Led Lights under car..

[Disabled Vet]

I have a question that maybe one of you can help me with.

My son wants to put LED lights under his new dodge charger. I have researched about if it's legal. The various laws covering lighting on cars is very broad. So I thought.... Lets call the Indiana State Police

I spoke with a trooper that handles west side of indy. she stated that the prosecutor no longer prosecutes for these ground effect lighting unless the lights are flashing the colors Red/Blue. (understandable) She said it would be better to ask the state police that handle our area. I called them. the trooper stated "if you can see the tube that emits the light then it's illegal. Again no flashing red/blue....

Then I called our local police dept. The person I spoke with there said "Nope, they are all illegal, can't have... zip, notta.... unless the car is parked. I told him what the state police had said. Doesn't matter, they don't cover the city was his words.

OK, then I called our city Prosecutor's office. They said as long as the colors are not flashing it's ok. And again red/blue..

I asked each person if they knew what I.C. code the tickets or that covers these lights. None of them knew.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Is there any other place i could call? OH, I also called the Indiana Motor office... they told me to call the state police.

Any help would be great.

thanks,

Michael

 

[fredrikklaw]

Ahhhhh, Municipalities!

You gotta hand it to the local municipalities for not only their single-minded, fortuitous attitude and resolve in not only standing their ground in the face of public backlash of any magnitude to warped legislations, but also for their wholehearted embrace of the fabled saying: No one likes us and we don't care. To which should be added: We know the answer, but we won't tell.

And they truly don't and won't!

In any event, you might want to take a look at Indiana Code; Title 9; Article 19 (entitled Motor Vehicle Equipment), Chapter 6 (entitled Lights, Reflectors, and Turn signals) commencing with section 9-19-6. Having read it before, I think you will find the answer to your question in there somewhere.

Good Reading.

fredrikklaw

 

[Disabled Vet]

Am I being over hopeful here?? I read all those codes, they all talk about side lights, heights, locations, colors etc... but can't find any regulations about placement of lights on the underbody of the car pointing downward.
i
We took a test drive around town last night. We saw 3 local police, 1 state trooper without a problem. We had on a solid color purple. I hope they will be ok with these lights. I told my son "You get a ticket for flashing lights, red or blue the lights are history and you wasted 350.00. Lets hope he listens, I think he will..

Thank you for your input

Michael

 

[mightymoose]

If you can't find it in the code then it might not be there. If it isn't there they can't cite you for it. If they do cite you for it you just might have a good argument to make in court.

I would go back to the state trooper and ask for the relevant code section. If you were told it must be a certain way then there is a code section that says so.

 

[Disabled Vet]

Found this information on a Police Only forum.... They are confused as well... All these police officers are from indiana. What is my concern is the officer that talks about a light having a short in it. When the driver it a bump the light flickered so they wrote him a ticket for flashing green light.

Thanks for your input guys. I guess I am the nervous one. My son is a senior in High School and will be attending I.U. next year with a long term goal of becoming a surgeon. I just want to make sure he or I doesn't do anything that could effect him down the road. I told him last night... Maybe installing the lights wasn't a good ideal because I worry toooo much. That could be from the amount of drugs I take to keep me functioning.

Michael




Red, Green, Blue Lights on front of vehicle.



OK, so here's the issue. Around my city, we are seeing a growing trend of cars with these little LED lights on the hood in an array of colors. Some of our traffic unit have been using the following IC code to stop them (specific one is in bold):

IC 9-19-6-8
Clearance and marker lamps and reflectors; color displayed or reflected
Sec. 8. (a) A front clearance lamp, marker lamp, and reflector mounted on the front or on the side near the front of a vehicle must display or reflect an amber color.
(b) A rear clearance lamp, marker lamp, and reflector mounted on the rear or on the sides near the rear of a vehicle must display or reflect a red color.
(c) A lighting device and reflector mounted on the rear of a vehicle must display or reflect a red color, except as follows:
(1) The stoplight or other signal device may be red, amber, or yellow.
(2) The light illuminating the license plate must be white.
(3) The light emitted by a back-up lamp must be white or amber.

We have gotten numerous HTV's, Operator Never Licensed, and a whole host of other infractions and simple misdemeanor arrests by using the code. Please discuss......



How about the multi colored Led lights under the car or around the license plate. Illegal? If so what is the IC code? Thanks


All of those colors are reserved for some type of 1st responder as well. There's specific codes that prohibit forward facing reds, blues, and greens except for the appropriate emergency vehicles.

IC 9-21-7-10
Lights visible from front of vehicle; prohibition
Sec. 10. This section does not apply to a vehicle required or authorized under this title to display a red, red and white, or red and blue light that is visible from the front of the vehicle. A person may not drive or move a vehicle or equipment upon a highway with a lamp or device on the vehicle or equipment displaying a red, red and white, or red and blue light visible from directly in front of the center of the vehicle or equipment.


