It oughta be a law

[Brigadier]

Now, I am the last person that will advocate for MORE laws on the books. Heck, they don't even enforce the ones we have now. BUT, I believe that if I can get pulled over for and receive a ticket with a fine attached to it, for having a burnt out headlight, then by God it should be a law that auto mfr's MUST design their cars so that I can change out the frikkin' bulb alongside the road WITHOUT using ANY tools or dismantling my entire front end to do so!!!

Anybody with me?

 

[sasilverbullet]

+1 been there, done that.

 

[eljefino]

In France it's the law that you have to have spare bulbs for all your lights so you can do what you say you did provided you have room to do it. Or get a cop with tiny fingers.

I figure it would be great marketing for an automaker to have all LED lights for stuff like the tag light, and a guarantee that they'll pay any tickets for 15 years.

 

[Kestas]

It's a good argument if you were in court. But I imagine the counterargument would be that you should have stopped driving at that point.

 

[mpvue]

I got pulled over once in a '70 Nova for a taillight out.
I popped the trunk, twisted the socket, and the light came on (the socket was prone to having bad contact)


showed the cop; I still got the ticket.

 

[fsdork]

If you're getting a fine for a burned out light, you need to work on your people skills! Note that getting pulled over for it is not the same thing.

 

[Smokescreen]

I got a ticket once for a headlamp that was out....but the fine had a week delay, I replaced the bulb and showed the detachment before the week was up, ticket disappears. Win for everyone who has a law like that.

 

[eljefino]

There are places where an $80 ticket turns into a $20 one if you fix it in time. Still seems like a revenue grab; filaments burn out without any advance warning.

When people rant about mandatory vehicle inspections, I usually make the point that I'd rather pick my mechanic sometime convenient within the month, than have a cop pick me when I'm driving somewhere important.

 

[calvin1]

I really wish they would enforce those laws around here. I see cars everyday with multiple lights burned out. I can understand one that burns out and it takes you a day or a week to notice but multiple ones out is negligence, not to mention a big screw-you to everyone else on the road.

ETA: slightly related but I did actually get stopped for a brake light out, in a rusty old Celebrity with out of state plates, and those have two on each side and only one of them was out. [censored].

 

[cutter]

Philly police have buzzed at me and then drive up along side to tell me my brake lights are out. Happened twice.

But as for the headlight bulbs, I am fortunate that my Celica requires no tools, just nimble hands to change a low beam bulb.

 

[bigmike]

Our law, last time I checked, reduced the ticket price to some administrative charge if you showed proof of the repair. Something like $9 or $10. Seems fair to me. I still see people driving without any brake lights though. Sometimes only 1, like a 3rd brake light, is working. 1 out of 3 isn't bad in baseball.

 

[ChrisW]

I agree.

And I also feel that turn signals should emit only yellow/orange/amber light [that's not to say that when off they couldn't be a different color, they just need to emit amber light]. Red on red makes it really difficult to see during the day sometimes depending on the design of the taillight.

 

[Spazdog]

I got hassled by a cop in Oklahoma about my GSX-R having two headlights.
"Why you got both them headlights on?"
"They come on when I turn the ignition on. It's a safety..."[interrupted]
"I bet I can turn 'em off." [slaps baton in hand menacingly]

Lose/lose situation. I suffered through the lecture and veiled threats from Okie version of Buford T Justice. He let us go with a "warning".

Glad I didn't have a burned out headlight. He probably would have locked us up for that.

 

[CourierDriver]

He must have been having one of those male hormonal moments, what an u know what. sounds like he is one of those cops, I would send in letter to the editor of ur towns paper

 

[Russell]

I think KY allows you to fix the light problem without a fine if you prove that it is repaired within a specific time period. Not sure though.

BTW, my BMW has bulb out warnings for almost every external bulb. A good thing IMO.

 

[abycat]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
I got pulled over once in a '70 Nova for a taillight out.
I popped the trunk, twisted the socket, and the light came on (the socket was prone to having bad contact)


showed the cop; I still got the ticket.


You gotta apologise. When i was young my friendly neighborhood constable pulled me over for having one light out. I told him Sorry and it was working earlier. He said if i could fix it real fast i could go. so I smacked it and it worked so he let me go. He was the same really cool guy that let me off of at least 10 tickets in a 5 year period and the ones I got were the very minimal and in fact most likely not allowed. So hats off to that guy.

The thing that makes the most mad is a car that has front and rear lights out. Just lazy cause the cars that you see with multiple lights out are usually the old cars that take cheap bulbs you can find anywhere.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I was stopped a few times for having the 3rd brakelight out on my cherokee. Truth be told, until I fixed it for inspection last year, I don't think it ever worked.

Usually around here, missing a light is a good reason for them to pull you over if you or your vehicle looks interesting.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

I seem to remember in drivers Education some 21 years ago that its the drivers job to do a full inspection of all lights ect before operating the automobile, that being said a bulb could burnt out while your driving.. it should be a 50 state automatic "fix-it-ticket" where if the problem is fixed within a set time there is zero fine. case closed. There are ALOT of motor operators out there that simply wont do anything to fix needed safety repairs to there automobiles and left unchecked will never do anything and eventually someone gets hurt..

Example: I personally know a girl that drove with a burned out headlight for over a year, yes she was pulled over, and all the "cool and nice" officers always sent her on her way with a verball warning.. yes she is very, very attractive. that being said after work one night the other light burned out while she was driving.. she almost crashed several times... very very unsafe for her and others operting in the same area. we still tease her about it sometimes.. but its a valuable lesson learned by her.

 

[JR]

otis that so scary true, thats why there is two not just for more output but it is redundent, one goes out you aint blind, if your ahead of the game and one goes out at 70 your going quite a few hundred feet a second. thats a football field two teams dead opps i didnt see that kid walk out.

kc

 

[jeepman3071]

While I agree that they should make the lights much easier to access, the laws are definitely in place for a reason.

The other day I was following a car that had all but the top brake light out. It was a bright sunny day and when the car stopped, it was very hard to see the remaining brake light. If that one brake light happens to go out soon, that person is getting rear-ended.

I check my lights weekly, and before long road trips.