Underbody Neon Legalitys

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Mon Jan 12, 2004 3:34 pm

i want to put a full skirt of red neons around under my car. now i know this is illegal on the roads hoever i know there are some loop hole rumours like:

if they dont shine more then 1 meter in front of the car there not illigal.

amber neons are fine on the front

red are fine on the back if hooked to brakes.

and white are fine on front.

now i have nothing to base these on exscept word of mouth and im wondering if there is a document somewhere that can let me know the right way to neon up my car legally if thats possible.

TimmyD · Post by **TimmyD** » Mon Jan 12, 2004 3:40 pm

i know u can have them on while your parked

not sure about when your driving though...

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Mon Jan 12, 2004 4:57 pm

My understanding is that red lights, any where on the car (other than stop lights) is a big no no!

Teania · Post by **Teania** » Tue Jan 13, 2004 12:24 pm

The laws are pretty strict (in NSW - don;t know about other states) - the only lights allowed to be visible from the front of the car are white (ie headlights) - from the rear red - ie tailights - the only other colour you can use while on the road is orange for indicators. ALL neon lights are illegal if you have them on while you are on the road..... this is from the cops who live over the road from me! Highway patrol can even book you for the smallest things like the little blue neons in the washer spray jets.......

*sigh* .... laws are just no fun

but....
as I say - Nothing in illegal UNTIL you get caught!!!! coz' if a tree falls in the forest...does it make a crashing noise if there is no one there to hear it?

rxboy · Post by **rxboy** » Tue Jan 13, 2004 2:53 pm

Teania wrote:Highway patrol can even book you for the smallest things like the little blue neons in the washer spray jets.......

The little blue neons in the washer spray jets are 100% LEGAL. I've researched this before I put mine on. As long as they don't dazzle other drivers, look red from the front or blue from the back, then they're OK. I've checked with VicRoads and the local police. And the proof of this..... I've driven past many cops at night and have gone through a booze bus stop without being told off.

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Tue Jan 13, 2004 3:06 pm

I've been told the same as rxboy. The big issue seems to be red, not other colours like blue, green, white etc.

Teania · Post by **Teania** » Tue Jan 13, 2004 3:11 pm

Not sure whether Melb is different to Syd.... all I can say is that I have been warned by 2 different NSW cops that if they see me driving with them on.... then be prepared for the $70.00 on the spot fine, most of the normal cops won;t worry.... its our highway patrol guys that can be picky.... I will have to follow this one up further and find out if it's documented anywhere.... coz if I CAN legally have em.....yaay baby! That's the only reason I haven't fitted em to date.

HEK-71Q · Post by **HEK-71Q** » Tue Jan 13, 2004 6:32 pm

ive been warned 6 times coz i have red leds on the parkers at the front and the washers. i neva got defected..i juzz gave em lame excuses not knowin theyre defects.....but afta takin the 1's at the parkers.....theyve stopped buggin me ever since......
im not sayin theyre legal or anything....thats juzz my 2cents

GB · Post by GB » Thu Jan 15, 2004 11:39 am

From my understanding, not saying I'm right, the neon lights
aren't themself illegal. What is illegal is if you Modify a car to a level above what it is complianced for e.g. the little sticker on the inside of drivers door has the biggest wheel diameter at 16in, therefore any
bigger is defectable.

Therefore where they get you on neon lights is (and I will admit it is a very grey area) is that all lights (including headlights and indicators)
must not produce glare that will distract other drivers. This is why you
can also be fined for driving with high beams or fog lights on in
residential areas.

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Thu Jan 15, 2004 1:28 pm

hey guys,
Spoke to a police woman whom i train last night. She said she actually wasnt sure but is checking out for me.

She said initally they were illegal, but she thinks that now the washer lights are legal, and most neons....
She also said her partner pulled over one guy who had lights everywhere jsut to give him a hard time, bcos she said the car looked ridiculous!

Will find out whe she checks the rules book!

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Thu Jan 15, 2004 1:39 pm

cops arnt allways the best people to ask this from as most of the time they will just say there illegal even if there not. its so that you cant quote them in court if you happen to end up there because of them.

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Thu Jan 15, 2004 3:26 pm

At the FTO photoshoot we had in Melb, a TOG cop turned up, and I remember him saying that the lights were OK as long as they were not red, but that they will be looking to change these rules soon.

Daz_FTO · Post by **Daz_FTO** » Thu Jan 15, 2004 8:47 pm

from my understanding undercar neons can be legal if there are no direct line of sight to the light source. As for washer thingies - i guess its the same - so long as the lights cannot be seen easily. Bbut yeah grey area - cops will pull anyone over for useless crap these days, so much for saving lives - they just build frustration!!

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Tue Jan 27, 2004 3:08 pm

ok
guys, this was written by a client of mine who is also a police officer, she had a quick look around and sent me this email

Neon lights and silly blue lights on cars I have been told are not illegal, provided they are any colour except red. I believe this is because red is considered too distracting to other drivers as it looks too much like emergency services cars or brake lights of other cars. I'm not 100% sure about number plate or parking lights but I'd imagine it's the same - ie. any colour except red and as long as they are clearly visible (esp number plate lights).

hope that helps - probably wont stand up in court haha

GPXXX · Post by **GPXXX** » Wed Jan 28, 2004 12:16 am

for what it's worth, i have read in at least 4-other Oz-based automotive forums that driving with external neon lights turned on (regardless of color) is illegal...

best thing to do is to check with the relevant state transport authorities and if it's perfectly legal then perhaps you should get a hard copy of the regulation stored in your glovebox so in case you get pulled over for it, you can show it to the cop and cross your fingers that he won't ask you to bend over...

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Wed Jan 28, 2004 10:28 am

i agree....
I think you would be very lucky to get away with under car neons on whilst driving.... im not sure if she was including these! Both did say that the windscreen water jet lights were ok - suprising...

I think the other problem with stuff like neon lights is that it attracts uncessary attention to your car, the police are more likely to pull you over and go right over your car... then if you have un roadworthy mods like an air intake or worse etc they will sting you for that because they can!

Post by **smorison** » Wed Jan 28, 2004 11:31 am

seeing as we drive cars that the cops tend to take notice of i would recommend that you don't drive with anything that will increase the attention drawn to your car.

regardless of whether or not they defect you for the lights it may well prompt them to check for other defects such as a pod filter, ride height, noise, emissions, etc.

kaveman · Post by **kaveman** » Wed Jan 28, 2004 9:49 pm

hey steve

i don't think my car stand out enough at the moment and are looking at neon's

you would think i would be a target, but i have not been pulled over and hasselled once (unless you count some old cop outside winton race way to do a breath test and to see what kind of car it was as he had never seen one before)

robert

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 8:49 am

just 2 nights ago i was driving home just after midnight, i found myself driving behide a cop, there were only the two of us on the road and after about 2km of driving he pulled into other lane, slowed down below speed limit, let me pass then pulled me over, i know i did nothing wrong so i wasnt afraid but he breath tested me 3 times! after the second he said stop sucking in and blow, i raised my voice and said i wasnt(which i wasnt) finally the test came up clear, then he asked for my licence, which he asked my full name, date of birth and address.

so yeah i can definatly agree with steve in saying that they do stand out.

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 9:52 am

Raven how riced up is your car?