IC 9-19-14.5-1
Display of green lights on privately owned vehicles in line of duty
Sec. 1. A privately owned vehicle belonging to a certified paramedic, certified emergency medical technician-intermediate, certified emergency medical technician-basic advanced, certified emergency medical technician, certified emergency medical service driver, or certified emergency medical service first responder while traveling in the line of duty in connection with emergency medical services activities may display flashing or revolving green lights, subject to the following restrictions and conditions:
(1) The lights may not have a light source less than fifty (50) candlepower.
(2) All lights shall be placed on the top of the vehicle.
(3) Not more than two (2) green lights may be displayed on a vehicle and each light must be of the flashing or revolving type and visible at three hundred sixty (360) degrees.
(4) The lights must consist of a lamp with a green lens and not of an uncolored lens with a green bulb. However, the revolving lights may contain multiple bulbs.
(5) The green lights may not be a part of the regular head lamps displayed on the vehicle.
(6) For a person to be authorized under this chapter to display a flashing or revolving green light on the person's vehicle, the person must first secure a written permit from the executive director of the department of homeland security to use the light. The permit must be carried by the person when the light is displayed.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.66. Amended by P.L.205-2003, SEC.2; P.L.236-2003, SEC.3; P.L.97-2004, SEC.38; P.L.1-2006, SEC.162.


IC 9-19-14.5-2
Unlawful display of green lights; violations
Sec. 2. Except as provided in section 1 of this chapter, a person who displays on any public or private motor vehicle at any time flashing or revolving green lights of any size or shape commits a Class C infraction.

IC 36-8-12-11
Blue lights on private vehicles; authorization; violations
Sec. 11. (a) Members of volunteer fire departments may display blue lights on their privately owned vehicles while en route to scenes of emergencies or to the fire station in the line of duty subject to the following conditions:
(1) A light must have a light source of at least thirty-five (35) watts.
(2) All lights must be placed on the:
(A) top of the vehicle;
(B) dashboard inside a vehicle, shielded to prevent distracting the driver; or
(C) front of the vehicle upon the bumper or at bumper level.
(3) No more than four (4) blue light assemblies may be displayed on one (1) vehicle, and each blue light assembly must be of the flashing or revolving type.
(4) A blue light assembly may contain multiple bulbs.
(5) A blue light may not be a part of the regular head lamps displayed on the vehicles. Alternately flashing head lamps may be used as a supplemental warning device. Strobe lights or flashers may be installed into the light fixtures on the vehicle other than the alternating head lamps. The strobe lights or flashers may be either white or blue, with the exception of red to the rear.
(b) In order for a volunteer firefighter to display a blue light on a vehicle, the volunteer firefighter must secure a written permit from the chief of the volunteer fire department to use the blue light and must carry the permit at all times when the blue light is displayed.
(c) A person who is not a member of a volunteer fire department may not display an illuminated blue light on a vehicle.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(d) A permittee of the owner of a vehicle lawfully equipped with a blue light may operate the vehicle only if the blue light is not illuminated.
(e) A person who violates subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) commits a Class C infraction. If the violator is a member of a volunteer fire department, the chief of the department shall discipline the violator under fire department rules and regulations.
(f) This section does not grant a vehicle displaying blue lights the right-of-way under IC 9-21-8-35 or exemption from traffic rules under IC 9-21-1-8. A driver of a vehicle displaying a blue light shall obey all traffic rules.
(g) This section shall not be construed to include a vehicle displaying a blue light and driven by a member of a volunteer fire department as an authorized emergency vehicle (as defined in IC 9-13-2-6).
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.64. Amended by P.L.88-1990, SEC.4; P.L.2-1991, SEC.108; P.L.99-1991, SEC.4; P.L.1-1999, SEC.96; P.L.6-2001, SEC.1; P.L.153-2002, SEC.2.



blue not permitted unless authorized.
red permitted, however cant be visible from front center of vehicle.
green permitted just cant be flashing pulsating.


Also Im assuming this can not be enforced on private property. i.e. group gathers on shopping mall lot and hang out and have their "neons" going.

I remember a certain fto stopped a guy for violating the statute for green lights. had green neons under rear bumper and as he passed us he hit a bump, dip in the road, causing light to go out and come back on....stopped for pulsating green light. slllooowwwww night.

You may want to check with your courts about this. I totally agree with the statute, but our local judge didn't. He determined that if the light was not in an attempt to personate an officer, paramedic, or fire fighter it wasn't a violation. So all the blues, red and greens on the lower parts of the cars were fine in his eyes, so we were limited to how we could enforce this.


it was my understanding that as long as the light is not flashing that it is a gray area and all the prosecutors I've dealt with would not take the ticket or the stop if it resulted in a different type of arrest.

As for the license plate I believe that the only reg there you could hit them with is if they don't have a white light on the plate.