Missing trailer lights ticketable?

Well...You Never Know when 747 might accidently land on your Roof,because you didnt have the proper Clearance Lights on your Nose.WTF

 

I am trying to remember how many times my trucks lights have been inspected by the Federal Government in the last 40 years......That would be zero.

Every inspection I have ever endured has been by a State or Local Authority, States have their own laws regarding the lights on motor vehicles; all States require the Federal regs as a minimum but I can assure you that at least several States have more strict regulations than the Federal Government regarding lights and many other details.

In California all present tail, stop, turn and marker lights must work whether the unit has only the minimum required or it is decorated like a hillbilly Christmas tree.

 

While yes every state can make diffrent laws I have yet to actually see one contradict the federal regs. If you have one please post it. Otherwise it's just truck stop counter b.s. No diffrent than everyone that thinks safe haven (non-hazmat) is a thing. Or the 100 of other wrong things that people belive since another trucker told them.

 

So your standard is "you have yet to see one" and you are saying other people are spewing "truck stop BS"?

The California Vehicle Code is 3 times the size of the Holy Bible, your little pocket DOT book is a pamphlet by comparison; but by all means use that to argue with a CHP and see how it goes

"Lighting Equipment Requirements

24252. (a) All lighting equipment of a required type installed on a vehicle shall at all times be maintained in good working order. Lamps shall be equipped with bulbs of the correct voltage rating corresponding to the nominal voltage at the lamp socket."

And further down they even added a section just for supplemental 3rd brake lamps because some argued that the Federal code did not list 3rd brake lamps as a "Required Type";

(h) Any supplemental stop lamp installed after January 1, 1987, shall comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 (49 C.F.R. 571.108).

The Standard in California is for the REQUIRED TYPE of light not just the NUMBER of lights (Headlights, Tail Lights, Marker Lights, Stop Lights and Turn Signals are all required types) any supplemental lights of this TYPE that are installed must work in California whether the Federal DOT requires it or not.

But even that is not all of the requirements that exceed the Federal Regulations, any light installed by the factory must work even if it is NOT a "required type" or "required illumination"; that means backup lights also must work and vehicles with multiple license plate lights must have ALL of them working even though the factory installed them as intended redundancy.

We also have different weight regulations here but I suppose the "California Bridge Law" is just more "truck stop BS" to you as well?

States pass their own laws that exceed the Federal Requirements all the time, in fact the Federal standard is primarily used by manufacturers when designing vehicles and trailers; it is intended as a MINIMUM, there are no Federal light enforcement officers that I know of.

 

Thank you thats a start. But even you highlighted "required" lighting. I'll look at the code further tonight as on my phone it's not too easy to use the website the code is list on.
Do you have the section that specificaly says non-required lights must work?
Who knows in Cali the type wording may actually mean all lights must work, not just one of said type.
I honestly thank you for the code, I do want to give out good info, not just truck stop b.s.

 

It also says "Factory Installed"

 

Dude, your spewing bs. You said cali requires ALL lights to work. Nowhere does it say aftermarket.

Which truckstop counter you sitting at today?

 

For interstate a state can't go under a Federal Minimum or over a Federal maximum. The major problem is that yearly certification the state has to make to the FMCSA under MCSAP. This is the primary reason the states just mirror the Federal rules. I also when questioned about things like this refer the person to write their regional office of the FMCSA. I have did this many times over the years. They will answer your question. Don't listen to truck stop attorneys either. I have also noticed that the FMCSA has a facebook page. I have not looked too deep in the page but there might be a place there to ask.

 

I can't argue with you on the subject of Truck Stop BS. The truck stops are full of it. There are so many trucking myths out there it would take writing a book to correct them.

 

Box vans are required to have clearance lights also.