In article .com>,
"Ed White" > wrote:

> Is it legal to use the "Nite Shades" on taillight lens? This product
> darkens the lens. It seems to me this must have an impact on the amount
> of light emitted through the lens. Are there rules/regulations/laws
> that are in conflict with this product?
>
> Examples of its appliation can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/7h83x
> Product information is at
> http://www.stevensautoglaze.com/nati...o/niteshds.htm
>
> I noticed that the product disclaimer says - "This product is for
> off-road use only and can only be shipped to the continental US." This
> implies to me it is technically illegal,

#include <IAmNotALawyer.h>

Well, for starters, that doesn't just "imply". It tells you specifically
that it isn't street-legal.

> but does its use actually cause problems with law enforcement /


Maybe. Probably depends on how observant/active the cops are in your
neck of the woods. The level of funds in local coffers might have an
impact, too, depending on how your cops/sheriff get their operating
money.

> vehicle inspection?

I'd expect it to get you a big fat FAIL stamp if it isn't street-legal,
which the disclaimer makes clearly known is the case. YMMV by inspector,
I'd imagine.

My *OPINION*, offered with the full knowledge that it may be worth
exactly what you paid me for it, is that (A) This stuff is illegal on a
street vehicle (B) Because of this, you're likely to find yourself
getting more police attention than you like, should you apply it, and
(C) I wonder how well it comes off when you get the fix-it ticket? Or
will you have to go out and buy yourself some new lenses at some ungodly
price?

Local anecdote - northern California:
You've seen those "mask" widgets that get put on taillights, right? I'm
sure you know the ones I'm talking about... A Dodge Ram pickup with a
chrome cutout of a ram wrapped around each taillight, and similar? Not
really all that different from this stuff you're asking about. The ones
sold around here carried the same "off road use only" disclaimer. And
they caught on - for a short time - I think it was about a month or so
of seeing them "here and there" in increasing numbers, then all of a
sudden, for about 3 weeks they were *REAL* popular - everybody and his
dog seemed to have some variation of the theme,hung on everything
tricked out Rams to ragged out beaters. At $30+ a pop, they couldn't
keep 'em on the shelf, according to the counterman I talked to at the
local "Real" (As opposed to Autozone, etc) auto parts place. About that
time, the cops started noticing them and enforcing a long-standing bit
of local legalese that boils down to "any aftermarket gear that isn't
certified to (one of several major automotive standards I've forgotten
and am too lazy to look up for this post) is a defective equipment (fix
it or fork over $250 and expect to get pulled over again) ticket on the
first offense, and a $500 fine on the second and subsequent offenses."

Found that out when I asked the same counterman why they suddenly got so
scarce almost overnight - In the course of about 10 days, it went from
"they're everywhere" to only seeing a small handful a day, and then
finally not seeing them at all. As he put it, within a week of the
crackdown, you couldn't get anybody to buy those things if they were
marked down to 5 sets for a buck, 'cause the cops were smelling easy
money. (That's also when I found out that around here, a %-age of
whatever gets collected from last year's traffic fines automatically
gets dumped into the "general purpose" section of this year's PD/Sheriff
budgets on top of whatever else gets allocated by "city hall")

--
Don Bruder - - If your "From:" address isn't on my whitelist,
or the subject of the message doesn't contain the exact text "PopperAndShadow"
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