# Ticket for a burned out headlight??? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 21, 2016, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675 "2016-02-21T06:29:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/41 "2016-02-23T17:03:52Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > I’m guessing the OP got arrested and is sitting in jail since he hasn’t returned. Poor lil’ feller. Maybe while he is being passed around as the prison bitch for cigarettes he can reflect on his actions and not be a dick to the cop next time. “…and the meanest Father-raper of them all . . . was comin’ over to me, and he was mean and ugly and nasty and horrible and all kinds of things, and he sat down next to me. … He said, ‘What were you arrested for, kid?’ and I said, ‘A burned-out headlight.’” ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/42 "2016-02-23T22:16:49Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > I’m guessing the OP got arrested and is sitting in jail since he hasn’t returned. Poor lil’ feller. Maybe while he is being passed around as the prison bitch for cigarettes he can reflect on his actions and not be a dick to the cop next time. Why is it that almost every thread involving incarceration brings up some ridiculous comment regarding prison rape? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/43 "2016-02-23T22:44:44Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Why is it that almost every thread involving incarceration brings up some ridiculous comment regarding prison rape? You’re the one bringing up prison rape. I was talking about the OPs awesome massage skills getting taken advantage of. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/44 "2016-02-24T14:37:35Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > You’re the one bringing up prison rape. I was talking about the OPs awesome massage skills getting taken advantage of. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/45 "2016-02-24T20:35:46Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/46 "2016-02-25T00:16:47Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Why the hell do they give out tickets for a burned out headlight? > For starters one often doesnt even know it’s out. > > And second, replacing a headlight bulb isnt something one can do anymore at home. Very often anymore it requires removing several engine components so you have to take it into a shop and have it done by a trained mechanic. > > So seeing the complexity of replacing a headlight bulb/lamp, wouldnt it just be smart to issue a warning and only require it to be signed off when completed? It’s annoying as hell - and a minor safety violation as well (now, if BOTH headlights are out, that’s a real issue; your choices are to travel invisibly or put your high beams on and blind everyone). My CRV has had frequent headlight replacements - as in, a bulb will sometimes burn out weeks after it’s replaced. I got nabbed in December by a Metro Transit Police officer who’d staked out the nearby Metro station (yeah, it was the end of the month). What was weird and especially annoying was I couldn’t simply pay the fine, I _had_ to appear in court. With proof of the repair being made, they voided the whole thing. Fortunately I had the day off anyway but if I had not it could have been a HUGE time waster. I got pulled over a couple years back for a burned out license plate light - that time, the officer just issued a warning. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/47 "2016-02-25T06:26:51Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > :rolleyes: > [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > :rolleyes: Get a room, you two. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/48 "2016-02-25T14:57:14Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Get a room, you two. Hot. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/49 "2016-02-25T18:27:41Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Why the hell do they give out tickets for a burned out headlight? > For starters one often doesnt even know it’s out. Asked and answered, then. The ticket lets you know you need to get it fixed. And it’s harder to not know - seems a lot of cars have a notification on the dash these days, though I’ll bet lots of people ignore them. This bypasses the fact that you’re supposed to check your cars’ safety equipment before you hit the road anyway. Waiting until you’re underway to learn your lights, turn signals, brakes, tire pressure or whatever don’t work puts you and others at risk. I do a walk around at every fill-up at least. And it’s a valid safety issue to warn people about because when the one remaining light goes, it’s a bigger problem for everyone, and most people will likely procrastinate fixing one until the other one dies if not **forced** to repair the first. Then there’s the race issue. I changed one recently, having noticed it was out the day it died. I swung buy Autozone and swapped it immediately, since an African-American being pulled over for _anything_ risks getting shot these days; not a concern for an urban redneck, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/50 "2016-02-25T18:53:16Z")
I thought this was going to be about Trump choosing his running mate… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/51 "2016-02-25T20:22:38Z")
> [@Bruce\_Wayne](#): > > I generally agreed with the OP except this quoted part. I’m pretty sure a large majority of the adult population could manage replacing a headlight bulb with nothing more than the guidance of a YouTube video. You’d be AMAZED at how many auto repair videos are on YouTube, and for practically every single make/model car on the road today. Many will even run through the parts, the tools, the pitfalls, and sometimes even the specific part numbers! Yeah, I get it… not everyone knows much about cars. Still, if you can view YouTube and have basic tools (and the right parts from an auto parts store), Anyone can do this. Look around your office: Anyone there Can do this (excluding pets). What they are really saying is that they won’t do it, and there is no fix for that. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/52 "2016-02-25T23:48:52Z")
