pulled over for tinted tails

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sumixali

Member
:
07 mazda 3i
so i just got pulled over in suwanee georiga(five-0) for my taillights, i pulled over and the cop approached my car and asked for my license and asked if i knew why i was getting pulled over? so i gave her my license and i told her i didn't think i did anything wrong. immediately after i finish my sentence she jumps in to inform me of my ( obvious?) wrong doing, "your black tail lights just aren't reflective enough...they may meet the 500 feet visibility requirements but they don't reflect light", she said.

so she goes back to the cop car as i sit in this parking lot thinking..." i have an Illinois license and i know that i have to get it renewed within 30 days of moving to the state of GA which was like what 2 years ago"

she comes back and asks me who i'm visiting with and if it was my fathers car and i jumped to the chance and told her i was visiting my dad and yes its his car. that problem solved

any way all of a sudden 4 more squad cars pull up, make sense since she called for back up...they pulled me out of the car to show me my own tails, and they said that its impossible to see my car at night, keep in mind i have a TRUE RED mz3 and i mean its the definition of red right? so anyone with head lights and eyes could see a bright as* red car in front of them....so i brought up the point of reflectors on the rear bumper of my car and she said are those tail lights? and i said no mam they are reflectors and she quickly says point made, as the rest of the cops laugh.

they all briefly huddled near the rear of my car after they asked me to sit on my hood as i watch all the bikes from bike night zoom zoom by...

so this is where it gets funny, they decided my car was unsafe to drive and called to impound my car. thats where i stopped caring what they thought and started fighting back...i kept repeating that i had no knowledge of this being an offense at all considering i live in chicago (sssh) and after a long debate i finally was let go with a ticket and the warning... if i am seen in suwanee GA with tinted tails again my car will be impounded with no hesitation. so i said cool no problem peace out.

my offense says "taillights required"

i live in suwanee ga wtf do i do haha?
 
you should be able to fight that seeing that your tails meet the distance requirement, and that you have the reflectors in the bumper...
 
I don't know Georgia law but I don't think this situation is much different in Florida.

That's what they call a fix it ticket. The court allows 30 days for you to act on one of the following options:

1. Change the tail lights to the "legal" tail lights (I assume they're not stock). Then, go to the local police department and show them your car so they can see that you fixed it. Then, they give you a bill for $4, which you pay there, and tell you to go to the court house where you'll pay another $8. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED AND YOUR CLEARED. No points will be given since this is NOT a moving violation.

2. Fight it! Call a Georgia lawyer for $75 and they handle it. Or go to court yourself to show pictures of what the car looked like when you were pulled over. You'll basically have to prove the cops wrong and hope the judge agrees with you. You'll first have an arraignment where it's just you and the judge's people (and a bunch of other defendants) waiting to hear your case. If he agrees he'll dismiss it and you pay nothing. If he doesn't he'll give you a deal (i.e. he'll only charge you half the court cost fees which could be over $50). If you take it you'll be withheld of adjudication which means your not innocent but you're not guilty either. You'll have 30 days to pay which you can do at the court house. If YOU don't agree with his deal then your case will move to trial where you'll face the cop as well as the rest of the judge's people. You have to WIN to get out of this one. If you lose you can probably end up paying over $100 in court costs. Trial judge's are dicks!

Good luck man!
 
Trust me just remove the tint. I'm not familiar with the laws in GA but here its a pretty big deal to have tinted tails. Doesn't matter if your car is visible, your tail lights have to be too.
 
thats what i want to do on my court date (aug 5) but if i am seen by i of those many cops my car is in the impound.
 
you modified your factory safety equipment (tail lights) which is illegal under DOT laws... since you also greatly reduced the lighting output from the tail lights, it's going to be hard to see regardless of those bumper reflectors or not... modifying ANY lights is illegal under federal law

the only true fact is that the tail lights don't have the reflectors and they're all on the bumper

just be glad no one has rear ended you because its hard to see your brake lights!

just because your car is red, pink, purple, whatever doesn't mean its highly visible at night... colors means NOTHING as far as light reflectivity
 
well thanks nickster i wish it is as easy as option one... im really thinking about just lossing the tint and going back to stock tails... =[ (the only reason this is a big deal is because i love them ha alot)
 
TheMAN said:
you modified your factory safety equipment (tail lights) which is illegal under DOT laws... since you also greatly reduced the lighting output from the tail lights, it's going to be hard to see regardless of those bumper reflectors or not... modifying ANY lights is illegal under federal law

the only true fact is that the tail lights don't have the reflectors and they're all on the bumper

just be glad no one has rear ended you because its hard to see your brake lights!

just because your car is red, pink, purple, whatever doesn't mean its highly visible at night... colors means NOTHING as far as light reflectivity
Click to expand...


but if the light is projecting 500 + feet what does it matter?
 
haha for real man this just sucks lol... i just dont get how she says she cant see my car but then says the light is visible and then writes me a ticket saying i need taillights as if i dont have any? where there are people driving with blown bulbs all day long and even idiots on tractors in the middle of the night lol
 
yeah im trying to avoid jail and getting my car taken away, ill prolly wake up early and strip them but im gonna sleep on it ha.
 
see i dont think that she knows that the stock tails dont have reflectors...show the court a pic of stock ones to show that they dont have reflectors, and then prove them to be visible at 500 ft and your golden
 
FML im torn i think ill strip them then go to the court date bring them one side tinted (lighter than they are now) and the other not to show the deffrence and light them both up for the judge
 
do a couple of google searches about people in georgia getting pulled over for them. usually get some good advice
 
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