Projector headlights...Illegal?

lilsweets3138 · #1 03-11-2008, 01:58 AM

I purchased some PJH a year ago and never had any problems. Tonight I got pulled over and the cop said that they were completely Illegal. I see EVERYONE with PJH. Even the newer cars come with them.I don't have the HID kits or anything like that. Just the standard white bulb. BUT the front of the housing has a blueish tint. She was telling me it was giving off a "rainbow" effect and that it's Illegal and I should not have "those bulbs or PJH's on". *sighs* She gave me a ticket and said I had to put the old stock headlights on. I tried explaning to her that it's not the bulb and that the stupid pjh are legal. That's what the dealer said when I purchased them. So was she right in giving me the ticket and saying I have to remove the bulbs and pjh?

I'm not whining or anything I just want to find out If they really are Illegal because everybody has them.

Thanks,
Christina

ZenithZ24 · #2 03-11-2008, 08:51 AM

Usually, for automotive lighting housing devices (ie headlights, and tail lights) have a DOT compliance kind of etched onto the surface of the lens, look on your headlights and see if it has the DOT compliance, and if your bulbs are street legal too, then you shouldn't have gotten a ticket.

Here's the etches I'm talking about:

yhandor · #3 03-11-2008, 03:57 PM

Fight the ticket in court, print off the eBay auction page you got them from, it states they are DOT compliant. Same with the bulbs. Fight the ticket. And chances are the cop wont even show up so you will win without doing anything.

lilsweets3138 · #4 03-11-2008, 06:32 PM

YES! They do have the DOT approved stamped on them.I sooo tried to tell her but she was being freaky and weird about it. And kept on insisting they weren't and they were Illegal. And the bulbs are plain stock bulbs, they are even yellowish ..that's how crappy they are. I don't know If I should go to court for it or not. I mean what If I get in more trouble. I never been in a situation like this before. But I knew she was wrong and I'm glad you guys were here to let me know.

What If I go down to a Police Station and have someone look over the ticket and show them the DOT on the pjh? Do you think they can do anything about it?

Thanks guys for your input I appreciate it.

-Christina

yhandor · #5 03-11-2008, 06:34 PM

Yeah go down and show them. If nothing, fight it in court. You wont get in any trouble at all, if the cop doesnt show you dont even have to do anything, you leave and dont pay anything, the case is thrown out. If he does show up, take a picture of the DOT stamp on the headlight and take it in with you and show the judge. You wont get in any trouble whatsoever.

ZenithZ24 · #6 03-11-2008, 10:32 PM

Is it an actual citation or repair slip? If its costing you a signifigant amount of money Id say fight it, If its a repair slip, swap to stock, get them checked, and swap back

Classicrocjunkie · #7 03-11-2008, 10:43 PM

Fight it. If the lens says D.O.T, go show em and fight it.

yhandor · #8 03-12-2008, 03:35 AM

Cody I see you made a new sig, can you make me one please I dont know how,

jerseycavyz24 · #9 03-12-2008, 11:29 AM

Just make sure you get all your paper work stating that it is DOT Approved and possibly bring your car to court to show in person it is approved. Dont count on the cop missing court, especially if its a municipality. And even if he or she does miss court the judge will just reschedule the trial. Also i wouldnt bother heading down to the station to ask them if its illegal or not cause the ticket has already been issued and they cant change anything.

lilsweets3138 · #10 03-12-2008, 08:41 PM

Yeah it's a citation and it's for $120. That lady cop was awful! Maybe I will go and say something because she could be taking advantage of other people with them. And I have all the slips for the pjh saying they are legal and are DOT stamped. I will keep you guys updated.
Thanks alot,
Christina

ZenithZ24 · #11 03-12-2008, 10:36 PM

Definately fight that, she should've checked for the DOT stamp right away and then apologized for the inconvinence.

