sanman says. HID's that are factory don't blind people like the aftermarket ones do. It sucks for you, but everyone else going the opposite way will be happy.

Deleted member 38176 · Apr 10, 2011

LOL you're such a pushover. You should have fought it and it would have easily been dismissed. Personally, I can't stand HID's. They annoy the living hell out of me, but I also think that a car owner has every right to run them.

san~man said:
They aren't legal, no matter what the paper says. If it isn't oem, it doesn't meet FMVSS regulations and should be considered "off road" use only.

This is BS. Im not saying that you're incorrect but Im saying that the particular law or regulation you're going off of allows for a HUGE gray-area the interpretation of that law/regulation. It is something tat is easily fight able in court.

j_lutter31 · Apr 10, 2011

I think someone that swaps bulbs with HID's should get a ticket if it blinds other drivers. OEM HID headlight assemblies have a cutoff designed in them so oncoming traffic doesn't get blinded.

singlecamdude · Apr 10, 2011

i wanted to fight it, but think about lets say i do take it to court and make him look like a fool, then hes going to be on my case and messing with me everyday. i see that cop everyday by my house his off duty shift is a block away. my headlights have cutoffs and the beam is dropped down just so that i dont blind anyone.

trombonedemon · Apr 10, 2011

Cory281 said:
+1 with what Sanman says. HID's that are factory don't blind people like the aftermarket ones do.

BMW's, Audi's, Mercedes; all have true HIDs, and THEY ALL BLIND THE CRAP out my eyes, those cars come with stock HIDs.
O.p. I'm sorry you came across a police officer whom uses his discretion loosely. Sounds like a Terry stop just to see what you were up to, so he had to write a ticket for something.
And to be honest there is no car on the road can't be written a ticket, any small thing; such as tires w/improper inflation, appearing to go too fast, improper braking. The list can go on.
Get you some dark head lights and go on w/life.
Personally, if you don't have ultra dark head-lights, there is no reason for HIDs, other then aesthectics.
Chances are your lights were too high, even though you think they were low.

singlecamdude · Apr 10, 2011

i know that am just bringing up a talk about it thats all. i know my fare share of Florida statues, like you said he had nothing better to do and he picked on me.

Cory281 · Apr 10, 2011

Trombone, those cars all blind me as well. But they are not near as bad as the aftermarket HID's. He could have pulled this guy over for something that is BS just to see what he's up to, and if he wasn't up to anything bad, he would have just let him go.

The guy probably wouldn't have even taken it personally if you fought it, man. But to late now, I would have done the same thing as you and just fixed it.

san~man · Apr 10, 2011

Nightfire said:
This is BS. Im not saying that you're incorrect but Im saying that the particular law or regulation you're going off of allows for a HUGE gray-area the interpretation of that law/regulation. It is something tat is easily fight able in court.

I stand corrected. Further investigation into the matter revealed that anything can be "DOT" certified, but it does not make said product legal under the FMVSS.

Here's some interesting things I dug up doing a google search:

Mr. Simon S. Shih, 4 Teal, Irvine, CA 92604

Mr. Jeff Deetz, Sales Manager, Santeca Electronics, Inc., 7215 East 21<sup>st</sup> Street, Suite D, Indianapolis, IN 46219

Mr. Song M. Kim, C.M.O./Fanteks, Inc., 580 Sylvan Ave., Suite 1A, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632

Cliff notes: those three links are letters from a "chief counsel" of some arm of the gov't (I'm assuming the FMVSS dept) that state that aftermarket HID products would not conform to the FMVSS No. 108 (lighting requirements).

40oz · Apr 10, 2011

san~man said:
I stand corrected. Further investigation into the matter revealed that anything can be "DOT" certified, but it does not make said product legal under the FMVSS.

...

FMVSS pertains to manufacturers, not consumers. IOW, Mercedes is bound by federal motor vehicle safety standards if they intend to sell cars in the USA, but I can freely buy a Mercedes and modify the car such that it would be in some violation of the standards Mercedes was bound by. I can remove the rear seat belts, for instance. I can freely drive around with no rear seatbelts in my car and not be violating any law, statute, or ordinance, despite the fact that Mercedes could not sell a car with a rear seat and no seatbelts. It would certainly be a non-issue with nobody sitting in the rear seat.

Am I making the difference clear?

