HID/LED , illegal?

[jfn]

is 5k hid illegal in headlights an is 5k led illegal in park/I.D. lights

[zoelikescheese]

altering the stock lights on any vehicle is illegal

[BrotherHood]

^^ really?


Anyway, a temperature of 5000 Kelvin is more or less OEM white colour and not illegal. Anything over 8000K then you looking for trouble.

[jfn]

yea cause i have that in a ae80 an police telling me it illegal it supose to be d yellow kind how d led in park i.d. an d hid have to change

[BrotherHood]

I could see the police telling you it is illegal if the colour temperature is above 8000K, as that is where it starts to get blue. Even if the police telling you it is supposed to be the yellow kind, there is "yellow" HID that is a similar colour to halogen, which is 4300K.
Is the officer saying the HID is illegal or the colour of your lights?

[jfn]

he ask why i have them light in front lol an how white light is not authorised

[BrotherHood]

That officer just feel to give you a hard time.

[zoelikescheese]

That officer just feel to give you a hard time.

lying to people just to sell your product


anyway it is illegal and you can be charged if an officer pulls you over

[Pirate]

Additionally is your HIDs in a projector housing or u do like most and just change your bulb?

[cinco]

That officer just feel to give you a hard time.

lying to people just to sell your product


anyway it is illegal and you can be charged if an officer pulls you over

What can they charge u with?

[onyx]

I have LEDs in my park and ID Lights.. havent been pulled over though.. but when i carried the car for inspection the officer told me iys illegal to have the LED lights.. u as should look at the lawbooks just to be safe.

[konartis]

That officer just feel to give you a hard time.

lying to people just to sell your product


anyway it is illegal and you can be charged if an officer pulls you over

What can they charge u with?

I would say unauthorized fittings

[DannyBoi20]

Hid in stock reflector housing headlights are illegal. As far as I know any modification to the head light is illegal and as far al led I had led in my park and ID and I have to do inspection every year and I haven't gotten any hard time with them depends on the inspector. Safest thing to do if you want hid are to retro fit you lights with projectors you may still get a hard time with certain officers but it's a lot better than the reflector housing which just produces a lot of glare and not lighting anything. Just my 2 cents

[Albezel21]

If This is indeed Law that LEDs are Illegal. all these new vehicles will have to remove their OEM components like the New Corolla, Swift. Ford Focus. these all have DRL's external to their Headlights.

Can someone point me to the document where its states that LED' replacements are illegal? Cuz i have them in my CY lancer more than a year now.

[DannyBoi20]

I don't believe there is any rule stating LED are illegal just a lot of talk arises from random officers and they make a hard time about it. But I do know inspectors always say it is illegal to modify your headlights if it came original well I guess you get away. Cause for a while there was all this talk about fog lights and how they are apparent illegal but most cars come oem fogs so I guess it's just a big issue arising from some officials giving people hard time

[THE SYNDICATE]

I don't believe there is any rule stating LED are illegal just a lot of talk arises from random officers and they make a hard time about it. But I do know inspectors always say it is illegal to modify your headlights if it came original well I guess you get away. Cause for a while there was all this talk about fog lights and how they are apparent illegal but most cars come oem fogs so I guess it's just a big issue arising from some officials giving people hard time

it's not talk. only BRAND NEW cars from the firm, outfitted with said lights,aka local new cars,are allowed permission to use 'guide lights' on the nations roads. the owners of these vehicles are issued permission from the licensing authority of Trinidad and Tobago.

Foreign used cars are indeed imported with fog lights but it is ILLEGAL TO HAVE THEM. no authority can/will not be issued for foreign used vehicles. I have seen where inspectors make people disconnect the light wires in licensing office when the cars are undergoing inspection. the old workers know the right thing, the young ones may not.

a smart licensing officer will ask for the letter of permission before he/she executes judgment. but Trinidad is a sweet place no one cares about the right thing, only ignorance.

if u want to see what the permission letter for a brand new vehicle looks like, PM me, and we can meet up and ill show you.

don't let ignorance cost u a $750 or $1000 (not sure) ticket for 'unauthorized lights' even though the vehicle came like that.

My $0.02

[BrotherHood]

That officer just feel to give you a hard time.

lying to people just to sell your product


anyway it is illegal and you can be charged if an officer pulls you over

Allow to quote the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act Chapter 48:50.