lilsweets3138 · #12 03-22-2008, 01:15 PM

Okay, heres the news. First off I wanted to ask some opinions so I did go down the Police Station and they said they don't see the problem why I can't have them on..okay this is good news! They then tell me to head down to the court house and talk to a State Police trooper and he says he doesen't see why I can't have them on either and he does not know why the cop would not listen to me about checking the DOT. So they send me upstairs and I talk to someone Important and they tell me to go to the MVA State Police and have them check out my lights so I go. I am now at the MVA and talk to a state police officer and he says he can't do nothing about the ticket and that I need to take my car down to have it inspected by an MVA state police inspector, they would give a slip saying they are okay to have on and just show that to the Judge and it will be thrown out the court. I take the car there and it's a really old guy and I already know he's going to give me problems. I asked him about my headlights and right away he says "NO THEY ARE ILLEGAL,REMOVE THEM AND PUT YOUR STOCK BACK ON" and he said goodbye! I leave and I'm outside staring at my headlights wondering why they are Illegal. I have the papers saying they are OEM approved,DOT stamped GM stamped and my sales slip when I purchased them. So I go back in and ask can you please come out and look at my headlights they are DOT stamped and at first he did not want to go.Finially he goes and he kneels down and he's like" Hmm,well they are DOT stamped BUT you can't have these on" ofcourse I am going to ask why..and by the look he gave me after I said that..(you should never question a police officer) ..I don't give a sh*t I want a real answer and not some made up answer *I did NOT say this to him, I was thinking it* And so he said that the DOT stamp is not real and it's not from the factory where the car was built. And that I don't have reflectors/blinkers. I'm like what the fuuuu*k is he talking about! I said the corner lights are the blinkers, the ones that are AMBER for christ sakes. And he said the DOT stamp was missing the letter"A" I don't know what the hell this means. I think he was just out to get me. He denied my slip that I needed for court and sent me back to the court house. I spoke to another official and they said "OH well". SO I requested If I could talk to someone higher then all these other people Iv'e been talking to since they don't want to help me and that person said "Well If you got a ticket It must be for a good reason.We don't have our officers pull people over for NO reason.Pay the ticket and go about your way. And I say"But I did not do anything wrong,the cop actually did something wrong" and whammy they HIT me with another fine for "Taking up time and questioning a goverment Authorities action" an extra $60 + the $120= $180

I don't know what the HELL happend . I am so lost and don't know what to do. All these people see is a sporty looking green car and they want to tear it down. I can't believe what is happening. Now there is no sence taking this to court because I have no slip from the MVA and the official at the court house said the Judge will up my fine for taking up court time and time away from other people and that I will lose guranteed. There is nothing more I can do. I will just pay my ticket and act like this never happend.So be careful of the cops because they can be really cruel.

yhandor · #13 03-22-2008, 03:07 PM

Those assholes are still wrong, they are DOT stamped and there is nothing that can make them illegal, they use your stock bulbs, and have nothing on the housing that is illegal, they are clear with a projector, like most high end vehicles on the road, if you have clear corners beside the projectors, you have to have an amber bulb in, I have had red, blue, and now hyper white in mine but I am in Canada, its not that bad up here, I was told once to change it from a cop but quickly after I did switched them back. Fight, there is NO reason you should be getting any tickets, those headlights are streetlegal. Can you take a picture of your car with the lights on and post it?

jakegday · #14 03-22-2008, 03:50 PM

i believe i asked these same 2 questions last time you created a pointless thread bitching about getting pulled over for something that makes your car look "cool"

are you going to leave them on??
and if so, how many $$$ worth of tickets would you pay before you finally take them off??

i think thats funnier then hell you got a second ticket for wasting their time, you must be one annoying ass................. person...

ZenithZ24 · #15 03-22-2008, 05:16 PM

All they see is a young girl with no lawyer. Lets get some new pens for the station...

Questioning a government authorities actions? That's the biggest load of BS I've ever heard. This is American not the Soviet Union, that's not illegal.

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