Legaliaty of Neon Lights in CA
 

I have the blue neon lights under my car. I was pulling out of a parking lot today with them on but I turned them off before entering the street. A police officer stopped me and told me that if he ever saw me with them on again he would arrest me and tow my car. I thought to myself.....veryyyyy unlikely but I said "yes sir, it wont happen again." The more I have thought about it and tried to find a real answer to this question the more frustrated I am getting. Can someone please tell me if they are illegal, witch I believe they probably are. But what is the maximum punisiment I can revive for driving with them on? And can I get any type of ticket for having them and using them off road like in a parking lot or other private places?

They are illegal because they are a "distraction." But I dont think you can get sent to prison for it...just a fat ticket and then getting your car out of the impound yard, and then taking off your neons. If you get a nice cop he might just give you a ticket and when you take off the lights you can go and show the court and then you wouldn't have to pay. Thats what happened with my cousins tinted windows. But you were smart pulling over, especially if it was one of the new police chargers....

That makes since, I just can't believe they would tow my car over lights. Oh well I guess I will just use them for show.

they can, and many will, tow and impound your car for neons. Turn them on when the car is off for show, never turn them on when the car is moving.

I'd be driving down the road like this. Distraction!

http://www.gobankingrates.com/system...car-lights.jpg

i guess this would fall into this category so i wouldnt have to make a new thread. but what about the legality of neons or LEDs inside the car? such as blue footwell lights...

^eh thats probably ok. I dont see why they wouldnt be ok unless they put off a burning glow that hinders you from seeing the road

in this case it may not necessarily be the fact that you have neons on your car. in most (If not all) states, blue lights are reserved for law enforcement agencies. and on a moving vehicle, indicate the officer is on official business. this could then be turned into a case of "impersonation of a police officer" in which case you WOULD go to jail. and spend quite a bit of time there. trust me. i had to go to court for some "too blue" headlights. i had to bring the package and reciept that labeled it as "white" in order for the judge to let me off with a warning and a mandatory court order to change the color of my headlights. the judge said he could have put me in for at least a year. but seeming as how i was serving the country...:cool: So honestly i would NOT drive around with them on. plus their thief magnets anyway. "ooooh shiny! let's go break his window and see what else he spent money on"

i do understand your logic, but that would not happen in my case [the thief]. my lights are not on when the car is off, so i doubt a thief would know. also my windows are tinted pretty dark. 5% rears and 12% front.

also another thing to note, mazda [oem] does sell footwell lights too, they are red so i dont think blue would be more or less legal than oem. if they were illegal then i doubt they would offer them.

another thing is replacing interior lights with Blue LEDs, i have done this but i want to know what the legality is of those as well, because technically they are not on when the car is moving. just when stopped. so if the door opens the lights automatically turn on. i have had them go on in front of police before, they did not even give me a second look:smoker: but i dont want to get in trouble for them if they do turn on in front of a cop having a bad day or something.

1. the neons are illegal on "public roads"

2. you are lucky.. some dick cops will give you a ticket for "impersonating and officer"

3. I have them and have driven with them on from LAX to my house 1.5 hours away in the night.... Luck if you ask me. I passed 1 cop and he didnt say NADA. But I wasnt driving crazy either. I just wanted to see if I would get pulled over (yeah stupid, but I wanted to ask questions on whats the real deal with the LED's)

4. what pisses me off is that big Truck Drivers have neons, from purple to green, and their trucks look bitchin' but you never see them get pulled over. I'm sure its only the Blue and Red Underglows that cops are dicks about.

you know, when you see a cop on the street or in a restaurant, etc... stop and talk to them... they are actually allowed to answer questions without having you pulled over.

ding ding ding

just remove them. you making RX8 owners like ricers.

^hahahahaha

Check the law.

You were moving in a parking lot.

All parking lot owners allow the police to enforce the law.

So you were driving with them on breaking the law. HENCE Go to Jail.

Plus check the law, it might be illegal period.

i dont have them on anymore but you know... i didnt mean it like i wanted to get pulled over.... hard to explain

I bet zumn would drive this

Neons are kinda ghey, puddle lights FTW...unless its not raining :suspect:
Attachment 254895

Mega Deth - End Game. Police state... they need to eat more and leave modders alone. Back off Bacon is whut U should of said (jk).

^^ That's illegal.

