Valenti tail light warning? Wth experience...

[Packofcrows]

My friend and I were driving up to San Jose. Driving 68mph on cruise control when suddenly she goes pale and i see red lights flash. CHP made deal of her Valenti lights. Its the clear ones with white L...or redish... L is white. Non chrome. He gave her a fixer ticket because he said they not DOT approved and other nonsense. Wtf! I thought they were?

Any other owners able to elaborate if they've had any issues? Her BRZ is all stock besides tailights, 1 inch drop and CAI. Stuff not noticeable tbh. He didnt even ask us to show our DL and insurance... he only asked us if we had DL's on us.

[soulreapersteve]

I've seen a lot of the drivers up here running with those, seems they have had no issues since they still have the lights.

If they are DOT approved, then that cop was wrong.

[BAMF86]

Valentis are not DOT approved from what I remember. You need to have a side reflector in the housing for them to be DOT approved, similar to the USDM toms tail lights

[DemonRawr]

I am shocked! This is the first case that I've heard of in which an officer pulled someone over for non-DOT approved tail lights. What's even more surprising is that the particular officer actually had his or her eye out for cars without side markers on the tail lights...

Here in San Jose and the surrounding area, I've seen many twins running non-DOT Tom's, Helix's, and Valenti's, but I have never heard of any having issues with officers. Hell, I even seen tons of people running around with completely blacked out tail lights in front of cops without the officers even bothering to pull them over.

Your friend was very unlucky to have been ticketed... Fortunately, she can easily sell them at any time if she wish to get rid of them. Good luck to her with the fix it ticket!

[wbradley]

I have noticed that while the Valentis don't have side marker bulbs, the tube element inside is visible from the side. Your friend might be able to dispute the claim. Perhaps there was something that ticked off the officer to bring this on.

[Agent 86]

Originally Posted by wbradley

I have noticed that while the Valentis don't have side marker bulbs, the tube element inside is visible from the side. Your friend might be able to dispute the claim. Perhaps there was something that ticked off the officer to bring this on.

^ This!!!

I have the Red Valentis and from the side (with parking lights on), the light bar is remarkably visible.

I'll bet the officer wasn't referring to lack of a side reflector, but rather the fact that the clear w/white light bar version doesn't look OEM.

Did the officer actually examine the tail light looking for DOT certification, or did he/she just jump to that conclusion? I don't think the Valentis have the DOT stamp and are therefore not approved. Because of that, you would probably not win in court.

Here's a solution. Install the OEM tail lights, get it inspected, then reinstall the Valentis after inspection!

[Roadcone]

dispute it in court and you'll just waste time in kommiefornia... also, they arent DOT approved. I believe only the Toms USDM and BuddyClub USDM are DOT approved. everything else is riding dirty.

[Packofcrows]

Originally Posted by Agent 86

Did the officer actually examine the tail light looking for DOT certification, or did he/she just jump to that conclusion? I don't think the Valentis have the DOT stamp and are therefore not approved. Because of that, you would probably not win in court.

Here's a solution. Install the OEM tail lights, get it inspected, then reinstall the Valentis after inspection!

We sat for 2min in car after he asked us questions as he walked around her BRZ and wrote down on his writing board thing. Were going to wait for mail to see what arrives regarding this issue. Will keep you guys posted as soon as my friend allows me to share more info.

[Poodles]

Non chrome but clear? Not sure which ones you're talking about...

[Rookie84]

The cop had every right reason to write a fix-it ticket for it. The law requires DOT approved tail lights on every car. Valenti lights look noticeably like aftermarket lights (especially clear ones like your friend has), and that is the reason why the cop pulled your friend over. Once the cop took a closer look, it would have been easy to tell.

If you put something that is not legal on your car, you take the risk. You got a fix-it ticket? Just spend 10 minutes and put the stock tails back on. Simple. But don't go whining and bitching about an officer doing his job, which is enforcing the law.

[Poodles]

Originally Posted by Rookie84

The cop had every right reason to write a fix-it ticket for it. The law requires DOT approved tail lights on every car. Valenti lights look noticeably like aftermarket lights (especially clear ones like your friend has), and that is the reason why the cop pulled your friend over. Once the cop took a closer look, it would have been easy to tell.

If you put something that is not legal on your car, you take the risk. You got a fix-it ticket? Just spend 10 minutes and put the stock tails back on. Simple. But don't go whining and bitching about an officer doing his job, which is enforcing the law.

[a_dee]

Consider yourself lucky its a fix it ticket and not a fine. It's minimal labor, not like you would have to spend $$ to get it fixed.

[superleggera]

I received a non-DOT approved taillight fixit ticket like 10 years ago on my jetta. thats why I went w/ DOT approved taillights ever since, including TOMs on this car. Some cops are hard over that shit because it's an easy ticket. In my situation, I installed my oem taillights, brought in pictures, and they dismissed the ticket without any issue.

[Bergen23]

Originally Posted by Rookie84

The cop had every right reason to write a fix-it ticket for it. The law requires DOT approved tail lights on every car. Valenti lights look noticeably like aftermarket lights (especially clear ones like your friend has), and that is the reason why the cop pulled your friend over. Once the cop took a closer look, it would have been easy to tell.

If you put something that is not legal on your car, you take the risk. You got a fix-it ticket? Just spend 10 minutes and put the stock tails back on. Simple. But don't go whining and bitching about an officer doing his job, which is enforcing the law.

Constantly blows my mind that people bitch and moan about fix it tickets for illegal parts on their car. It's not even like its a grey area. Non DOT approved tails are illegal. Everyone knows this.