Neon Lights -Illegal?

rkeane

rkeane wrote:

Antodeco,

Did you seriously think this modified cars craze was going to be let spread? This new legislation has all party support in the Dail and in the Seanad and it also has the support of the Road Safety Authority. Re your point, no modifications will be allowed under the new legislation, it goes much further than the previous aborted legislation. This law is going to be entirely retrospective...this is legal under Irish and EU law.

Right...
Do you have any sources on this or do we just have to take your word on it?

Turner

Illegal.

You can onlny have white or amber lights the front and red and amber lights showing from the rear.

You could have white or red neons but then there are strict height requirements for lights.

Trucks with fancy displays all over their cabs are highly illegal, also all the **** they have dangling from their windscreens is illegal also.

Small chance of being prosecuted unless you are a "modified car enthusiast" and have alot of other illegal modifications, exhaust, wheels that wont turn full lock, incorectly fitted bucket seats, tints, sun visors etc.

But when things go wrong like in the case of an accident... "I though he was braking because his car was lit up with red neons like brake lights>>>blah blah" you know the story.

Car Mad

Chief--- wrote:

Illegal.

You can onlny have white or amber lights the front and red and amber lights showing from the rear.

You could have white or red neons but then there are strict height requirements for lights.

remind me again didnt I say before that all that is complete bull ****e they are illegal to have turned on on a public road and are only used for shows.didnt a guard just say that he would pull people over for it.Can people not read or is everyone completely brainless

Anan1

Car Mad wrote:

remind me again didnt I say before that all that is complete bull ****e they are illegal to have turned on on a public road and are only used for shows.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but wouldn't your assertion would be more credible if you quoted the relevant legislation?

Car Mad wrote:

didnt a guard just say that he would pull people over for it.Can people not read or is everyone completely brainless

Did they? No offence to rkeane, but we have no way of knowing whether he/she is indeed a Guard, or even whether he/she is conversant with the relevant legislation.

Wishbone Ash

Car Mad wrote:

they are illegal to have turned on on a public road and are only used for shows......is everyone completely brainless

The relevant Statute Instrument refers to the 'capability' of the lights, not whether they are on or off (or for shows). In other words, it is illegal for a vehicle, in a public place, to have these lights whether the are in use or not.

Car Mad

Wishbone Ash wrote:

The relevant Statute Instrument refers to the 'capability' of the lights, not whether they are on or off (or for shows). In other words, it is illegal for a vehicle, in a public place, to have these lights whether the are in use or not.

well you can have them if there not lighting whos going to know if they cant see them.As i said my source was my local garda station if you ask most guards in the country they will say there illegal (which they are) and why would rkeane say he/she was a guard if he/she wasnt it dosnt make sence:rolleyes: Why dont you show me a law that says there legal anan1

5500

rkeane wrote:

Antodeco,

Did you seriously think this modified cars craze was going to be let spread? This new legislation has all party support in the Dail and in the Seanad and it also has the support of the Road Safety Authority. Re your point, no modifications will be allowed under the new legislation, it goes much further than the previous aborted legislation. This law is going to be entirely retrospective...this is legal under Irish and EU law.

I'll believe and outright ban when i see it,Sounds like something you'd read in the daily sport.

Ive got a letter from the Super in my station with the following on it,i asked for clarification on "mods" before and this is what i got.

MODIFIED VEHICLE OFFENCES

1: Silencer,excessive noise. Covers situation where the noise level has been increased due to the exhaust being modified or replaced.

2: Lights at rear of vehicle other than red. Covers situation where lights other than red are shown to the rear, includes lights fitted under the vehicle with the exception of number plate lights.

3: Flashing light on a vehicle. It is an offence to have a flashing light of any colour fitted on the vehicle inside or outside the vehicle. Covers neons, led's, and "nightrider" style lights

4: Fog lamps. It is an offence to have fog lamps lit other than in fog and falling snow.

5: Tints - Darkened windscreen and side windows. An offence if glass is so dark that it interferes with the view of the road and other traffic to the front or side

6: Alloys - large wheels. It is an offence to have wheels fitted that when the steering is locked they touch the body.