Some states are more strict with aftermarket parts than others. But in general, unless there is a statute expressly forbidding some part or modification by the owner, it is legal. You can't have blue signal lights, but you could replace the factory bulb with a red LED or flourescent one and be OK. A Mercedes dealer cannot replace the turn signal lamps with something other than factory because regulations expressly forbid that kind of dealer-installed modification. It does not forbid the owner from doing the modification themselves. Again, there is a difference that is relevant - dealer installed vs. owner-installed.

Not a fan of aftermarket HID, BTW

san~man · Apr 11, 2011

40oz said:
FMVSS pertains to manufacturers, not consumers. IOW, Mercedes is bound by federal motor vehicle safety standards if they intend to sell cars in the USA, but I can freely buy a Mercedes and modify the car such that it would be in some violation of the standards Mercedes was bound by. I can remove the rear seat belts, for instance. I can freely drive around with no rear seatbelts in my car and not be violating any law, statute, or ordinance, despite the fact that Mercedes could not sell a car with a rear seat and no seatbelts. It would certainly be a non-issue with nobody sitting in the rear seat.

Am I making the difference clear?

Some states are more strict with aftermarket parts than others. But in general, unless there is a statute expressly forbidding some part or modification by the owner, it is legal. You can't have blue signal lights, but you could replace the factory bulb with a red LED or flourescent one and be OK. A Mercedes dealer cannot replace the turn signal lamps with something other than factory because regulations expressly forbid that kind of dealer-installed modification. It does not forbid the owner from doing the modification themselves. Again, there is a difference that is relevant - dealer installed vs. owner-installed.

Not a fan of aftermarket HID, BTW

That's true, but I cited that reference as state laws (in regards to lighting as discussed here) follow the guidelines set by the FMVSS, as far as determining what's legal and what isn't.

At least they're that way here in Hawaii. Law here states that any light on the vehicle must conform to the FMVSS no. 108, or it's illegal.

40oz · Apr 11, 2011

san~man said:
...
At least they're that way here in Hawaii. Law here states that any light on the vehicle must conform to the FMVSS no. 108, or it's illegal.

That doesn't really mean anything. First of all, there are a number of ways to interpret some of the regulations. In addition, a regulation that expressly forbids a shop, manufacturer, or dealer from installing non-conforming parts says nothing about what a private citizen can do.

Again, unless there is a statute expressly forbidding something, it's legal. Some people take the position that if it isn't mentioned in the handbook it must be forbidden, but that isn't how the US legal system works.

The actual situation is that an individual may install lighting on their vehicle, but it may take a court of law to decide if it is legal in that jurisdiction. What is not legal for a body shop to install is not automatically illegal for you to install as an individual.

This means that for things like headlights, it's probably not a good idea to install aftermarket HID's if your state has a history of upholding tickets for such a mod. On the other hand, just because you got a ticket doesn't mean you are guilty of anything. It probably would be worth it to ask the court to make a decision instead of just paying the fine. Since most regulations in the FMVSS specifically address entities such as manufacturers, dealers, and shops, the actions of a private individual are not automatically covered.

40oz · Apr 11, 2011

I did find this, which I thought interesting:

Even if the lamp were certified as complying, if installation of the lamp you are interested in would result in removal of the only reflex reflectors on the side and/or rear, there would be a violation of Federal law if this work was performed by a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business, and if the modifier did not add two reflex reflectors to the rear of the car. However, this prohibition does not apply to you, if you, the vehicle's owner, substitutes the lamp. Nevertheless, it is possible that you could be cited somewhere for a violation of local laws if the vehicle lacks rear reflex reflectors. As a general rule, we urge caution in replacing any lighting equipment with novelty items.

Found here:
Mr. Glenn Panes, 6/14/99

The basic gist is that a private owner can mostly ignore the FMVSS unless there are local regulations that specifically address the modification in question.

Kornnut · Apr 12, 2011

Can we all agree they all suck?

Hid ticket in Miami

singlecamdude

New Member

crazystang25

Member

singlecamdude

New Member

crazystang25

Member

san~man

O-G

Cory281

Member

Deleted member 38176

j_lutter31

Member

singlecamdude

New Member

trombonedemon

Well-Known Member

singlecamdude

New Member

Cory281

Member

san~man

O-G

40oz

Member

san~man

O-G

40oz

Member

40oz

Member

Kornnut

Similar threads

Hid ticket in Miami

New Member

Member

New Member

Member

O-G

Member

Deleted member 38176

Member

New Member

Well-Known Member

New Member

Member

O-G

Member

O-G

Member

Member

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency