Send em too me ill fix ya right up lol

 

lol :p
we'll see

 

@03JG: When I said, "I do not know, ... It just does not jump out at me.", I was reitterating that the whole idea doesnt jump out at me, not that the finished product was/is intended to have an in-your-face 'wow' factor. That's all, Sir. :p

Move along now, folks.

 

I don't get the whole fascination with obstructing a safety device either, Zeke. If anything, it gives a cop the perfect excuse to pull you over if they can't find any other reason...

 

You're only required to have 2 rear facing lights (visible from 500 ft when active) for brake lights. The 3rd brake light is intended to be there in case one of your lights goes out you still have 2 lights until you can change the bulbs.

Reverse lights are not required on a motor vehicle - on most vehicles they're useless anyways from placement - at least on our cars, their proximity to the ground helps a great deal when backing up into dark garages,etc.

This comes from my neighbor who is an Ohio State Trooper. Granted, some details may vary from state to state, but the 2 lights for brake lights are standard. No state requires more or less than 2.

 

I think your neighbor better review the Federal laws. The 3rd brake light was mandated in 1986. A citation can be issued if it is obstructed - the same as if either of your other two brake lights were obstructed or burned out. Granted, the officer would be nit picking to cite you for it, but why give them a reason to pull you over? It's also been proven that rear end accidents were dramatically reduced with the introduction of the 3rd brake light. By obstructing it you are removing that additional safety margin. I wonder where an insurance company would stand if you got rear ended and they discovered during their inspection your 3rd brake light was obstructed by paint and/or stripes...

 

Thing is, the red is still visible when brake is applied. Like the paint is not there at all.

 

Well, technically, you still HAVE a 3rd brake light - like Jerry said. It's a matter of only needing 2 functioning lights. Hence, like I said - with 3 lights on your car it gives you a stay of execution to fix the non-working one. Tinting the light doesn't obstruct it. You can still see light. Obstructing it would be like the people that have them in the back windows putting cardboard in front of it or something that would block the light output completely. Several cars today mount them or tint them to make them more "invisible" until active. Or place them near the roof (like Cadillacs).

But honestly, I'd rather people block out their 3rd brake light rather then the stupid people that block their main brake lights out so dark you can't see them during the day.

As stated if at least 2 lights are working you're still perfectly safe. Plus the rule (in Ohio) of brake lights is that they must be visible to 500ft WHEN ACTIVE. So tinting a light provided it still complies with that is legal. I mean, some foreign cars - even the Ford Edge I believe comes with the tail lights darkened/tinted from the factory.

But as stated earlier - this is Ohio laws - don't know how well it applies country wide.

 

I'm not saying that light doesn't shine through the paint, but the brightness of the 3rd brake light is where the safety margin comes into play. The light can be seen easier at a further distance by other drivers. It has been shown that driver reaction time is reduced by .2 seconds with the introduction of the 3rd brake light - which is why they were mandated and became Federal law. That may not seem like a lot of time, but at 70mph it equates to 20 feet. That could be the difference between someone stopping just short of your rear bumper or plowing right through you. This is also why LED tail lights are becoming the norm. I'm not trying to convince or sway anyone towards my opinion. I'm just stating the facts in a respectful manner so anyone considering this 'mod' can see the bigger picture. Everything has its pros and cons, and the choice is up to the individual. Personally, I wouldn't risk the safety of my family or myself and can't see any benefit to painting over the 3rd brake light. That's just my opinion...YMMV.

 

My truck lights are black as night & not once have i been pulled over in the 5 years ive had it done, same with all my other cars cuz it lights up red & is 100% visable, doesnt cut down any light at night & honestly i feel its safer during the day, you se somthing solid black switch to red its gonna grab your attention, the way i do it works better than niteshades, granted the colored lights are hard to see in bright light which is y i wont do a set of taillights in any color but black, & yes the Ford Edge Sport has factory smoked lenses as well as other cars & like i said itll grab your attention more seeig somthing go from a diff color to red than red to red