The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk blue dot tail lights

Anybody know if blue dot tail lights are legal in Pennsylvania? I have a set that were in the box of parts that the previous owner gave me.

Have you thought about asking your state DOT?

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/contact_us/index.shtml

Just put them on, I don't think most Cops are old enough to remember them and that they were supposed to be something bad back in the day.


I think all Stovebolts should be required to have them!

You can research your laws in any state library: Where can I find state laws and statutes?

I would not recommend "just putting them on", unless you can afford the ticket.

I got pulled over in Jersey for having them. They said only emergency and police vehicles were allowed to have blue lights on them.

Pretty silly ... like someone's gonna mistake a '54 Chevy pickup truck for a police car because of two small blue pieces of glass on the brake lights!? How ridiculously prideful can an officer get??

But I did remove them ... painful as it was to do.

States that aren't anal retentive have a statute that says you can't have "forward facing" blue lights. Blue dots make your stop lights purple instead of blue anyway.

Blue dots were never GM options, just aftermarket, so they wouldn't be covered by that law. Blue dots do make the lights less visible from a distance than the all red lenses and might be considered a satety issue.

I just spent $70, and very glad to have done so, putting these quick replacement LED tail lights on my truck:
Check It Out Here

Wow! What a difference!

Hey Bald Eagle, (and other interested Texans), our traffic laws are available online.

Transportation code

Like I've said before, a lot of cops don't have much to do.

Move to MN...they are legal here...

Read the Penna. code site , couldn't find anything specific on blue dots. No mention of them at all.

I wouldn't look for info about blue dots ... I'd look for specifications about lighting colors.

In Jersey, vehicles can only have white, amber and or red ... i.e. blue is for emergency and police only.

I used to work in the automotive lighting world.

Actually, it's a FEDERAL motor vehicle safety statute (FMVSS) that governs vehicle lighting colors.

And the reason blue dots are illegal isn't really about people confusing your old pickup with a police car. It's all about reaction times. Since first introduced, brake light color has been restricted to a certain range. (Originally, it was the range of red within which the glass staining process could be controlled at the manufacturer.)

Even with the switch to plastic lenses on incandescent lamps, and now LEDs, we're still using that same color range, because our brains are conditioned to recognize that specific color as brake lights. When we see bright lights of a different color, it takes longer for us to process that, recognize it as a brake light, and react appropriately.

Sure, purple lights from blue dot lenses wouldn't slow our brains down much... But at 80mph, a TENTH of a second is TWELVE FEET further you've travelled before hitting the brakes. Don't know about you, but the guy behind me rarely leaves an EXTRA twelve feet of cushion between us. (Unless I *really* have my foot in the throttle that day...)

Yes, enforcement varies wildly. By state, and even by county or town. And they DO look cool. Just think about the reason for the rule, whether your local enforcement has time to worry about this (or other reasons to hassle *you*), and how you use your truck.

Cheers,
mark.
'51 KY 3100

Down here most cars don't even have working tailights, or they just leave the daytime running lights on to drive @night. Blue dots are just an excuse to pull you over & check you out, you might be drinking. Just like the license plate the cop couldn't see on my car a few years back. I walked around to the back of the car & said "Both factory license lights are burning sir, I don't know much more I can do!" Brian

Thanks, Mark -- That info makes total sense! If the officer that pulled me over for my blue dots would've said anything to that effect, I would've thought her to be much more on the ball than I did!

A copy & paste from the Kansas Statute governing the color of stop lamps:
8-1721. Stop lamps and signal lamps; color; visibility. (a) Any vehicle may be equipped and when required under this act shall be equipped with a stop lamp or lamps on the rear of the vehicle which shall display a red or amber light, or any shade of color between red and amber, visible from a distance of not less than three hundred (300) feet to the rear in normal sunlight, and which shall be actuated upon application of the service or foot brake, and which may, but need not, be incorporated with one (1) or more other rear lamps.

And governing the color of tail lamps (note that blue dot lenses show red. The brake light changes them to purple):
8-1706. Tail lamps. (a) Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer and pole trailer, and any other vehicle which is being drawn at the end of a combination of vehicles, shall be equipped with at least two (2) tail lamps mounted on the rear, which, when lighted as required in K.S.A. 8-1703, shall emit a red light plainly visible from a distance of one thousand (1,000) feet to the rear, except that passenger cars manufactured or assembled prior to July 1, 1959, shall have at least one (1) tail lamp.

In this city taillights or headlights for that matter are not a requirement, if you go by the large number of vehicles without them!

Here in VA. they are not legal but the cops here are pretty good about letting old vehicles alone as long as they look safe and not falling apart on the road.My '48 has them on also with the VA 1948 T tags. They just look KOOL! (I have a set on my '90 Chevy pick up now and I keep a second pair of tail lights to install for our yearly inspection.)

if i were running blue dots id keep the blue covered with red reflector tape then remove the tape just when i wanted to show of the blue