MrMethane

I dropped my car off last night to get some warranty work done and I was given a Mazda 3 as a rental. I noticed this morning that the 3 has clear side markers on it with amber bulbs. This brought about a few thoughts.

First off, I guess we can relax and know now that clear corners should be legal in states that have annual vehicle inspections like my state MA. I was concerned that the clear side markers could be a violation. Since there are stock cars out there with them like the Mazda 3 my car should be legal as well.

Second thought, if its legal to have clear side markers why did Mazda put the amber corners on the US RX-8 while the Japan version had clear as stock. I assumed up until today it was because of some US regulation, however if that were the case why would the 3 have clear sides?

Niro

I dunno why Mazda wouldn't include clear corners...my old beamer had stock clear corners (sports package), I never had any problems with them.

JM1FE

If you're talking about the fender-mounted turn signals, those are NOT sidemarkers, and are permissable but NOT required in the US.

As for sidemarkers:

The 3 has its sidemarkers integrated into the headlamp assembly.

• They illuminate amber.
• They have an amber reflector.

Those are the requirements. There is no requirement as to lens colour BESIDES the illumination colour and reflector requirement.

It IS because of a US regulation.

Clear corners on the 8 do not meet the amber reflector requirement. That's the problem. That's why they weren't spec'd for the US.

From the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, section 108:
(see: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2...cfr571.108.htm)

(non-sidemarker stuff edited out...)

[[Page 312]]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Table IV--Location of Required Equipment
[All Passenger Cars and Motorcycles, and Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles, Trucks, Trailers, and Buses of Less
than 80 (2032) Inches (MM) Overall Width]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location on--
------------------------------------------------------ Height above road
Passenger cars, surface measured from
Item multipurpose passenger center of item on
vehicles, trucks, Motorcycles vehicle at curb
trailers, and buses weight
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reflex reflectors.................. On the rear--1 red on On the rear--1 red on the Not less than 15
each side of the vertical centerline except inches, nor more
vertical centerline, that, if two are used on than 60 inches.
at the same height, the rear, they shall be
and as far apart as symmetrically disposed
practicable. about the vertical
centerline.
On each side--1 red as On each side--1 red as far
far to the rear as to the rear as
practicable, and 1 practicable, and 1 amber
amber as far to the as far to the front as
front as practicable. practicable.

Side marker lamps.................. On each side--1 red as Not required............... Not less than 15
far to the rear as inches.
practicable, and 1
amber as far to the
front as practicable.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HeelnToe

OK wait... me confused...

Do the aftermarket clear lense kits reflect white or amber light?

I know the bulbs are amber, I know the lense is clear, but if they somehow reflect amber light, they'd be legal?

JM1FE

Aftermarket clear lenses reflect white.

A reflector, you know? Like on a bicycle. Shine a flashlight at it and it reflects a colour. Yes, if they'd reflect amber, they'd be legal. But then they'd be amber, like the US model lenses, right? Oh, wait.....

MTCD01

The reflectors on the clear corners are white/clear. They may illuminate amber but they reflect white. Hence illegal.

JM1FE

Probably because you ALSO had amber reflectors somewhere on the front, like in the bumper rub strip on the 3 series.

HeelnToe

LOL, no, seriously, there's gotta be a way to make it look white/clear in dayllight, yet reflect amber at night from headlights and so on. Somebody stands to make some bucks if they figure that out

EDIT: then again, they glow amber, so moot point, huh? And if the actual white look during daylight is illegal... moot point. Nevermind, my brain hasn't finished booting yet this morning

jlapp9

I thought they just had to emit amber light. My civic passed NYS inspection with clear corners and amber bulbs (no amber at all on the front in daytime).

rx8wannahave

Dang...well, I guess clear corners are done for me...I don't want to give a cop a reason to give me a ticket, that stinks...

MTCD01

Reflectors up front must be amber, reflectors in the rear must be red.

I've passed inspections with clear corners, tails, and turn signals (proper colored bulbs) in VA (this was my 2nd Honda - it was also equipped with full mirror tint which is also illegal)...but that didn't stop jhonny law from issuing me two tickets on two seperate occasions for "improper equipment" specfically the lack of red reflectors in the rear (1) and then the lack of amber reflectors up front (2) never did get a ticket for the tint.

Since it's such a small thing many inspectors likely don't even think about it (as long as it illuminates the proper color). But any officer that is bored enough and notices this can issue you a ticket for it.

JM1FE

What happens when a bulb burns out, so they don't 'glow amber'?
What about when parked with no lights?

The 'white look' to a sidemarker lens in the daylight is not illegal. The ABSENCE of an amber reflector on the front side corner of a vehicle is illegal. If you installed clear corners, and then glued an amber reflector beside/above/below them, you'd be perfectly fine. (see attached)

Now, 'legal' in this sense means passing DOT approval for sale in the US. Once you own it, the legality is determined by the State where it's registered. Most states simply say that it has to comply with the DOT regs, others may be more lax, but overall if you comply with the Federal DOT regulations you're safe in all states.