This is what i did with my front grill and fender lights. Had a cop look at them one night and he told me it was legal to drive with them on. Then he gave me his card and said if any other officers give me grief for them being on then to have them give him a call.

Be Especially careful with blue and red ones, they can bust you for impersonating a law officer, and that's a fellony. So yes, he's right, they can arrest and tow for having neons on.

#1. do you not think that thieves could spot you rollin up. i witnessed people walk across a parking lot and start trying to steal my shit
#2 usually people who tint their windows tha dark, have something worth ganking
#3. foot well lights are not even close to being as visible as street glow. and are also not on the OUTSIDE of the car.
#4. blue interior courtesy lights should be fine, as long as you aren't opening and closing your doors going down the road. if a cop says anything, tell him mazda offered blue courtesy lights from the factory. there aint no way in hell you can convince a cop that mazda sold you underglow.
#5 do you really want to distract someone going down the road. you flip them lights on, they might pay more attention to those than your brake lights= bad juju

thanks for the straight forwards answers, especially #4:yesnod:

but as for #2, its more of a deterrent, which means it is less likely because they dont know for sure that there is something in the car, than a car that has no tint.
i can think of one example, my cousin, who has two cars, one tinted, the other is not. he forgot his macbook in his car, and someone tried to break into his car to get it. "unsuccessful" luckily, but when he leaves it in his tinted car intentionally [same % as me] you cant even look inside. so they dont even know if it is really even in there.

Dark windows aren't a deterrent. It costs a thief nothing to put a pipe wrench through your window and look around real quick with a flashlight. All they do is advertise that you don't want people looking in your car, which will actually serve to entice anyone who's hoping to find something in there -- including cops. And then there are the poor angsty teenagers who want a nice car but can't afford one, so they vandalize your nice car to make themselves feel better.

Better to leave the windows clear so thieves can snoop and move on without breaking your window.

What 'Dream20B' said - you'll not only get a fix-it ticket, but they'll threaten you with the IPO charges.....they are very protective of their blue lights.

Actually they are more likely to impound your car on the spot because it is a blinking Blue light.

Then when you talk back they will put you in jail with all da gays so have fun bending over.

but see, your simply not thinking it through enough.:sweatdrop
lets say you have a metra kit with a pretty late model touch screen indash navi, [the works] im pretty sure your more likely to get a pipe through the window when a thief can see it, than one who cant.

a thief would probably think things out a bit, would he steal from a car where you can clearly see the contents and get something for sure, or get one with tinted windows and probably not get anything at all. he would be more at risk to getting caught if he just broke any car not knowing what he was going to get to begin with.

Dude your not thinking it through. How many people do you know that don't have high ticket items buy window tint. 9 times out of 10, a person who spends the money to tint their windows, also spend the money to upgrade the stereo or spend the money on a laptop, iPhone, etc. Just cuz you have tint doesn't mean people are less likely to break in. Maybe on a prius, but not on a car that already atracts attention

i guess that might be the case in your area, but in my neighborhood thats not the case. im just speaking from experience, when i had my pathfinder parked outside, i had the windows smashed, while the tinted 8 just got ignored.:yesnod:

i guess it's the demographic you're appealing to with the vehicle. i've had people try and break into my tinted civic CONSTANTLY. when i got the 8 i didn't put on tint or any outward indications of what i had. suddenly... no problems. and i leave ipods and laptops and shit in there. although i can peer down at my parking spot. and have not hesitated to point a glock at a potential thief or two.

so you fellas don't have insurance? homeowners (or renters) + comprehensive insurance should take care of any theft issues you have. Tint, dont tint. Alarm, no alarm. Awesome aftermarket stereo, stock unit. Doesn't matter, insure what you own and life becomes less stressful.

As a side note, anything you're too forgetful or lazy to take out of your car should be stolen... thieves are everywhere, why make their job easier? It might only be a dollar, but a thief looks at it as "his" dollar.

i have insurance. just pisses me off when people take my stuff. i'm thinking bout putting a sign on the windown. something like "this car is secured by a .40 caliber glock" or "nothing in this vehicle is worth your life"

Under chasis neon lights are so 1990. Take them off and you will have no problems. I remember so many people having these kits in the early 90's. I for one always thought they were stupid. Still do for that matter.

Its all about looking like Paul Walker. Comon guys!