if someone hits you from behind, its always their fault, no matter what...

doesnt matter if your going 70 mph on the highway and slam your brakes, its the person behind you who is responsible for following at a safe distance...

of course that really doesnt matter if you get killed...

 

Watch in your mirrors, if someone is coming up on you make sure and still use hand signals along w/ it. I got in that habit when I got mine, because I notice following Warstar that it's not as visible during daylight hrs., good at night.

 

If you get hit from behind, there probably won't be enough pieces left to tell if was a factory or aftermarket taillight anyway...just a thought.

 

Wost case, the cops could give you a ticket after the accident. I doubt they would be able to get out of liability based on the mod light. First of all unless the cop on the scene was a RS warrior owner, how would they even know?

Think of the chances that both tail lights could go out on your cage... Ever time you'd get in a fender bender people would go crying "tail light out"...

Most places that I've been make the driver liable to not hit what is in front of them...

But as a matter of your personal saftey, I'd recommend making **** sure that drivers can see you!

Function over form!

 

You be road kill........[/emoticons/emotion-5.gif]

 

At night these lights come in handy also. [8D]

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Yea good thing to think about, I think we all considered it at one point or another. We have a Texas attorney on the site, what was his forum name again? Anyway I realized that integrated lights are OEM stock on many bikes and those OEM ones have fewer LED's and are not as bright as the aftermarket ones. Same for the stock RSW incandescent bulbs, not so bright. In my case I made the upgrade because I think it will lessen my chance of being rear ended. Thats why I'm looking for front LED signals too. We need the latest safety technology and its okay if it looks cool too. No law against that (I hope!).

 

mine is just as bright as stock, as they reuse the stck led's

 

The UFO R3 is a lot brighter than stock. So now you can tell "The Boss" that it's a safety issue and you have to get one!

 

I have an integrated rear LED light on my Warrior and it's definitely more visible than the stock units. And as someone mentioned here...I always keep an watchful eye in my mirrors when I am stopped at a red light or stop sign. At first I didn't have mirrors on my Warrior, but my wife pleased with me to get some and put them on. So to make her feel better and not worry as much...I gave in and put some mirrors on...I'm actually glad I did...[^]

Anyway as far as legal issues go...I can't say...I not an attorney, I just play one on T.V.[/emoticons/emotion-4.gif][/emoticons/emotion-2.gif] OK...OK...I'm not a comedian either.

Here in Virginia ALL motorcycles are required to be inspected by a certified state inspection station. The requirements for rear lights and turn signals are, as followed:

And I quote...

"You have to have a tail light mounted near the rear of your bike and it must turn on when your headlight is on. You also have to have a working rear license plate light. Turn signals are not required, but if you have them they have to work. They should be at least 9 inches apart and 20 inches above ground level. You must have a brake light and it must turn on whether you press the foot brake or use the hand brake. There, however, are a couple of exceptions to this brake light rule. The first is that you don't have to have a brake light if you have an antique motorcycle that was not originally equipped with a brake light. The second exception is that if your motorcycle was manufactured prior to January 1, 1972, the front wheel brake control does not have to activate the brake light."

End quote...

I actually had a police officer checking out my bike while I was filling up one day. After he ask me what kind of bike it was and who made it. He ask me what all I had done to the bike...So I went through the list of mods which included the integrated rear light, where I showed him how it looked when it was turned on. He mentioned something about he thought the turn signals were supposed to be a certain distance apart, or something like that. He didn't really go into it and I think he was just making a general comment. I did say that it's not required to even have turn signals on a motorcycle. Anyway he was quite impressed with the bike and even took some pictures to show his wife. He even ask me if he could sit on it and if I would take a few pictures of him while he was sitting on it...[/emoticons/emotion-1.gif]

As far as, if you are rear-ended while you're on your bike...By law...And again I'm not an attorney...But I believe the person who rear-ended you is automatically at fault. Hopefully you'll NEVER be in a situation where you get rear-ended! And if by chance you are...The least of your worries should be if you'll get in trouble for not having OEM equipment on your bike.

Mark aka Mad Man

 

My integrated lights have a switch that when activated , pulses the brake light. The pulse rate is fast and very attention catching.

Anyone know if pulsing brake lights are legal? I leave the switch off because I don't want another nuisance ticket.

 

quote:Originally posted by Gallo

My integrated lights have a switch that when activated , pulses the brake light. The pulse rate is fast and very attention catching.

Anyone know if pulsing brake lights are legal? I leave the switch off because I don't want another nuisance ticket.


Not illegal. I've seen that on some new cars lately...I think they were cadallic or volvo types that I couldn't imagine were modded that way.

 

"if someone hits you from behind, its always their fault, no matter what..."

Not always true. I rear ended a car when I was in High School...the other driver was cited for illegal stopping. Somehow I got really lucky. Totalled his car only bent the bumper on my truck.

 

One note on the whole "if someone hits you from behind, they're always at fault" issue, I used to be under that impression as well, but it's not absolute. Found that out the hard way.

A couple of years ago, driving north on the eastern shore of Virginia with the rest of the band and the sound guy in a fully loaded truck to a gig in Maryland. Mr. and Mrs. Geritol in their minivan pulling their pop-up trailer are puttering along in the slow lane, and we're in the left lane just about to pass them when they realize that they just missed their left turn to the camp ground they are heading to. So on comes the brake lights, left turn signal, AND the lane change all at the same time. We were hung out to dry with NOWHERE to go. Sound guy STANDS on brakes and scrubs off as much speed as he can before contact, but we still hit them a ton.

Long story short, state trooper arrives, spends about an hour investigating, taking measurements and such, and after collecting all the appripriate information wishes us a safe journey for the rest of our trip and tells us he has some more business with the Geritols. And I have never seen an insurance company settle a claim so quickly.

Bottom line is that there are situations that you cannot be reasonably expected to avoid if your following. Don't assume the follower is always at fault. The only way to completely avoid a collision is to never leave the driveway, and that's an unreasonable expectation.

And regarding how you may be affected by any modification to you equipment, NEVER underestimate what a good lawyer can pull off! Remember OJ.

Ride Safe!!
Larry

 

I think that's kind of a different situation. When my car was rearended, the cop never even questioned who was at fault.

 

I don't know, but have some vague recollection that some states, or even the DOT may have a requirement for turn signal lights on motorcycles to be displaced at least 12 inches from the centerline of the motorcycle. Again, that is not a declaration, just a hazy memory.
My ride has the CA integrated tail light...but has integrated LED turn lights in the front and back of the mirrors as well.

 

Just like LOUD pipes, anything that makes you more noticeable to oblivious drivers is a good thing!!! (IMO!)

 

Dont even give it a thought. All the integrated tail lights are LED and much brighter. Nothing wrong with UPGRADING your visibilty for SAFER riding.

 

http://home.ama-cycle.org/amaccess/laws/result.asp?state=pa go to this site. enter your state and it will list your state laws. every state is different in thier requirements. i live in pennsylvania which does not require any turn sigs

 

I was smashed from behind by a Grand Cherokee driving, cell phone yapping, soccer Mom 3 years ago. I had the MD Wright integrated kit at the time. I was waiting to turn left and had my signal on and my arm sticking out. Didn't much matter. The bike and I went flying. In the end, she paid for everything, including the MD Wright kit she smashed into oblivion. No issues came up with the turn signals at all. Even if you don't use a signal and are hit from behind, it's the other dumb ass's fault.

 

if you get rear ended and can get up - then you beat the F#%k out of the person who hit you - you might have legal trouble - other than that, I think your fine