Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories blue dot on tail light lens

A few days ago I spent a couple of hours cleaning and polishing my America. It has been some time since I did this and forgot how long it took but thats another story. The spoke rims takes more time than I recalled but thats the price you pay for having the better looking rims.
When I was cleaning the rear tail light lens I noticed a small round sticker on the lens. I have noticed this before but never gave it a second thought. Later that night I remember the blue dot conversions that can be installed in the lens. I had no idea if they were still avialable so after some research I found them. JC Whitney and J+P Cycles carries them. JC Whitney hs the glass ones and J+P Cycles are plastic. So to get to my question has anyone installed a blue dot on their rear tail light lens? I am going to order them soon and was just wondering if anyone has done this yet.

I don't know about your state but they are illegal in Maryland

Illegal in TX as well...

-brent

How do you find out if its illegal in La?

Legal in NV. Check your state DMV web site, they should have a section om MC laws.

As Example:

Nevada MC laws

The People's Republic of Virginia prohibits any colors except red or amber on the back. White for the registration and reversing lights are okay, but no green, blue, etc. per "§ 46.2-1020. Other permissible lights" where it reads:

Nothing in this section shall permit any vehicle, not otherwise authorized, to be equipped with colored lights, whether blinking or steady-burning.

So no blue lights on your tail in Virginia, okay?

i saw the blue dot in shadetreepowersports.com. i plead stupid? why would you want a blue dot? joe

Not stupid Joe, I was wondering the same.

Not actually seen em (illegal in Australia) but my understanding is that the little blue dot in the middle of a big red light gives the optical illusion that the whole light's purple. Don't quote me on that tho.

It could also be a spin-off from when they put blue dots in the tops of headlight shells on old magneto'd bikes so you knew the light was running.

Would be interested to see if someone knows what these things're for, since I'm just guessing and repeating hear-say.

Matt

This may seem like a ignorant question,but what's the reason why they are illegal?They are not very high(if at all)on my accessories list just was curious.

Blue dots were just the "cool thang" to do to your car back in the 50's, thus a Retro look today. It changes the tint of your taillight, thus "John Law" didn't like them. Sorta like the laws now against neons under your bike or car.

The blue light doesn't shine brighter or something?

It may shine brighter but the overall effect is not so much bright, but sort of a wierd blue-purplish aura.

Maybe in theory it is to make it stand out better? Who knows...

just a little snippet from a website.......

"I have a '59 Thunderbird in which I have installed blue dots. Blue dots are blue pieces of glass a half inch in diameter in the shape of a diamond with the tip cut off surrounded by a metal ring that can be mounted in the red part of the taillight. They were initially promoted as a safety device in the 1920's. For the same intensity of light blue can be seen farther than red, because our eyes are more sensitive to blue. They were subsequently made illegal, when states decided blue light should only be used on emergency vehicles. Customizers continued to use these until the 1960's on their cars, because blue dots produce purple glow and streaks of blue light at night that looks so cool "


Steve

I thought it was something like that. I also think when the eye sees blue light at night, it doesn't adjust to the intensity like it does to yellow light, therefor it is more intense. OK did that make sense?

The blue dot is just something to add a retro type look to my bike. Years ago when I belonged to an antique car club several of the guys had them on their cars. It was a thing from the 30's + 40's I believe. I just wanted to add something that I thought would look cool. Still not sure what to do. I have asked several people and have gotten several different answers. Two of the policemen I asked said they would not ticket me but thought I may be illegal but were not real sure. I am trying to get the answer from a state trooper but have not found one yet. Will let you know when I can get an answer.

Well that explains everything but doesn't make me want to buy one.

Because police cars often have blue flashing lights, you can't have blue lights on the back of a private vehicle. Of course, being politicians, they can't understand the difference between colour and aspect (what you see when you are actually looking at the light). On the other hand, it is perfectly alright to have obnoxious blue headlights that are on the fringe of the visible spectrum, making them useless for seeing where you are going. I guess it's not who you know, it's what politicians you own.

The US DOT generally sets the standards for vehicle lighting, as in minimum required size, color, color placements, and light output, etc., then the states typically adopt (or not) the federal regs.

I recall reading something long ago about the human eye being unable to focus on equal color values of red & blue when the two colors are adjacent to each other, which may be what makes the blue dots command attention when lit up.

I don't have a good answer for you, but I'm reminded of how if there is a law against it, it's further proof that we are over regulated and ruled to death, which I suppose is a by-product of a nation ruled by the whims of attorneys. [/rant]

I have a feeling that if an officer wants to give you a ticket, he will, whether they're actually illegal or not, by simply writing it as "illegal lights," or the LA equivalent, then leaving it up to the judge or prosecutor to figure out, in hopes that you'll just cut a check instead. It is a near certainty that somewhere in the LA general statutes, there must exist a statute regarding illegal lights.

On the other hand, I would guess (and it's only a guess) that your chances of getting pinched are somewhat slim. I could be wrong. I work with a number of officers in my job, and while they don't have "quotas," they usually do have "performance guidelines" which can be bad news for you if they are near the end of their "performance guideline" deadline date.

Even more unsolicited advice -- if you do get stopped, perhaps suggesting to the officer that you added the dot for safety, and to help prevent over ride accidents, then respecfully asking for a warning as opposed to a ticket may help.

Illegal or not, the blue neon lights hanging under all the 'v'-mobiles apparently are not getting many of them stopped or ticketed. I see them everywhere. My guess is that if they want a reason to stop you, that could be one. If they stopped you for something else (like speeding), the light could be an "add-on" item on the ticket - like the missing front license plates are here in Texas. Law says you have to have a front plate here, but many people don't ever put it on. I have people coming into the shop every day to have their's put on though, because they were written up for it not being there. Again - just my guess, but it might have something to do with a person's attitude towards the peace officer when they get stopped. You want to get smart with them, and they will throw the book at you. I could see that happening with a lot of my customers that have had that experience, but I generally don't pry for details.

I ran blue dots on my Roadking's running lights, tailight and turn signals for 10 years. Live in Denver, but traveled in 11 different states with the blue dots. I always had in the back of my mind, that I might get pulled over for the blue dots, but never did.

I had 6 running lights with 4 of them blue dots. My turn signals were also brake and running lights. I don't see why one couldn't do the same to an America .....hey, that gives me an idea for a project!

It gives a cool purple-ish color at night, definalty noticable. I liked them.

Sorry about the pic of the Harley, just look at the lights.

Bob

The sticker on my tail lamp was orange.. Does anybody know why it was put there?? I kept mine on for four months, then my nephew picked it off.