Grizybaer

Today i was in Pep Boys and started talking to the guy behind me. He said that the other day he was talking to some guy that got a ticket for having his fog lamps on.

What do you guys think? I know i see fog lamps on all the time. When could they be on and such?

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~Grizy
Great, so how much is shipping?

spigidygak

Well in California, they are illegal to have on at any time for any reason no matter what type. But seriously now, that has to be one bitch of a cop to pull someone over for having fog lights on when ther are more important things going on. This is kinda like the front license plate deal.

coleslaw

i think those neon lights are illegal too. i guess people stare at them instead of watching the road - got into accidents and such. the same should go with cell phones. i want a bumber sticker that says: "i wonder how you would drive with that cell phone shoved up your as$?"

colossus

Fog lamps are not illegal on cars in CA, as far as I know. When I was forced to go to traffic school for a stinkin car pool lane violation I had the cop check out my car for any violations. He couldn't find one. Every light was intact, tire pressures within limits, etc.

Now, changing the color of the lamps to anything other than white is illegal. If any film is over the front plastic/glass then it is grounds for a fix-it ticket, so all those amber and blue tinted people are just asking for it.

Similarly, changing the tail light plastics on cars to be clear is also illegal. Brake lights must always be red plastic. The bulb may be either red or white.

With respects to side turn lights, amber is required if it is on the side body of the car. Rear turn lights may be either amber or red...not white.

I had a friend at Ford hook my up with HIDs for my Contour SVT. The thing cost me $590 (no labor costs hehe), but damn they're bright! I'm using the same bulbs as on the Lincolns but a different housing. The power requirements are what drive the cost so high.

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Ço£o§§ü§ - yeah you can read into it...

Pdizog

fog lamps illegal in SoCal? I don't think so.

colossus

I was thinking about getting this bumper sticker that read "Keep talking on the cel phone...that way you'll be a steady target!"

I didn't get it though because I didn't want the "hick" factor on my car hehe.

Another sticker I saw read "Keep honking, I'm reloading". I laughed my ass off when I read this one, and it is still probably one of my favs.

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Ço£o§§ü§ - yeah you can read into it...

xyrth

foglamps -- must be covered (and off) if above bumper, or a certain height above the ground.

that's the trick -- also, remember that they qualify as parking lamps if they are the only thing on, which is alos illegal to have on while driving.

- xyrth

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Where the fûck have I been? Where the fück have you been.

Santee Matt

technicaly any lighting modifaction done to a car (and used) on the street is illegal (ie. no fog lights, no colored turn signals, etc....)
-m

Nanotech9

Here in OK I got pulled over for running two little yellow fog lamps (mounted on the inside of the lower part of the front bumper cover). Obviously the cop had nothing better to do. I played dumb and he just gave me a warning. He said that any lights that aren't mounted at the same level as the headlights are to be treated just like you brights. Something about turning them off X many feet when aproaching or trailing another vehicle...

hapoo

neon lights are fine as long as you cant see the tube, only the reflection of the light

coleslaw

do you have any proof to back that up hapoo? i'd be interested in seeing how legislation handles such things.

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hapoo

sorry, i don't. I just remember reading it on some site that was selling neon lights.

Newbiee

How can the amber colored fog lights be illegal when they came stock on my lexus es300. If they were illegal would'nt companys take them off or not offer them?

coleslaw

they aren't illegal if you only use them for the right purpose: driving in fog. i really hate it when people drive around with their fog lights on at night. it makes it very hard to focus on the road ahead.

hapoo

not illegal to have, illegal to use!!

speedracer120

Yeah, just like them Firestone tires on the Ford SUVs. <sarcasm>It's completely legal to sell cars with faulty tires.</sarcasm> Despite my sarcasm, it's true. Car manufacturers make billions selling rolling coffins. Don't get me wrong, I'm not Ralph Nader, but still somekind of warning about driving within certain limits should be given with the car. True idiots like me will ignore them the first few weeks, but maybe it'll hit someone that driving 120mph on N rated tires will not be safe. Well time to get off the soapbox.

Alaric

Almost every aftermarket light you can buy always has some disclaimer "Check local laws before ordering" or "For Off-Road Use Only", etc. Laws may vary greatly from city-to-city concerning type and color of aftermarket lights allowed. For example, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, alot of city maintenance trucks have blue lights on the top, but in many other Oklahoma cities only the police or sheriff's department use blue. Additionally, I have seen alot of tow trucks in Stillwater with red & blue lightbars on the top!

I would recommend highly that you do, in fact, "check local laws before ordering" an aftermarket fog light kit, and be sure to get detailed information on exactly how they can be mounted (height, distance between them, etc) and when they can be used. But remember what may be legal in Sacramento may be illegal in Long Beach, so if you're in doubt whether you should turn on your fog lights or not-- don't!

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DrSpeed111

okay...i live in california, and being the state of rice rockets and fixed up cars, i talked to a cop (who's also a good friend of mine), and he took out the vehicle code book, and it read something like this:

1. No more than two forward facing lights on at the same time.

2. Non-DOT approved lights shall always be covered. (All lights sold that are street legal will have DOT etched on the cover, or somewhere visible on the lamp itself. See your tailights and headlights. Believe me, they're there. So all those lights that are not DOT approved, cover 'em up. Street legals lights are made a few manufacturers: PIAA, CATZ, Hella...)

3. No forward facing light can be red or blue. Those are designated for police and emergency vehicles only.

As for the front facing lights, those big 6 inch off road lights are usually illegal on the street, so don't turn them on and cover them up. Street legal lamps have a correct beam pattern that doesn't shine onto oncoming traffic, so you're okay there.

BTW, the HID's are white, not blue. Fake HID's are blue.

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