Pulled over for my tail 2nd time

[RobertSmalls]

Originally Posted by AeroModder

Bike racks block more than just the bumper. The license plate and taillights are also blocked. Yet they're perfectly legal.

Sometimes when you're pulled over for a dumb reason, the cop is trying to fill his quota.

Are they legal, or just very temporary, understandable, and usually not cited? I'm pretty sure "obscured license plate" is a ticketable offense.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by taredog

...I thought maybe you were stupid or texting but now realize you are looking at your instrumentation. Glance to the left, blow the red light, swerve to the center turn lane then back to the left lane and go back to looking at the instrument, ignoring that you may have blown someone else's FE by causing them to brake for you. ...

I find thats usually the morons with iPhones who CAN'T STAND NOT TO TOUCH THEM FOR 30 SECONDS.

And yes I'm looking at you Mrs A....

[AeroModder]

Okay, I take it back. After some research, anything that obstruct your taillights and/or licence plate from view are illegal. I can't find the federal law mentioned here, but enforcement is erratic at best, especially with bike racks.

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by AeroModder

Okay, I take it back. After some research, anything that obstruct your taillights and/or licence plate from view are illegal. I can't find the federal law mentioned here, but enforcement is erratic at best, especially with bike racks.

Yes, that's probably true. I live near NY city where virtually EVERYTHING is illegal. You name it, there's probably some law on the books against it.

It all comes down to the cop on patrol. Is he having a bad day? Does the municipality need more 'revenue enhancement' that month, or week (AKA the "crackdown" or "blitz"?) It's often a crapshoot whether you will get a ticket or not. Is it your unlucky day? Maybe it's the state lottery in reverse.

The good news is that since 9/11, cops here are mostly busy doing more important things - like tracking down terrorists. Which means most minor offenses go unticketed, usually. (Unlicensed drivers here get a pass, because you can't really prosecute someone who has no license and few assets. And you can't threaten them with taking away a license they don't have. Maybe it's the same as the old saw about trying to 'get blood from a turnip'? Licensed drivers get ticketed. We, the usually law-abiding, have 'deeper pockets'.)

And never forget this: there is no such thing as quotas for issuing traffic tickets. That (like inflation) is a mere figment of your imagination. You know very well that it exists, but it will never be admitted by the powers that be.

[FSUspectra]

Technically, one could install those magnetic trailer lights to the rack (the one on that Jetta was using a hitch and not webbing to the trunk) wired to your lights and simply move the license plate to the rear of the rack... and I imagine since the bumper is still there...problem solved?

Just thinking out loud I guess...

[gascort]

I agree; bike racks are illegal, just not ticketed usually. Probably because it's seen as a temporary thing and something that the user doesn't have much choice about.
You can't see the rear plate on a van/car with the hatch/trunk propped open carrying a ladder, wood, lawnmower, etc. technically illegal, but not enforced.

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by gascort

I agree; bike racks are illegal, just not ticketed usually. Probably because it's seen as a temporary thing and something that the user doesn't have much choice about.
You can't see the rear plate on a van/car with the hatch/trunk propped open carrying a ladder, wood, lawnmower, etc. technically illegal, but not enforced.

Believe it or not, I recently got a ticket for having a clear, plastic cover over my rear plate (of the type popularly sold in auto parts stores to protect the plate). The car was parked in a public parking lot. I had to pay the fine because technically it's against the law in this state to cover a plate with anything.

The enforcement agency was a village municipality. This is known as a revenue generator. Writing tickets for that sort of thing is like 'shooting fish in a barrel'.

[NeilBlanchard]

A plastic cover can cause a glare that prevents the plate from being read from some directions, and I believe that some plastic covers are designed to diffuse the LIDAR laser beam; preventing it from working.

So, I think there are legitimate reasons for such regulations.

[Christopher Jordan]

Nice mention of ecomodder and aero add-onss in Pop Sci July issue.

[ShadeTreeMech]

Originally Posted by Christopher Jordan

Nice mention of ecomodder and aero add-onss in Pop Sci July issue.

LOL loved the way you changed the subject in a heated thread