Smoked Taillights NJ.. Illegal or not?
 

I just installed DEPO tri bar taillights which are significantly dark, are these illegal in new jersey? All illuminations work for the distances inscribed in the law but since they're "stock" (as they come) dark am I clear?

Depends on if the officer just learned his dog died, his wife found someone else, or his favorite donut shop closed.

so its not a violation worthy of a pullover in and of itself? is it a secondary violation?

If there have a DOT cert moms on them they are legal. If they don’t they are not.
Whether they are a primary or secondary reason to be pulled over is totally up to the whim of the cop. Even if legal they can pull you over to check for the very mold.
Any mod that draws attention can have the same results though.

I've never been pulled over for them in my state but then again my state is lax on some laws. Had tons of cops behind me on the freeway etc and nothing. Does make me anxious though and when my smoked valenti v1 crapped out I upgraded to the sequential red/white ones.

depends entirely on the officer. it also depends on how shady you are. it could be reason enough to get you pulled over because they think you're suspicious..

most cops don't know lighting laws, or keep up to date on the latest aftermarket options. they go off their gut. if it's non-oem, to some it's illegal, and you can have a chance to prove it at the court date.

Hell, I don't know.

But I do have a question for the group.

WHY do some of you want to smoke (darken) the tail lights on a car?

Dang, back in the day we had these dinky little 6 Volt taillights, that could hardly be seen. Then, we went with bigger, brighter and more tail/stop lights that were more visible, thus safer.

Now, some want to go back to less visible tail/stop lights.

WHY?

OK, smokem up, but don't bitch when some old man, on a rainy night, with bad eyesight, and next to no night vision and trying to remember why he is going to where he is going - slams into the back of your car cause he didn't see it.

:sigh:


humfrz

If it's good enough for Michael Knight, it's enough reason for me.
http://www.extravaganzi.com/wp-conte...ght-Rider3.jpg

Yes, but, but, KITT was an advanced artificially intelligent, self-aware and nearly indestructible car. The machines we drive today are designed to self destruct to protect the driver, who is, a lot of the times, impaired, distracted and often not intelligent.

:sigh:


humfrz

a police officer on patrol was following me once, i indicated a turn with the smoked sequential spyder v1 tails. he pulled me over. not just bc of the tails, my car is loud, has a wing, gold wheels, 4%tint, and he saw me go by a few times, i had been cruising/lurking around my hometown, no speeding. i was a gentleman, he was a gentleman, but he remarked my lights "werent exacty kosher." whether the spyder v1 sequential smoked tails are dot approved, i dont know, neither did he, but they still draw attention.

moral of my story, id doesnt matter if they are legal or not

Cops can pull you for whatever they feel like...there are enough overlapping, outdated, and conflicting laws and regulations so that they can pretty much make up whatever bullshit reason they want to get you pulled. It doesn't matter if you think you can outsmart them on a technicality; at that point, you've already been pulled, have a ticket, and now need to appear in court if you want to prove them wrong. That said, they're also lazy. So, the fewer reasons you give them to be in your shit in the first place, the better off you are. Tinted ANYTHING is a easy one for them. Not to mention the other reasons listed by fellow old-timers...lol..

This whole tinted tail light thing is super annoying. It can be really hard to see them light up in the rain or if the sun is shining right on them especially when they're done poorly (which is most of the time).

my current prevailing theory is a sort of reverse darwinism.

every time i see a set, my internal monologue of the cars say "i'm so cool and have so much extra money and time, i can afford to risk getting involved in an accident that will consume massive amounts of all of those resources, and it won't matter"

i on the other hand are short on money, time, and hate dealing with the general public only slightly less than i hate dealing with insurance agencies, so i keep my brake lights as bright as possible to avoid such a scenario.

Agreed. Looks 'cool'
In reality they are more dangerous specially in bad weather. Makes you harder to see and more likely to get rear ended by someone.