Tennessee Highway Patrol: Crackdown On Illegal Headlights

[SpeedUp]

THP Cracks Down On Illegal Headlights - NewsChannel 5.com - Nashville, Tennessee -

THP Cracks Down On Illegal Headlights
Posted: Apr 07, 2010 10:27 PM EDT

VIDEO

By Brent Frazier

SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. - A longstanding, lowly enforced law is getting renewed interest and backlash in Robertson County. The Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers are cracking down on drivers with illegal, blue tinted headlights.

Troopers have the backing of a general sessions court judge. They have really only cited one driver so far: Travis Brown of Cottontown.

Dwayne Norris, who's well studied in the legality of after market headlight bulbs, actually talked himself out of a citation when he was able to prove his blue tinted headlights were legal.

Norris was pulled over by a THP trooper roughly one week ago.

"As he pulled me over, I told him that mine were actually not the illegal ones, they were not the really bright blue ones. They were in fact a true HID (high intensity discharge), DOT approved. I showed him the numbers on the bulb and on the headlight assembly," said Norris, an assistant manager at the Auto Zone store in Springfield.

Norris said his store sells only the legal light bulbs. He admitted some of the "XenonLights," as they're known, or HID lightbulbs are for off-road use only. He said it's up to consumers to know the difference.


Click the link to read the full story, theres more.

[Davis]

Goota love the $200 court costs on a $50 citation.

[CJR238]

I got a ticket for dazzling lights once, and all it was is a set of fog lights. Apparently you can have anything else but stock unless your off road or no ones around.

[NetstarGT]

They find the 2 HID headlights blinding on passenger cars but not the 10 extremely bright blue strobe lights mounted all over their cars? I realize that the strobe lights are not visible from the interior of the patrol car but they are blinding from the outside of the vehicle. The new police vehicles are being outfitted with way too many emergency lights. It's to the point that their purpose of making them visible is now blinding the drivers especially when driving at night.

[NETWizz]

They find the 2 HID headlights blinding on passenger cars but not the 10 extremely bright blue strobe lights mounted all over their cars? I realize that the strobe lights are not visible from the interior of the patrol car but they are blinding from the outside of the vehicle. The new police vehicles are being outfitted with way too many emergency lights. It's to the point that their purpose of making them visible is now blinding the drivers especially when driving at night.

It makes them look cool when they flip the lights on to give someone the Blue Light Special.

I got ticketed for having Stock HID lights, which they said were "Blue." I also got a "too much tint" ticket, yet my car is factory/stock tint only. They used a tint measurement, which must not have been calibrated because they were way, way off.


I had to go to court and plead not guilty. I was able to get the Chevrolet dealership to testify my Malibu had stock lights to which the Cop then wanted to still pursue the argument in court. Good thing the Mechanic (a friend of mine) brought the box in and it says right on the box "white." I guess if it is not yellow, they consider it blue!

As for the tint, the dealership submitted a report stating it was factory tint and a picture of it in the day. I guess you cannot see well into a dark car at night... what a surprise!

The judge found me not guilty on both accounts. However, I had to pay $90 for the dealership to check my tint, $80 to have the court request/admit my witness, $120 court fee, and $80 to have the cop testify. That is right; I the defendant had to pay the plantiff to show up in court.

I paid $80 to counterclaim my losses for the trial, but the judge found no wrong-doing, so I lost that too. Funny thing is that in the counterclaim the State did not pay me to testify against the State. I did, however get my original $220 back in fines 12 weeks later though they said it would take 6 - 8 weeks to cut a check. It costs me $350 to win. Net result, my win cost me $130 more than had I just paid the fines.

[glockboy20]

f ing gay im rollin 55 watt 8ks blinding semi's w fogs and limo tint they can suck my donkey il reverse right into that cruiser hard and be sure my ar-15 is on dash ...

[Obsidian]

f ing gay im rollin 55 watt 8ks blinding semi's w fogs and limo tint they can suck my donkey il reverse right into that cruiser hard and be sure my ar-15 is on dash ...

[SpeedUp]

f ing gay im rollin 55 watt 8ks blinding semi's w fogs and limo tint they can suck my donkey il reverse right into that cruiser hard and be sure my ar-15 is on dash ...

hahaha obsidian when I read that I laughed and thought the same thing.

Death Sentence for a ticket? Nah I'll pass...