Colored map/dome light?
 

Is it illegal to drive around with a red or blue map and dome light? I'v seen a few cops driving with a RED map light on a few times. Is red legal but blue not legal or something?

Why would your dome light be on when driving?

We have the red lamp so that our night vision is not destroyed with the bright white light.

+1

Cause it looks cool.

Anyways I have blue dome lights, Im not sure why im asking this since I already know the answer is NO! but what the hell.
Would it be illegel to drive with my blue dome lights on? They look just like interior neons. Is it ilegal to drive with blue interior neons on?

Isn't it illegal to drive with dome lights on period.

it's legal, just not safe. plus, you'll attract a lot of attention at night in darker spots.

Good to know!! Do you guys have a dashboard cam? Or the full head gear or monocular (sp?)?

It would be funny to see a single green light or 2 green circles looking through a windshield!

Blue neon lights are still "unauthorized lights"...If I see a car with a red interior light that is visible from outside the car, then you are getting stopped and it ceases to function immediately. Red lights are for emergency vehicles only. I have stopped cars for driving with sound synched flashing blue & red interior lights. Terminate immediately or you get at least a VI. Flashing red & blue lights are for emergency vehicles only.

By night vision, I meant our natural night vision. ;) Try going into a very dark room after being in the sunlight for a while. Make note of your ability to see immediately, and then wait even 15 minutes in that dark room and see what is now visible that wasn't before.

What section of the MVA authorizes only white lights (or prohibits red lights) for interior dome/map lights? One would think that since red hurts your night vision the least that you or a passenger would be allowed to operate such a coloured light at night. After all, it is safer...

Motor Vehicle Act Regulations S.4.28(2) and S.4.28(8) deal with red, white, amber and blue flashing lights (http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/...ml#section4.28)

I always thought an "Implements of husbandry

4.29 (1) An implement of husbandry operating on a highway is exempt from sections 4.02 (3) and 4.03 to 4.27."

was a Mini Van with baby car seats that married men had to drive after trading their 5 litre for it ?

But that doesn't appear to prohibit red map reading or dome lights inside the car. So on what grounds would Zulutango be pulling someone over if they had a red map or dome light?

Dome lights are considered "Flashing" lights?

General lighting requirements
4.02 (1) A vehicle on a highway must only be equipped with and use lamps, reflectors or other illuminating devices authorized by this Division or authorized in writing by the director.

(2) A vehicle on a highway must be equipped with lamps equivalent to those provided by the original manufacturer in accordance with the requirements that applied under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Canada), or a predecessor to that Act, at the time of vehicle manufacture.

(3) All lamps, lamp bulbs and reflectors required or permitted by this Division must comply with

(a) the approved standards established by the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Canada) and the applicable SAE standards,

(b) the conditions of use described in this Division, and

Installing any light that does not comply with this, means you have "Unauthorized lights". Installing aftermarket red or blue bulbs, even if they don't flash, means you violate the conditions above. Traffic Court JP's dont like cars with red or blue lights in them...at least the ones that convicted the drivers I charged.

So in theory that extends to include the backlighting for aftermarket navigation devices, dash mounted satellite radios, aftermarket gauges...

As you said...in theory. It's probably never going to come to light (pun intended!) unless it comes to the attention of the Police...or your vehicle is involved in some sort of a situation where it is being examined by a mechanic,engineer etc....like after a crash.

So as the regs are worded, those sorts of devices ARE unauthorized and are subject to the same scrutiny and penalty as a red map reading light, but enforcment is targeted towards the device (red map light) which causes the least amount of degredation to night vision?

Honestly, what's the chance that someone is going to confuse the dull glow of a red map light for a police car?

The law doesn't want to take that chance. People are trained to get out of the way of Emergency vehilces. You must not show a red light forward of a vehicle, only a red tail light. It should be safe to assume that a vehicle bearing a red light that can be seen from other than the rear, is an emergency vehicle. There is no requirement for the Police to have the red light flash to make it qualify as emergency equipment. Did the car in question come from the manufacturer with a red map light? If it didn't then it is not legal to use one in North America. If you want to see better then install LEDs in the light housing. The orange lights in Police dome lights are for the members who spend long periods of time (thanks to the computers) sitting in the car with our backs to everything, writing reports. We need to have at least some night vision left for Officer safety.

LED's were never standard equipment from the manufacturer, so wouldn't that qualify as an unauthorized light?

And it's not about seeing better, it's about not damaging night vision.

Sorry, don't mean to be a pain, but many times a conviction comes down to how the law is interpreted and clearly there are multiple ways this can be seen.

The letter of the law...do not replace any standard light/bulb, unless you use a Provincially and federally approved replacement. Do ANYTHING but that and you could get into trouble. Period. Black and white for you, as you asked. :)

I find it interesting that a different colored map light would cause more confustion than say.. those guys who buy ex-police cars and drive around in those...

You're feeding us conflicting information here :p

"Sorry, don't mean to be a pain, but many times a conviction comes down to how the law is interpreted and clearly there are multiple ways this can be seen."

My previous response was to this statement. I gave you the law...it is quite clear. How an individual Cop will deal with the infraction, is up to the Cop. He/She has the authority to do everything from..."nothing"...to charge and/or VI.

As far as ex-PC's go....not much of a stretch from "Buffalo Cab"...to Empress Taxi....same clients, just a different paint job. ;)