Just ticketed for OEM tail lights.
 

So I pulled up to a stop light and on the other side of the road was a roadside speed trap with inspection officers. One cop notices my front license plate is up on the dash and gives me the point. So I pull over figuring Im ticketed for just that. Nope, he starts checking this and that, and stops at my OEM tail lights and says that they are illegal in Canada and I have to pay this fine and get different tail lights. I told him about five times that they are oem. Then he tells me that even if mazda brought them over here to sell they are still illegal ( because they limit the emmitted light visibility).

So now I have to find some documented proof that these cars came with these tail lights so I can get out of this ticket and any future ones from the next opportunistic Officer.

Any ideas? I have already emailed mazda canada and talked to a dealership. The dealership said to talk to mazda canada.

Was your car originally sold by a canadian dealership? Get a original brouschure and show the courts.



BTW, Have you searched? I know there are a TON of threads on this topic

No my car is an Imported RHD FD3S, but it dosent matter either way as they are the same besides the Zenki and Kouki.
All of our tail lights appear darkened, its a fact.

It should have been over when I pointed out the DOT stamp on the lights which is visible, but he wanted to do his own research into it.

Good call on the search, I did after you mentioned it and didnt get much. I searched:
-"ticketed for oem tail lights" with different keywords like smoked or darkened.
-"fined for oem tail lights"

I found my thread and someones DIY.

https://www.rx7club.com/west-rx-7-forum-193/damn-ref-ticket-today-765013/

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/got-pulled-over-951342/

Not necessarly relavent for you
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/fmvss-no-108-sae-j585d-legally-proving-our-tail-lights-legal-986911/



This was a quick search.

Just mass up a massive collection of original Mazda photos of the FD3S in varying years and show it to the courts.

as wacky would say:

Junk it!

Thanks dude, I see you have recently contributed to a similar thread. I used the wrong keyword I guess!

I'm disputing it, so I will bring a bunch of photos with me and hopefully that blurb in FSM about the tail lights being tinted.

I'm not sure who "wacky" is, but i'd like to junk that ticket.

thread can be closed, sorry for the lack proper keyword search.

I think I'm gonna keep my brochure in the rear bin from now on, Chicago cops are mean.

Move to a different province, with no emissions, no front plate, cheap gas prices (in comparison) and not as many ignorant (correct definition used here) and butthead cops about... Still a few, not as many...


J.

you clearly dont live in Calgary...

i will admin i have yet to get pulled over in the rx7(now that we have a loud exhaust bylaw in place im expecting this more often, but i do frequently get cops following me home on friday / saturday nights when im doing nothing wrong... just following and waiting for me to make one wrong move.

ZE: Im going to have to find something like that or a collectors book and keep it in there for quick reference.

Prodigy: Im on Vancouver Island so no emissions. Alberta is exempt from a front plate?

Zyph3r: I've owned my car for 5 years and had 0 tickets/hassle from the cops and the car has had the same aggressive look basically the whole time. I've been lucky so far compared to a few of my other friends haha!

Where on Vancouver Island? I had a RHD FD and had no troubles as well.

On a side note, I'd like to check your car out :)

Im also in Nanaimo, I'll get my plate mounted to my bumper (I can't do much about the tail lights haha!) then we can meet up somewhere, sometime.

Last time I was pulled over for this I pointed out that it was OEM and there were reflectors in the bumper to compensate, which made it legal. The officer changed subjects and had me pop my hood, nailed me for speeding and modified emissions. But not for smoked tails; what a gentleman!

Haha I'd have so much fun in court making that cop look more like a retard. . .

Weird. . .been pulled over tons of times in a stock G35. . .but never once in a slammed FD that sounds like a snowmachine. . .

until the judge dismisses your evidence and fines you even more anyways.

Take 3 pictures. 1 of the entire rear of the car, another closer to the tails and a last one up close showing DOT then show the judge. If that doesn't get it dismissed then wow...

^ Just because the lights say DOT does not mean they were not modified.

Example: when someone tints their taillights it will still say DOT.


Also, does the DOT mark even apply in Canada:scratch:?

I believe it applies to all north american vehicles. For example when my vehicle was imported and provincially inspected from japan everything had to be DOT: Headlights, tailights, markers, reflectors, tires ect.

Example: when someone tints their taillights it will still say DOT:

True but I would imagine it would be less legible from the spray. If you can, go look at yours closely and imagine it sprayed. I could be wrong but I think the tint would make it look more concealed or atleast different.

good point guys

If you sprayed the tint onto the inside of the light then the legibility of the DOT mark will not be compromised

If you say so, Personally I'm on the fence until I see one sprayed.

Id like to know the verdict once you got to court. Keep us posted OP

That's when I'll call my attorney cousin.

take it to the supreme court, son!

Move to the USA and bring some of that BC Gold and Molson XXX with you
Im so glad i left that dump of a place for Florida.

Its better here because we have plenty of sunshine, a championship basketball team, and zombies running around.

Trust me its in the works, not Florida though, can't stand rain/overcast for 9 months of the year.

XXX haha that brings back some memories! I saw that Zombie action via youtube... Effed up to say the least.

Update:

The cop contacted me and and said he'd toss the ticket if I went to get the tail lights checked at some local Inspection garage.

I just hoping these inspectors have looked at a few FD's...

they have that never been titled montego blue FD at Langley Mazda still if im not mistaken
Well it was there a year ago when i saw it. You could snap a few photos of that
You could also buy a oem brochure on ebay
I just saw one

Yeah that car is cherry, bcrotary.com has thread on it: keywords are "last new 95 fd"

So another update:

I went and had the car's tail lights inspected at a shop of the ticketing officers choice. If the shop passed the lights, he'd tear up the ticket and otherwise I pay.

The head mechanic or owner of the shop thought they looked tinted but could easily see the SAE + DOT stamps. So, to be sure he called his "good buddy" the head vehicle inspector for the middle section of Island I live on.

Im sweating now... I have a questionable part or two on the car that may not comply and I dont want his "good buddy" going through my 7 with a fine tooth comb.

He shows up 15 minutes later in RHD 660 CC subaru mini tow truck. I thought here we go...

Turns out he's checked out a few FD's in his day and is an old school gear head. Plus his other close friend and mutual aquaintance of mine used to race fd's and other rx7s back in the day. So after an hour of B.S.ing about this and that he calls the cop and leaves a message regarding my car saying the lights are perfectly legal. I haven't heard back from the cop yet so that will be my last update if he actually gets back to me.

:nod: :icon_tup:

what a waste of your time. so lame!

^^^True it was lame having to defend stock lights... But its better than trying to dispute the situation with a Judge.

XXX is sold in the states unless they got rid of it in the last couple of years. It is surpisingly good for lobrau hahah.

+1 for this, i recently moved from Vancouver to Calgary, not paying $1.45/L for regular is weird (fyi its 1.26/L for 94 out here) im fulling the RX7 for cheaper than i was filling my truck in van!! all this combine with lower insurance, (the RX7 is a 2ndary in AB vs needing 2 different plans in bc, my rates went from ~$600/month to $230 a month in AB

also enjoying being able to put a little bit of coin away at the end of the day vs living pay cheque to pay cheque in van..

Oh dude with ICBC and living in south florida i was paying $600/yr for my FD
My car was in territory Z back then