Headlight bulb color law

[sohcEX]

Can someone please show me where it says that in the state of Georgia you cant have nothing but white headlight bulbs. I got pulled over for the first time in 5 yrs of having my pink HIDS. And he said quote "if the cop was a real ass he could impound my car" and the ticket would cost me hundreds of dollars.

[chris89hatch]

shit.. the only i get pulled over for my pink hids is when its a rookie cops..

[sohcEX]

yeah he sure was profiling he was sitting on the side of 575 i was speeding or driving crazy either

[-EnVus-]

If you can prove for which i doubt you can that the package says DOT approved you can fight it.

[tnomud]

All forward lighting on vehicles is to be white or amber (for fogs beams only). This is a federal standard, not just GA. HID rebase kits are also illegal. NHTSA is pushing hard to get these off the road, including fining shops that sell and/or install them.

[Elbow]

yeah he sure was profiling he was sitting on the side of 575 i was speeding or driving crazy either

Profiling what? You broke the law, it's illegal, simple as that.

[quickdodge®]

Can someone please show me where it says that in the state of Georgia you cant have nothing but white headlight bulbs. I got pulled over for the first time in 5 yrs of having my pink HIDS. And he said quote "if the cop was a real ass he could impound my car" and the ticket would cost me hundreds of dollars.

The officer was in the right.

shit.. the only i get pulled over for my pink hids is when its a rookie cops..

Cool. At least we know the rookie officers know their job.

yeah he sure was profiling he was sitting on the side of 575 i was speeding or driving crazy either

Here goes the age-old "profiling" excuse. I never understood why people don't just take responsibilities for their own actions instead of blaming someone else. Later, QD.

[AnthonyF]

I'm glad you got pulled over and cited. You idiots put these ridiculous bulbs in your car without aiming them and think you're so damn cool. You look stupid and you're pissing people off for your own enjoyment. I rock 6K or lower (5k, 4300, 3k) and then I AIM them.

-Ant.

[MeFryRice]

I agree with everyone in this thread. You can try to fight the ticket but I guarantee you will not win.

[95droppedhatch]

alot of the aftermarket stuff you buy for you car is illegal in one way or another that is why it says "for offroad use only" and hid's is one of them. so if it says for off road use only that means it is not mint for the road. the cop was in the right cause if you have bright hid's and there aimed straight in the face of your oncoming vehicle there is a possible chance for him to not be able to see and come over on you and cause a accident. cops are only out there to inforce the law. they could give us all tickets for alot such as our suspension,exhaust,tint,tinted taillights etc. so really you should be thanking the officer for not being a complete dick and giving you a ticket for every illegal mod on your car. cause i have had one write me a warning for every illegal mod just to inform me

[Bacon]

Georgia state code 40-8-90 states it is unlawful to possess blue light on the exterior of the car.

Georgia state code 40-8-34 states "The color in all lighting equipment covered in this title shall be in accordance with Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Standard J578, April, 1965, as thereafter revised or amended."

Link to SAE Standard J578

I asked my brother who is an officer for APD about this and he told me red and blue are absolute no-nos as for color; however, they can cite you for colors not manufactured by the vehicle manufacturer as an alteration of safety equipment on a motor vehicle.

There is also a code for headlights being a certain height above ground here in Georgia. It just isn't something that is enforced.



In a nut shell, lose the pink shit and go with something that is closer to stock HIDs from a BMW or something. I am not responsible for you not doing your own research.

[DynamicSound]

Okay...

Red and Blue are the absolute worst. If running Blue lights, you can be arrested for impersonating a police officer. If running Red lights, you can be arrested for impersonating an emergency personal. Either will have heavy fines, vehicle being impounded, and possible jail time.

HID Kits are 100% illegal per Federal Law for road use unless they are equipped on the vehicle from the manufacturer. This is because they are not DOT approved and once again is Federal Law...not state or local. This includes retrofitting an OEM HID Kit onto a vehicle it was not meant to be on. With that being said, you can get a ticket for ANY color including solid white. However, the more unique your color is, the more attention you will receive including the police. Don't want a ticket, don't run Pink HID lights because it is going to happen. When I personally run unique colors on my vehicles, I am fully aware of the risk and will happily pay the ticket since I am in the wrong. The same as window tint...I have received 4 tickets for illegal tint in the past 3 years including one 2 weeks ago. I know it is too dark, but I want it, I will not change it, so I pay the ticket.

With all that being said, most any exterior modifications are considered illegal. Lowering your is illegal if lowered too much, raising your vehicle is illegal if raised up too much. Tinting or covering your taillights and/or headlights is highly illegal...remember the GTO blackout covers that used to be popular?

The list can go and on, it simply depends on the police officer if he cares or not. Either way, if you decide to mod your vehicle then there is a chance something you have changed can be viewed as illegal.

[tnomud]

FWIW: the suspension law in GA applies to passenger vehicles and is limited to 2" lift or lower. Comercial Vehicles are exempt (Diesel Trucks, 2500 and up pickups/SUV's)

I am on the SEMA Lighting Council and SEMA Altered Height Vehicle Committee.

[DynamicSound]

FWIW: the suspension law in GA applies to passenger vehicles and is limited to 2" lift or lower. Comercial Vehicles are exempt (Diesel Trucks, 2500 and up pickups/SUV's)

I am on the SEMA Lighting Council and SEMA Altered Height Vehicle Committee.

Yep, luckily GA is not too strict on it.

[tnomud]

Yep, luckily GA is not too strict on it.

