smoked rear lights

[hoolio]

anyone know what the law says about tinted lights.I have recessed rear lights from a fiat coupe custom fitted to my car and am thinking of placing a disc of smoked perspex over them but do not know whether it is legal to do so,i have seen lots of after-market smoked lights and some factory fitted units all with varying degrees of tint i have separate reflectors that will remain as they are....

[boxtops]

I would say it's not - anything which obscures the fact that you are braking is surely dangerous?

[hoolio]

boxtops i agree that if the level of tint was such as to obscure the visibility of the brake lights it would be dangerous and thus totally unacceptable but as eddies1 has said there is a level of light output that is acceptable,i have so far 3 pieces of perspex each with a different level of tint it's a bit of a which tint will be legal.Other than the police checking with a light meter is this something my local mot station could measure or with their experience give a pass or fail..

[Buenchico]

Safety isn't just about the level of light transmitted, it's about the contrast ratio between the different rear lights at night.

When a car brakes during darkness, the attention of the driver of the car behind is drawn to that fact by the change in total brightness of the combined rear lights, rather than by actually seeing the brake lights themselves. Having smoked rear lights would reduce the contrast ratio between the ordinary rear lights and the combination of those lights and the brake lights, making it harder to spot that the car was braking. That would be particularly true when the visibility was partially obscured by rain, which is exactly when the following driver needs the greatest amount of notice about braking.

Chris

[MarkRae]

Oh, come one - Lola!

[MarkRae]

Sorry Chris, wrong thread... :-)

[Buenchico]

You can call me Lola any time you like, Mark ;-)

[MarkRae]

But...aren't we the same person, Chris...?

SSSSSHHHHHH LOL!

[hoolio]

thanks for all replies i'm going to leave it for a while too much to do,but there is a d.o.t station local to me so i,ll take 3 sample covers down each with a different level of tint and get their opinion on whether any would be legal rather than find out through fixed penalty/points...

[Pumbah]

Might be a bit late with this response, but my first reaction on reading the question was "WHY?. If this is your pride and joy, Hoolio, which you have customized, why do something which would make it easier for some idiot to boot you up the exhaust pipe and claim that he couldn't see your brakelights because of the tinting? Your insurance company might have something to say about the "modification" as well. What about your rear fog-light? Will you tint that as well?

[MIKEH63]

Why would you want to obsure your rear lights and make them less visible, so as to risk someone running into your car in badly lit or bad weather, which could result in you or your passengers getting injured or worse. THINK ABOUT IT, but not too long. The manufacturers spec is good enough, leave them alone, as they are. Lights are there for a reason. Just because some after market company make some stupid parts for cars etc, just because some people might think they look good, doesnt mean they are safe. There should be a law against these companies selling crap and dangerous goods which could cause people to be injured or killed. Lights are there to be seen, not hidden or obscured. You KNOW THIS MAKES SENSE, mike

[joko]

yes i agree, its the change in brightness of the brake lights that alerts you, not that theyre red...as there are red ones on anyway

what is the purpose of the tint on red? just to make a darker shade?

id suggest definitely not putting it on the brake lights