7: Lights fitted to the front of a vehicle other than white or yellow

8: Front or rear reg plates displaying letters or numbers other than those proscribed.

Number 4 may intrest some drivers,looks like your a boyracer if you have them on!

Seth Brundle

So would # 1 mean that someone could get in trouble driving with a dodgy exhaust as a garda at the side of the road isn't qualified to determine if it is an OEM feature?

#2 suggets that reverse and indicator lights are not allowed. #7 suggests again that indicators are not allowed
#5 is open to huge differences of opinion

528i

They should ban those loopy ear rings their skanger girlfriends wear, and maybe introduce a compulsory inter-cert level of education before allowing these numbskulls to run free on our roads. Might cut down on the carnage.

Wishbone Ash

Car Mad wrote:

whos going to know if they cant see them.As i said my source was my local garda station

Whether they can be seen or not is irrelevant in legal terms. I wouldn't use the Gardaí as a source of information in relation to Road Traffic Regulations. Most only know the basics. Search the Statute Instruments. You'll get it all there.

maidhc

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Whether they can be seen or not is irrelevant in legal terms. I wouldn't use the Gardaí as a source of information in relation to Road Traffic Regulations. Most only know the basics. Search the Statute Instruments. You'll get it all there.

The relevant instruments date back to the 60's and have been amended in a piecemeal fashion since. I have a masters degree in law and find Road Traffic Law a PITA to follow. The bits in relation to drink driving are pretty clear, but the rest is really open for debate.

Not the mention the fact that the Chinamen who got the job of digitising the statute book made a mess of it.. blah.

galwaytt

rkeane wrote:

Antodeco,

Did you seriously think this modified cars craze was going to be let spread? This new legislation has all party support in the Dail and in the Seanad and it also has the support of the Road Safety Authority. Re your point, no modifications will be allowed under the new legislation, it goes much further than the previous aborted legislation. This law is going to be entirely retrospective...this is legal under Irish and EU law.

This is the exact sort of nonsense that gives Garda a bad name. Ill informed, and inaccurate combined with the ability to 'police' means a completely adhoc and inconsistent application of what law there is - and, as a poster pointed out, v.old law that.

First: neons. They are not illegal if continuously lit, according to links posted here, only if flashing. And, the element not being visible from front, rear or side of the car, it doesn't flout the existing ones. In short - they're NOT legislated for - one way or another.
Second: modifications. They will not be banned. All modded cars, being fitted or modified to, or with, parts and practices conforming to EU harmonising standards, are legal in the entirety of the EU.
Third: Retrospection. Impossible. They cannot even retrospectively apply the various ugly laws attached to rape etc - witness the famous cases doing the rounds, and as car legal requirements are set at various points in time, they cannot be re-written retrospectively. E.g. Cat convertors not needed on early 90's cars.
Fourth:Silencers & excessive noise. First you have to define what that is. And the frequency range. Then you have to measure it. We are all familiar with the noise of a flat out moped at midnight, and the crisp sound of a Harley, say. The moped will annoy, but be legal, whilst the H-D may be illegal, but no offensive. And no, holding a Maplin's noise meter at the side of the road doesn't qualify - it has to be measured under the same conditions as the harmonising test for the (approved) product. For bikes, for example, it requires that the bike be ridden at a specific distance from the meter, at a specific speed in a specific gear at a specific rev, for the test to be valid. The LIDL car park on a Sat night does not meet that standard, believe me.......
Fifth: as for 'comprehensively enforcing' the law - this is a joke, right? I suppose there's a first time for everything......why not start by enforcing drink driving laws and careless/dangerous ones, to lower the fatality & casualty rates, first? Those laws already exist. And no, pulling people on a dual carriageway or motorway for 5 over the limit gets you no credibility with me. Nor does covert policing for the same thing. Why no overt? What's there to lose............oh, right, the fines..........silly me. I won't even mention the forthcoming privatisation of speed 'pulling'. It will make NTR look like a misdemeanour..............