Section 28, sub section 1 (m)(i) states:
" every motor vehicle shall be equipped a minimum
of two lamps at the front of the
vehicle, one on each side to the satisfaction
of the Licensing Authority. When a motor
vehicle is in motion on a road at night, the
lamps at the front of the vehicle shall be
lighted, and the rays from the lamps shall
be of a type approved by the Licensing
Authority and, if the vehicle is capable of
proceeding at a speed greater than thirty
kilometres per hour, of such intensity as to
illuminate the road ahead for a distance of
at least ninety-five metres or such greater
distance as is sufficient to ensure the safety
of the vehicle and the persons carried on
the vehicle, and to indicate clearly the
presence of the vehicle to approaching
traffic."

Note that nowhere stated what the rays of light should be, or of what intensity it should not cross.

Section 28 (1) (m) (ii) states:
" saved as is contained is regulation 92,
stationary on a road at night every motor
vehicle and every trailer not attached to a
motor vehicle shall show two lights in
front, one at each side, of sufficient
intensity to indicate the presence of the
motor vehicle or trailer from a reasonable
distance to approaching traffic;"

Section 28 (1) (m) (iii) states:
"save as provided elsewhere in these
Regulations, every motor vehicle or trailer
when on a road at night, whether in motion or
stationary shall carry at least two lamps each
showing a red light to the rear, of such intensity
as to indicate clearly within a reasonable
distance its presence on the road to traffic
approaching from behind. There shall also be
fitted lamps of such construction showing an
uncoloured light of such intensity as to clearly
illuminate the figures and numbers on the rear
identification plate."

Uncoloured light is what we know or see as white light. White light is not a colour but actually a mixture of all colours

According to Study.com (2015), White light is defined as the complete mixture of all of the wavelengths of the visible spectrum. This means that if I have beams of light of all of the colors of the rainbow and focus all of the colors onto a single spot, the combination of all of the colors will result in a beam of white light.

Sources of White Light
White light can be generated by a variety of sources both in space and by artificial sources on earth. For example, the sun and other stars are sources of white light. The sun is the most obvious source of white light in our solar system. As for artificial sources, fluorescent light bulbs and white LEDs produce white light. Other light bulbs, like the incandescent lamp, do not produce white light. They produce light of much longer wavelengths along the yellow to red range.



Those two sub sections of Section 28 of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act Chapter 48:50 would apply to headlights and park lights. Nowhere there states anything about the type of light. Light Emitting Diodes (LED) and High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights are not included or stated anywhere in the act. If you or anyone else can find where it says it is prohibited, please show it to me.

That covers unauthorized lights. The following talks about the colour/temperature/kelvin rating of such lights to be used. Although it is not directed to motor vehicles, there is no other part of the act that talks about white light on a motor vehicle.

The Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act Chapter 48:50, Section 34 (1) a and b states:
"(a)
the person in charge of a carriage on a road shall
carry attached thereto a lamp on each side of the
carriage showing to the front a white light visible
from a reasonable distance and a lamp on the
right or off side of the carriage showing to the rear
a red light visible from a reasonable distance;

(b)
a person in charge of a cart on the road shall carry
attached thereto on the right or off side and above
the level thereof and of the load (if any) carried
therein, a lamp showing a white light visible from
a reasonable distance in all directions....."




The OP originally asked :

is 5k hid illegal in headlights an is 5k led illegal in park/I.D. lights

In terms of the kelvin temperature chart, 5000K is pure white light. So, if the OP did infact have LED and HID lights of a temperature of 5000 Kelvin, it is by our laws and regulations, NOT illegal.

According to the Light Energy Source, Inc (2005), Kelvin temperature is a numerical measurement that describes the color appearance of the light produced by the lamp and the color appearance of the lamp itself, expressed on the Kelvin (K) scale.

For a visual description, please view the following image:

[DannyBoi20]

I don't believe there is any rule stating LED are illegal just a lot of talk arises from random officers and they make a hard time about it. But I do know inspectors always say it is illegal to modify your headlights if it came original well I guess you get away. Cause for a while there was all this talk about fog lights and how they are apparent illegal but most cars come oem fogs so I guess it's just a big issue arising from some officials giving people hard time

it's not talk. only BRAND NEW cars from the firm, outfitted with said lights,aka local new cars,are allowed permission to use 'guide lights' on the nations roads. the owners of these vehicles are issued permission from the licensing authority of Trinidad and Tobago.

