Bike customization is a development as outdated because the bike itself. From elaborate customized builds to a sick set of decals, riders like to make our rides really our personal, whether or not for sensible functions, pace, or nothing however model. One development straight from that final class is these little blue dots some individuals put in the course of their taillights. Some might imagine they give the impression of being cool, however they may additionally get you pulled over.
The reason being easy: they’re blue. Blue lights are reserved for emergency autos, usually police, however that is determined by the place you might be. It does not matter that they are clearly not emergency lights, and even that they don’t seem to be flashing. I’ve seen the California Freeway Patrol run steady-on rear-facing blue lights on their bikes for added visibility, however I would get pulled over very quickly if I attempted it. The blue dots in the course of taillights aren’t almost as blatant, however they run afoul of federal lighting legal guidelines requiring taillights to be pink, which may get you stopped.
The place did these blue dots come from?
The true origins of blue dot taillights are unclear, however the development emerged amongst automotive lovers within the Fifties as a option to customise scorching rods. That little blue dot not solely appeared cool, it additionally gave the taillights a novel purplish glow, significantly when the brighter brake lights have been on. Consider it because the purple underglow of the Fifties. Some say this enhances visibility in fog or different low-light circumstances. Others say it was a defiant gesture, intentionally flying within the face of rules requiring taillights to be solely pink.
Bikers are the same kind of defiant breed. They quickly picked up on this hot-rod styling development, adapting it to their very own rides. That development continues to today, significantly on classically styled bikes like Harley-Davidsons. A blue-dot taillight would look bizarre on a contemporary sport or journey bike, nevertheless it appears proper at residence on every thing from a Sportster to an Electra Glide. It may nonetheless get you pulled over, however just like the bikers of outdated who adopted this development, many merely do not care.
There are just a few exceptions
Folks have been driving with blue dot tailights for years, and largely getting away with it. It has been such a preferred styling development that some states have really enshrined it into legislation, carving out exceptions allowing these blue dots on registered scorching rods and customized autos. A non-exhaustive checklist of states allowing this contains Washington, Montana, Colorado, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. Notably, Minnesota’s legislation explicitly permits blue dot tail lights on all bikes, no matter age or registration kind, as does Pennsylvania’s.
After all, many riders aren’t going to let one thing foolish just like the legislation cease them from working loud pipes and blue dot taillights on their rides. We are able to debate the security facets of loud pipes till the cows come residence, however there is no denying that the extra seen you might be, the safer you may be.
There are higher methods than blue dot taillights, although. Personally, I exploit LED tail/brake bulbs on my V-Strom 650 that flash the brake gentle thrice earlier than remaining on. Whereas there is a tiny probability I may get busted for flashing pink lights, I’ve by no means been pulled over for them. Cops appear to grasp the security side. Most significantly, they don’t seem to be blue.
