Texas lighting laws explained

[sa_seahawker]

Personally, I keep hearing questions about what's legal and illegal about a wide array of lighting equipment on our cars. Some of it is correct but some is also incorrect. This may lead some to get mad when they think they were wrongly ticketed for a violation because they probably did have a violation but were misinformed. This anger is sometimes exacerbated when people are stopped by the police and the basis for the violation isn't explained in detail. Personally I think most cops know what is legal or illegal, but can’t (or won't) always articulate why they are illegal in a traffic stop setting. With that said, it's still important to know where to obtain your information. In Texas, you must refer to the Texas Transportation Code Chapter 547 "Vehicle Equipment" for laws regarding vehicle lighting. Also this information, primarily applies to "motor vehicles". Without going into the exact definition of motor vehicles, suffice it to say the term applies to passenger cars. Also, I'm not sure about other states, but for the most part, I believe most are pretty much on par with Texas, but don't quote me.

With that said, here we go:



HEADLIGHTS
TRC 547.321 HEADLAMPS REQUIRED
-means you have to have headlamps mounted at a height in between 24 and 54 inches

TRC 547.333 MULTIPLE-BEAM LIGHTING EQUIPMENT REQUIRED, section (b)(2)(B)

• A lamp...shall produce:
• a lowermost distribution of light or composite beam that is aimed so that no part of the high-intensity portion of the beam on a vehicle that is operated on a straight, level road under any condition of loading projects into the eyes of an approaching vehicle operator.

Nutshell: the low beam can’t blind oncoming drivers.

TRC 547.3215 USE OF FEDERAL STANDARD
This is a Texas law that basically says unless another Texas law states a specific requirement, the US DOT standard is required.

Where all this usually comes into play is for people who put HID lights into reflective Halogen housings which is a violation of US DOT laws as a HID beam and a Halogen light use different photometric engineering. Because HIDs put out such a high output and brightness, a "shade", block, or refraction is required to block the top part of the beam. This is what produces the “cutoff line”. Placing HIDs in halogen housings offers no shading or blockage of the upper part of the beam. This is why when dudes toss in the HIDs in their halogen housings, they throw light everywhere blinding everyone and their mother going down the road.

Halogen light emission:


HID light emission:


HID lights in non-HID projector housings (halogen reflector):


HID lights in HID projector housings:




FOG LIGHTS
TRC 547.328 FOG LAMPS PERMITTED

This says that your left fog lamp cannot emit a beam higher than four inches below the level of the center of the lamp when seen from 25ft away.

This is actually simpler than it sounds. To figure this out, park the car 25ft from a wall and measure the top part of the beam height against the wall. Then measure the height of your fog lamp (ground to middle of lens) and subtract 4 inches, this is your maximum allowable beam height. Compare your beam height to your maximum allowable height. If your beam casts light at a height higher than your maximum allowable height, it’s considered illegal.

This poses a problem for HID conversions as the concept is similar to the HID headlight conversions. The HIDs casts out a broad bright beam that needs a lens to block off the top part of the beam. As most fogs are designed for halogen bulbs, an HID conversion is a misapplication of this.



TAILLAMPS, STOPLAMPS, AND REFLECTORS
TRC 547.322 TAILLAMPS REQUIRED
TRC 547.323 STOPLAMPS REQUIRED
TRC 547.325 REFLECTORS REQUIRED
TRC 547.326 MINIMUM LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS

These laws basically say

• You are required to have two taillamps mounted between 15 and 72 inches in height and they must be "plainly visible" to at least 1000ft behind the vehicle.
• Two stoplamps are required and must be visible in normal sunlight at a distance of at least 300 feet from the rear of the vehicle.
• A red reflector at the rear of the vehicle mounted between 15 and 60 inches in height and it must be visible at all distances from 100 to 600 feet when directly in front of lawful lower beams of headlamps

Where this comes into play is for those who paint or "shade" their taillamps, because shading negates the brightness of the taillamps at night and the stoplamps during the day. Secondly, most vehicles have red reflectors built into the taillight lens. When you cover, paint, or shade the red reflector in the lens, it takes away all reflectivity.





Kind of information overload, I know. But it’s always best to ensure you are up on laws. Obviously, I didn't go into color requirements or when and how many lights you can use, but I think the above addresses about 98% of the questions out there. Also, for more info on Federal laws, feel free to peruse through the Federal Code of Regulations if you're ever up for a little "light" reading sometime.

Good luck and stay safe.

[R1CH-5100]

Nice write up I'm going to have to take this one into the crapper.

No offense