Anyone who drives a car is going to have to deal with the police at some point. At the least, you need to be sure you're ready for any possible police inspections or traffic checkpoints intended to make sure your vehicle conforms to legal requirements. This is especially important if your car has custom parts or if you're interested in car tuning. Police look very closely at your vehicle's lights and light bulbs. Are your headlights functioning correctly? Do you have a malfunctioning turn signal or a bad rear light? Your license plate also has to be clearly visible, which is why your local authorities might require a functioning license plate light. The main thing is that the police need to be able to easily identify you if you're speeding through town or if you fail to stop at a red light. But you can also purchase custom license plate lights to “pimp your ride.” These might offer more power or lower energy consumption, which means they might be more environmentally friendly or longer lasting or make sure your car has enough power to run extra lights elsewhere.

You might run into trouble, however, because not all of these lights are street legal. The following short guide will tell you what to watch out for when retrofitting your car with LED license plate lights and other types of light bulbs. Local regulations typically spell out what is and is not allowed in terms of license plate lighting for an area. Since each state in the US has its own driving laws, there is no one law nationwide governing the use of license plate lights, nor what kinds of bulbs you can use to light your license plate. used motorcycles for sale in doncasterVirtually all new cars and trucks (and almost all vehicles manufactured since the early 1970s) do come with license plate lights, and there are some states which specifically require you to use lights to illuminate your license plate. motorcycle gear ventura ca

Some examples are California, Washington, and New York. Motorcycles and scooters are a different matter; no state requires motorcycle drivers to illuminate their license plates with lights although, as with cars and trucks, regulations clearly state that license plates have to be visible so you can be identified in traffic. Reflective license plates have been available since the beginning of the 1970s, and all license plates are reflective to a certain extent no matter which state they come from. motorbike shops in leicesterThese license plates do, however, require additional lighting and cannot legally be used on their own on cars in most places. honda motorcycle dealers in reno nevadaReflective license plates are just a safety feature which makes it easier for others to read the license plate number. do you have to wear a motorcycle helmet in iowa

This only works with a light source, however, which the plate can reflect. Without an external light source, you won't see a reflection, just like the reflectors on a bike. The reflectors don't light up themselves, but rather only reflect light directed at them. Pedestrians and cameras can't detect reflective license plates, which is why you're required to use additional lighting with them, even though many people still falsely believe they can be used without it.used mountain bikes for sale plymouth Although regulations vary widely by state, there are some basics your car has to have to be street legal. crossfire motorcycle bootsThe Department of Transportation requires any vehicle driven on public roads to have tail lights, stop lights, turn signals, and headlights, of course. Not all states will have specific laws governing all of these types of lights, but most states do regulate headlights.

They have to shine light in an approved color, typically white. Where you may run into problems with headlights specifically is that different manufacturers interpret this regulation differently; what a manufacturer labels as “white light” might look too blue to authorities in your area. Xenon lights have become available for use on vehicles, exploding in popularity over the past decade. Most drivers will recognize the slightly blue tint they produce, so you might want to look for a version that's specifically DOT approved. Lots of car enthusiasts also like to add undercarriage lighting to their cars, or lights around the hood or wheel wells. Many of these bulbs are neon, which provides great colors and intense light. The issue you may have with your state authorities is that they only regulate lighting based on what color it is and where it is on the vehicle. Since the locations the law usually covers (front, side, rear) don't actually include the undercarriage of your car, you are probably working in a legal grey area with this type of light.

Most of these lights are installed so you can switch them on and off, a great solution if you need to stay legal but also like to show off your ride now and then. You can also only use bulbs to light your license plate or any other part of your vehicle that are DOT approved. There is a wide variety of lights stating this type of approval on eBay. Since laws vary by state, however, you need to check the regulations in your area to make sure that the claims a seller makes are actually backed up by the law. Otherwise you could be in for a surprise from your local police. Of course, if a product isn't being sold as DOT approved, it might still be legal. It is possible that the new LED lighting does correspond to the regulations even if it doesn't list a specific DOT approval. If you install the light incorrectly, you might also end up running afoul of the law. There are a few things you need to pay attention to when installing new license plate lights, since these might provide a reason for the police to pull you over.

For example, you need to install the electric switch in such a way that the LED light is automatically activated when the tail lights come on. This means it needs to be connected to the whole headlight system, which includes your tail lights. You don't need an extra switch for your LED license plate lights, and they might not be legally approved. Your license plate lights have to come on at the same time as your car's other lights are activated. There are also sometimes state regulations governing at what distance your license plate must be visible at night when your license plate lights are activated. It could be anywhere from 50 – 100 feet, so check your state laws. The government also sometimes adds a few more regulations. These have to do with the light's color, beam angle, brightness, or luminosity. Finally, you have to install the license plate lighting, like all other lighting, in such a way as to not blind other drivers. But why would you want to replace your old license plate lights with an LED version?

What kinds of advantages do LED bulbs have? Quite a few, actually! The first is that LED lights are much more efficient. This is mainly because they lose less energy to heat than common bulbs, which can be fairly inefficient in this regard. Just try to grab a conventional light bulb that's been on for ten minutes or so. Then try the same thing with an LED. Your fingers will definitely notice a difference! But LEDs are coming into fashion for more than just their lower heat emission and greater efficiency. In comparison to conventional bulbs, “light emitting diodes” are also much longer-lasting. Most car owners have had to change a bulb somewhere in their vehicle at some point because it stopped working. LEDs keep working for such a long time that they hardly ever have to be changed out in vehicles. LEDs have other advantages as well. They're available in almost any color of the rainbow, although this might not affect whether you choose them for your license plate lights. License plate bulbs normally need to be transparent to provide white light.

LEDs are better than conventional bulbs at this too, however, since they usually produce a cool white light, in comparison to the yellowish tint of conventional bulbs. Installing new LED license plate lights shouldn't be too difficult for even a moderately experienced hobby mechanic. It's easy to find instructions for installing the type of LED bulb you buy in the internet, and there are also plenty of interesting videos on the topic you can browse through if you'd like. Anyone caught with a broken light risks paying a fine. If your lighting is defective, make sure you find the appropriate repair parts as quickly as possible. Often, you just need to locate a loose contact or cable to fix your problem. A few minutes of careful examination can save you a few dollars, as well as the close scrutiny of your local authorities. Whether or not you replace any of your vehicle's lights with LED bulbs is up to you. LEDs have many advantages, as we have explored above, which clearly makes them an interesting alternative.