Compared to most states, GA has it easy with tint and vehicle code. Emissions is one of the most strict in the US, but GA also has the greatest volume of traffic and miles driven.

Cali, Virginia, PA, Ohio, and most of New England are the roughest. Most states wont even allow you to have tint darker than 50%. IN PA, you fail inspection for rust holes.

[MeFryRice]

We seriously need to implement a safety inspection in addition to emissions. We have too many cars on the road that would EASILY fail without question.

[Bacon]

We seriously need to implement a safety inspection in addition to emissions. We have too many cars on the road that would EASILY fail without question.

Half of IA would fail....

[quickdodge®]

Half of IA would fail....

And the other half is me. Later, QD.

[Bacon]

lolol

[Bigt8aford]

I think that cops to profile some. I drive a '92 Chevy Caprice on white wall tires with no hub caps. Every time I get pulled over I get if there is any weapons or illegal drugs in the vehicle. Of course I'm a white male, who attends church, and I'm usually in polo... so there isn't either (usually). I do think that some counties do enforce laws a little bit more than others, but they are enforced for a reason. I just get tired of the guy in front of me with a taillight out, swerving, and speeding in his Honda goes on while me doing 5 over on I-85 gets pulled over. And to the OP; those pink, or and other color other than white or very light blue, need to go. Have you been driving to work in the morning and had to lights shine through your car and you can't see anything? It happens just the same with crappy install jobs on regular HIDS.

[2turbo4u]

Also the people who drive around all day with their headlights on to show off they spent $39 for a H.ID kit, draws attention towards themselves

[alpine_aw11]

I don't think people realize anymore that you can't legally do shit to your car. We're just lucky enough to live somewhere where cops really only care about tint. Most of the mods you buy are illegal......and some, like pink HID's, are just whack as fuck.

[tnomud]

I don't think people realize anymore that you can't legally do shit to your car. We're just lucky enough to live somewhere where cops really only care about tint. Most of the mods you buy are illegal......and some, like pink HID's, are just whack as fuck.

DING DING DING!!! Every little part on a vehicle is a DOT/FMVSS complaint part (well, at least a large portion). Altering it in any way can (if the cop knows his shit) be an illegal modification and ticketed or impounded for. Just about every part on a car conforms to safety, emissions, or other regulations.

[GlennsEK]

I totally agree with everything, Since I drive a lowered car everyone HID blind me from my back window, even though I have tint still comes thru. Pink,blue,red,green stupid keep it 8k and under I'd say

[tnomud]

I totally agree with everything, Since I drive a lowered car everyone HID blind me from my back window, even though I have tint still comes thru. Pink,blue,red,green stupid keep it 8k and under I'd say

its actually worse for trucks and SUV's. US headlights are designed to put some light upward to illuminate overhead signs at night. When you put HID capsules in a lamp designed for a halogen lightsource, it throws 10X the amount of light upward, thus blinding higher vehicles more. Thats why those with HID's in halogen lights always look like ghosts are flying over their cars in trees.

On a light meter, the proper halogen bulb in a headlight is 7 times brighter at its focus point (200-300ft) than an HID kit.

[HatchMan]

Hey Guys.
What about Fog lights?
I am not talking about crazy colors. I am talking about yellow.
I know some cars comes/came with factory yellow fog lights (IS300, GS300/400...)
Their's are rather small though compare to mines.
Do you think I am risking anything by using them? I've installed the films last week but I have not used the fogs yet.
I don't really plan on using them anyway. It's more for 'looks' than anything else.

Thanks.

[Bacon]

Hey Guys.
What about Fog lights?
I am not talking about crazy colors. I am talking about yellow.
I know some cars comes/came with factory yellow fog lights (IS300, GS300/400...)
Their's are rather small though compare to mines.
Do you think I am risking anything by using them? I've installed the films last week but I have not used the fogs yet.
I don't really plan on using them anyway. It's more for 'looks' than anything else.

Thanks.

Looks......like shit being that big on that car.

Opinion aside, the same thing should apply to foglights as well as headlights.

[tnomud]

Hey Guys.
What about Fog lights?
I am not talking about crazy colors. I am talking about yellow.
I know some cars comes/came with factory yellow fog lights (IS300, GS300/400...)
Their's are rather small though compare to mines.
Do you think I am risking anything by using them? I've installed the films last week but I have not used the fogs yet.
I don't really plan on using them anyway. It's more for 'looks' than anything else.

Thanks.

yellow fog light bulbs are legal in the US, however yellow films are not. Most (and I use this term very loosely) fog lamps are SAE complaint. Any modification to an SAE complaint lamp makes it non-compliant. But, you wont get hassled for this. They are nonoffensive and most LEO are not aware of this law.

[Sammich]

yellow fog light bulbs are legal in the US, however yellow films are not. Most (and I use this term very loosely) fog lamps are SAE complaint. Any modification to an SAE complaint lamp makes it non-compliant. But, you wont get hassled for this. They are nonoffensive and most LEO are not aware of this law.

um...i got pulled for this, yellow fog lights. its BS, got a warning, but said if i get caught again $200 fine...personally, i'm not changing it. the car sits most of the wk anyway, its no use for me to do it

[tnomud]

um...i got pulled for this, yellow fog lights. its BS, got a warning, but said if i get caught again $200 fine...personally, i'm not changing it. the car sits most of the wk anyway, its no use for me to do it

if you had a DOT complaint yellow bulb in a DOT compliant fog light, its not illegal. If you get a ticket, the officer is wrong.