Is that a car or a motorcycle?

[Shalom]

Driving home last week on GSP, about 9:45 PM, I come up on a car in the right lane that is completely dark in the back. No lights nor anything. I was wondering if this is one of those people who have daylight running lights, so they forget to turn on the main headlights and their panel lights don't come on, but this car was old enough (I think a Ford Tempo) that it wouldn't have had such.

So I pass the car and glance back.

One headlight. Nothing else. That was the one and only bulb working anywhere on that vehicle.

What's worse, it was the passenger side headlight. Imagine if you will this car coming toward you on a dark road. If you think that the oncoming light is a motorcycle centered in its lane and steer to give it clearance accordingly, you're going to wipe out on the unlit driver's side that's hanging halfway into your lane.

Not smart, guy. Get that fixed or don't drive at night.

[mikoyan29]

I don't know how many cars I see without out their frontlights working but the tail lights are on.....

[Geek King]

I'm kind of surprised. Lamp violations are one of the big things thhe police like to pull people over for in my area. Then again, my apartment is just down the road from several bars and a couple of low-class "gentlemen's clubs", so they may be looking for an excuse to spot check for drunk drivers, too.

[EricKei]

I'm kind of surprised. Lamp violations are one of the big things the police like to pull people over for in my area.

I thought it was that way for here, too -- I got pulled over once for having a working light but half-cracked covering that had been caused by one of those hooligans disguised as stumpy yellow poles in a parking lot (he ended up letting me go with no ticket, fortunately o_O)

But my main story was from a few years ago, I was in moderate traffic and I knew I'd be turning left soonish...I was stuck behind this guy in a dark pickup at twilight with no apparent lights on, who was doing about 10-12 UNDER the limit in the left lane in a commercial district. Once I was making my turn at a light (he turned too, separate lanes, thank goodness), I noticed that his headlight (singular) was on, just his brakelights were completely non-functional. They didn't even light up when he was braking, so I was forced to creep along behind him because there was too much traffic for me to get around his ass x.x slightly tense few blocks, there >_>

[RealUnimportant]

Along a fast urban (hence well-lit) road I once followed a car that only had a single numberplate bulb illuminated on the back. When I passed them, I let them know & they were quite stunned...

However that pales into significance alongside the utterly dark semi I passed on the completely unlit motorway (freeway) one time - the entire trailer was devoid of lights, and of course the rig's rear lights were masked by the trailer, and this was at midnight!

Being the civic-minded soul I am, I tried everything I could to get his attention, eventually having to turn my car into a rolling roadblock to get him to stop. Turns out, he knew but was just trying to make it to the next turnoff... which was another 13 miles away! This was over a decade ago, while the cellphone boom was still simmering, but "lucky" for this guy both myself & one of my passengers had phones so we "helpfully" notified the authorities of this rolling disaster area before some late-night hotdogger decided to turn himself into a statistic.

[EricKei]

This kinda thing reminds me -- just as a general question to the assembled, how do Brake Tags work where you live (more commonly known as Inspection Stickers, generally obtained yearly)?

Here, they check your front/rear/brake/turning lights, horn, and windshield wipers to make sure they work, and the tint on your windows if it looks like it's too dark to be legal...and that's it. Not the most thorough, I was just wondering what people in other states need to go through for these.

[Andara Bledin]

I'm not sure I've ever had any car I've owned be inspected to get my tags. Now, there is some inspection list for when the smog check gets done, but it's almost entirely a fuel efficiency and dash indicator thing, at least the last few times I had it done, anyway.

^-.-^

[Captain Trips]

This kinda thing reminds me -- just as a general question to the assembled, how do Brake Tags work where you live (more commonly known as Inspection Stickers, generally obtained yearly)?

Inspection stickers? What are those? I have never seen anyone doing vehicle inspections in California. (I know, they do so in most other states, but not in the freeway capitol of the world!)

[Shalom]

Here in Jersey, last time I had my car inspected was 2010. They checked the lights (all round), the brakes (there's a skid pad in the inspection building. The guy drove onto it and stood on the pedal, and damn near went through the windshield. I think he took a look at my rustbucket and figured the brakes wouldn't be as good as I keep them), the emergency brake, the horn, and the wipers. Then they stuck it on a dyno and did the emissions test. The post-96 cars with OBD-II they just plug into a computer, but the older ones they had to actually do a load test.

That was the last time, though. After August 2010, they stopped checking for safety; now it's strictly emissions. I think this means we'll see many more rolling shitheaps on the roads of this great state. They used to be really strict on the safety stuff; one year they failed my truck because there was too much play in the steering linkage. Now, who knows. Of course they can still ticket you for driving a vehicle in unsafe condition.

(Motorcycles are also exempt now. Used to be they had to be checked. I was at the facility once waiting for my car to fail (needed new plugs) while this guy brings up a motorcycle. Big fancy touring job it was. I asked the inspector what they needed to check on a motorcycle; he says, "Well they check the lights, the brakes, the horn, if there's a visor they check it's not cracked..." At this point the bike slowly and majestically topples over on its owner. As his buddies rush to lift it off him, the inspector continues without batting an eye "... check the operator's not retarded....")

[RealUnimportant]

Here's what they check here in the UK - you might want to get a drink, maybe some light snacks...

http://www.ukmot.com/mot_check.asp

[PepperElf]

I don't know how many cars I see without out their frontlights working but the tail lights are on.....

both headlights out? holy shitola. that's dumb.

almost as dumb as only using parking lights. (which i suspect is why DRL were invented).

Lamp violations are one of the big things thhe police like to pull people over for

I wish it was like that here. i see plenty of cars here with non-working lights.

[BeeMused]

Here's what they check here in the UK

That's what they check in Germany also.
Lately I read that the German method is exported to Turkey, the poor technitians who are training their collegues are pulling their hair out about all the junk cars they get to see: "I've yet to see a car that would be allowed to drive in Germany"

[Chromatix]

My dad reports that regulations in Germany are rather stricter than in Britain - probably the strictest anywhere in the world, actually. He had to make some fixes to his van (beyond adding tape to the headlights for the opposite-side driving) in order to make sure that he could cross the border reliably. A border which has no customs or immigration checks due to Schengen.

Mind you, on that trip the glow plugs failed mid-journey. In winter. On the way to Finland. When he arrived, I had to find him an underground parking facility, which are kept slightly above freezing point, so that it would still be possible to start the engine when the local garage could find the right parts. It *did* start, but pretty much smoked out that area of the parking garage until all five cylinders decided to fire.

[wagegoth]

I've noticed the great majority of cars I've seen without one or both taillights working have been Priuses.

[protege]

Things that are checked in Pennsylvania. That's just the safety items. Some counties, like Allegheny, also require an emissions test as well. I've actually had cars fail, because of things like the exhaust system having cracks, or because (in PA) having your "check engine" light staying on. Annoying, since such repairs can cost some serious cash, but given the alternatives...I'd rather see less shitbox cars on the roads.