Also see: http://fmvss108.tripod.com/taillamps_all_clear.htm

SilverEIGHT

Has anyone here been pulled over because of Clear Corners? I would think the cops have better things to worry about. I don't know anyone here in GA that has been pulled over. Maybe if there were several infractions at one time such as, over tinting of windows, front tag missing (if required in your state), extra loud exhaust and clear corners all together then that may stop a cop but I don't think they would even think about just the corners.

rx8wannahave, I think you are safe. They look great on black!

valpac

iTrader: (2)

I'll bet you give him more opportunities than that to give you a ticket.

truemagellen

oh boy I'm going to have to dig up several threads for this...

really though the Amber corners are simply USDOT 'recommendations' and are not 'regulations'...most states have not yet adopted the Amber Corner requirement...and those who do the police do not care

DONT WORRY GUYS :p...you'll be fine

JM1FE

So CFR = Code of Federal 'Recommendations'?

The DOT regulations ARE REGULATIONS, not recommendations, for all new vehicles imported into and sold as new/initially registered in the 50 states.

Once the car has been sold the first time, it is up to the individual States. As I stated clearly in an earlier post, some states adopt the Fed regulations, some don't, some have their own more-or-less specific wording. I'm not going to research 50 States worth of regs for this.

If you stick with the original amber corners, you're fine.

If you switch to clear corners, and you get ticketed, you have NO grounds to complain - not one little word. It's up to you to determine the legality in your State, and to determine how much you want to risk it.

When a cop hassles you about it, I guess you could always tell him that some guy with a fake name on the internet said that "...the police do not care...", and that the law is just a recommendation anyway. That should work out really well for you.

I'm not against clear corners - I may do them myself with amber bulbs - but I just hate all the bogus crap that people spew about what's legal or not without any backup. Section 108 of the FMVSS answers all your lighing questions about colour, aiming, markings, permissible combinations of lights, etc. There's no opinion, just fact. If you choose to go outside of those regs, more power to you. Just suck it up and deal with any consequences that may arise.

truemagellen

wow u are just brilliant aren't you ...technically we are both right on the regulations recommendations :p

yes to bring a car in the country they have to follow USDOT...BUT BUT BUT and most importantly as soon as it arrives in a state...as soon as you drive it, STATE law applies...not all states adopt USDOT...and thus USDOT is simply a set of recommendations for states

The reality is there are few cops in the country who would ticket this...since it is minutia.

States that refer to the color are referring to the 'lamp' so unless you are driving at night with with white lights (like me :D) those then it still isnt a problem just have the orange bulbs.

The real problem here is the amount of moralistic people in this country whipped by little useless laws...whose asses are so tight when they fart only mice can hear it!

Niro

JM1FE...please tell me that's not your red rx8 with those amber stickers on the side...I'd rather keep the amber corners over those...that's just plain ugly!!

Most of my friends have clear corners and have NEVER been pulled over for it...and when they do get pulled over for other reasons the cop doesn't even mention it. And this is in a state and town where cops REALLY have nothing to do (believe me...you get pulled over here and any on duty cop that's not still in line at dunkin donuts shows up!).

JM1FE

...which is exactly what I said in post 12! Here's what it really says:

"S5.2.1 The words ``it is recommended that,'' ``recommendations,'' or
``should be'' appearing in any SAE Standard or Recommended Practice
referenced or subreferenced in this standard shall be [[Page 244]]
read as setting forth mandatory requirements"
Oregon, for example adopts FMVSS (49CFR571, section 108) explicitly: http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/rules/...5/735_108.html




The reality is that you have no way of knowing this for a fact. People need to be informed of the regulations, and pick what they want to do based on their situation. Personally, in Georgia, I wouldn't worry a bit. In the northeast, I'd be really hesitant, but that's just me. Do WTF you want, just be aware of the possible consequences.

I know someone who got a ticket in Delaware because their centre brake light had a 'flasher' on it. This was something dealer-installed before sale as a 'safety' item in another state. I hated it, and apparantly a Newcastle County cop hated it too, and pulled her over for it and issued a fix-it ticket.


A 'lamp' is defined in the regs as a complete assembly, consisting of lens, reflector and 'light source'. The bulb is the 'light source'. We agree that it needs to illuminate amber. The issue is in the lack of an amber reflector.

Knock off the attitude. I didn't write the f'n law, I'm just tired of people pretending that their opinion counts and the actual statute doesn't. The real problem here is people thinking that inconvenient things simply don't apply to them.

As I've said, do whatever the hell you want with your corner lenses, just make an informed decision (based on real regulations, not forum opinions) and if it comes back to bite you, just stfu.

JM1FE

Oh, hell no! :D I snagged the red 8 from the photo gallery, Googled for the reflector pic, and did a quick and dirty copy/paste job.

Go48

Love all this banter. FYI-for those of you in Pennsylvania.

I scoured the PA vehicle code for this item and concluded that as long as the front corners illuminate amber you will be OK. Refers to them as amber lamps. I couldn't find anything about reflecting at all.

So I have clear corners on my Titanium Gray, but chickened out when I took it in for inspection earlier this month. Takes about 10-15 minutes to carefully switch the markers, so it's not a big deal. Maybe next time I'll leave the clears on to get the tech's reaction.

As others have said, I doubt that a LEO would initiate a stop because of the clear corners. But, if he/she is hard-nosed or you irritate him/her, you might just warrant a citation for the piddling things like clear corners, window tint, and so on.

Razpewton

I think the clear side look good on some cars, but not others. I have a silver....I'll keep the amber corners. The clears looks great on the Black, Nordic, Titanium, Blue and possibly the Red. But the White, Yellow or Silver? naaaaaaah.....

IMHO


BTW IF I had wanted clear corners, I would have gotten them, regadless of any petty regulation.

HeelnToe

See the docs I found at: https://www.rx8club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56351