Foreign used cars are indeed imported with fog lights but it is ILLEGAL TO HAVE THEM. no authority can/will not be issued for foreign used vehicles. I have seen where inspectors make people disconnect the light wires in licensing office when the cars are undergoing inspection. the old workers know the right thing, the young ones may not.

a smart licensing officer will ask for the letter of permission before he/she executes judgment. but Trinidad is a sweet place no one cares about the right thing, only ignorance.

if u want to see what the permission letter for a brand new vehicle looks like, PM me, and we can meet up and ill show you.

don't let ignorance cost u a $750 or $1000 (not sure) ticket for 'unauthorized lights' even though the vehicle came like that.

My $0.02

I've heard about the permission letter my hilux came from Toyota with Oem fogs so I never end bothered with that part most times I've just left them off when I do inspection and it haven't been a problem jet but is like to see the letter just to be safe. I retro fitted my lights so idk how well that will work out for next inspection I'll probably have to change them out

[Albezel21]

Brotherhood, I read the same excerpts from the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act and came the same findings that you have. Unless the law puts numbers to what is deems unfit for road use, then I can see how Law enforcers can then say your lights are illegal. Its just like tint..... the law says "no motor vehicle the windscreen or any other window of which is fitted with glass so tinted, treated or darkened as to obscure the view of the inside of the vehicle from the outside". It's all too subjective.

The HID's on my car are OEM (4300K). My only problem with other HID users are that they are retrofitting their OEM Halogen Headlamp housing with HIDs bulbs of 6000K and up without the use of the Projector to focus the light down towards the road. I think that should carry a charge as that is causing danger to oncoming traffic.

My CY lancer is Local But i'm the 2nd Owner and it is outfitted with fog lights from the manufacturer. Is there any way to get that letter still to avoid a ticket if i am stopped for that purpose?

[JayyXXII]

If your fogs are off there will b no need for police to address that issue. Was actually thinking of shooting a PM to Brotherhood for a pair of H7's for my corolla lol but like I'm caught in between minds now

[THE SYNDICATE]

Albezel21, contact the previous owner. Once the vehicle was outfitted locally with the lights, he should have gotten the permission letter upon receiving the vehicle from the firm.

[THE SYNDICATE]

JayyXXII, The fogs have to be covered and not jus off.

[DannyBoi20]

Really and truly if you want hid best you retrofit your lights as far as fogs and hid it really is just a style as it just makes a ball of light and does nothing but blind people. My suggestion is if you do want hid in fogs just take them off when you see the police.

[Pirate]

Really and truly if you want hid best you retrofit your lights as far as fogs and hid it really is just a style as it just makes a ball of light and does nothing but blind people. My suggestion is if you do want hid in fogs just take them off when you see the police.

Or if u encounter other drivers as it blinds everyone one the road! So just leave them OFF.

[Albezel21]

Albezel21, contact the previous owner. Once the vehicle was outfitted locally with the lights, he should have gotten the permission letter upon receiving the vehicle from the firm.

Getting that from the previous owner is a probable no no. He and he wife had fall out and well i doh need to explain further

[BrotherHood]

In the final analysis, with new automotive lighting technology, our laws are outdated and do not cater to such. They should be reviewed and amended to include HID, LED and xenon light. Also some considerations to colour tone (temperature of light to be used) as it is currently inconsistent. What I will see a plain white, another user or in the worst case scenario, a disgruntled and harsh officer could willfully or not see it with tinges of blue.

Until these standards can be met, I cannot see anyone being charged/fined on the nations roads for HID and LED lighting, provided it is not of a ridiculous temperature (pink, blue, green etc).

While I may retail varying temperatures of HID and LED lights, I do inform my customers of what is legal, illegal and where and how possibly illegal lights can be used. Example, off-roading and events like car shows that are held in an enclosed arena, "illegal" lights can be used. The law clearly speaks to "motor vehicles on a road at night".

[dreadman]

a couple of mths ago insp alexander said that it is legal...led and hid. its only the color dat makes it illegal....he said white is legal

[DannyBoi20]

Brotherhood you should also advise them to install hid in projector housing and not the original reflector housing

[Soochi boi]

In terms of getting written permission for fogs. Can go back to the manufacturer for it. May be a wait but you will get it, not sure of price. Got mine cause family worked in that department (didn't pay, waited. One day) vehicle is a Peugeot. Went massy to collect it. But i have HID in fogs and low beam dont know if it's cause i red or just driving that vehicle never got stopped in a couple road blocks...
Thats my experience

[dreadman]

I had 8000k already in my car and went through a number of roadblocks, police also stop me on d highway an never told me anything about my hids.