Around here, you get a roadworthness notice. You’ve got a month to fix it, and show the police you’ve fixed it, otherwise you’re not allowed to drive it. Driving an a car with an expired roadworthy notice is much worse. you don’t want to do that. Also, if they’re going give you an unroadworthy notice for anything, they are either on a rooky-cop training excercise, or they are hoping / planning to book you for something else. If I got stopped for a brake light or a headlight, and it wasn’t a training excercise, I’d be expecting at least a speeding ticket. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/53 "2016-02-26T01:56:04Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > And it’s a valid safety issue to warn people about because when the one remaining light goes, it’s a bigger problem for everyone, and most people will likely procrastinate fixing one until the other one dies if not **forced** to repair the first. Having only one working headlight is a safety issue in itself. It makes your car less viable to other drivers. Yes it does get much worse if both aren’t working. People need to make sure all thier safety equipment is working and should be ticketed for failing to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/54 "2016-02-27T09:18:57Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I can only speak for Wisconsin but we never give cites out for the first contact. Sometimes it’s just a verbal warning but usually it’s an equipment warning ticket. For headlights you have 5 days, for other violations that may take longer to get fixed it’s 10 or 15 days. Within that time period the motorist can get the equipment repaired. He can show it to any peace officer in the state and have them sign the ticket (with their agencies ID number) and mail it to the citing agency. If the motorist doesn’t do this in the specified time, then a citation is issued (mailed). > > YMMV so I’m wondering what state the OP is in. CA is the same, although the signed-off cite gets mailed into the Clerk of the Municipal Court. I’d give even money that the OP was given an attitude cite… ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/55 "2016-02-27T11:57:48Z")
In MA you either get a verbal warning or a ticket. We have no system for repair tickets or such. If you get a ticket for an equipment issue you can opt to take it to court. It’s no guarantee they will let you off the hook if it’s repaired but chances are pretty good. I think you have to pay 25 dollars to take any ticket to court now and that is non-refundable even if they find the ticket shouldn’t have been issued. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/56 "2016-02-28T22:16:48Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > In MA you either get a verbal warning or a ticket. We have no system for repair tickets or such. I almost never give a verbal warning for an equipment violation. The motorist won’t be motivated to fix it and there is no record keeping on verbals\* so if he gets pulled over again the next officer won’t know about the previous warning. \*There actually is a way in southeastern Wisconsin to check if someone was previously pulled over and warned, it’s a transformation of the former WISPERN system over the mobile data terminal. But neither I nor anyone I know ever actually checks that specific feature of the system. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/57 "2016-02-28T22:20:36Z")
I’ve gotten several tickets for having a headlight out, but each time the citation was dismissed when I showed up at the court date with a receipt for the replacement. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/58 "2016-03-01T04:01:44Z")
Every time I have been in traffic court, there were a bunch of people with tickets for lights being out. Usually they show a receipt for the repair and the judge drops the charges. The one time I have ever been stopped for a light (license plate light was out), I got a ticket (that the prosecutor dismissed the charges on when I showed up for court). But that was because I had accidentally fallen into a group where the police were looking for any reason to cite anyone. That’s a longer story I’ll get to in a second. I have known since before I could drive that you are supposed to check all the lights on the vehicle every day before you start out. I have never done so, and the only people I know who do are school bus drivers, but I have always know that I was supposed to. How I got my ticket: In Manchester Connecticut (near where I’m from but not where I’m from), apparently the kids are starved for entertainment. Back in the 1980s, on Friday and Saturday nights, they would all meet at a shopping center and drive in a big circle. The shopping center sat at the intersection of two major roads, and the circle went along the front of the shops (stores on your right), then left turn onto the street, then left at the light, then left into the shopping center, then left to go along the front of the shops. The police sat just inside the parking lot where the parade entered, and would pull over anybody who had anything wrong with their car. There was a movie theater near the shopping center, and my girlfriend was meeting some friends there, and she needed batteries for the flash on her camera, and I (not knowing the area very well), said “I bet that grocery store sells batteries”. So I got into that parade because I genuinely wanted to shop at one of the stores, and the officer saw a 19-year-old in a car that apparently had no light on the license plate. On the one hand, I understand that I matched the profile of a troublemaker at that moment, and the police were doing their best to regulate the situation. On the other hand, I am reasonably sure that entering that parking lot with no intention of stopping at any of those shops is actually illegal. While they might have to borrow officers from nearby towns to get enough to arrest _everyone_ breaking that law on a given Friday (say, set up some camcorders for evidence, and arrest anybody who make the circuit more than twice without parking), I think you’d only have to do that two or three weekends before the kids stopped doing it. And just doing it once would give you a list of names of minors who need their parents called. On a third hand, if this is the most troublesome thing kids can come up with to do on a Friday night, maybe we should let it be. But I think that way leads to anarchy. You do not tolerate inappropriate behavior because “it could be worse”. Because once that amount of assholery becomes the norm, you have to tolerate people being worse just because it isn’t the worst possible thing they could be doing. ---
**Author:** ![ManassasReader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@ManassasReader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ManassasReader)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/59 "2016-03-01T06:47:20Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Why the hell do they give out tickets for a burned out headlight? > For starters one often doesnt even know it’s out. > > And second, replacing a headlight bulb isnt something one can do anymore at home. Very often anymore it requires removing several engine components so you have to take it into a shop and have it done by a trained mechanic. > > So seeing the complexity of replacing a headlight bulb/lamp, wouldnt it just be smart to issue a warning and only require it to be signed off when completed? Baloney. I’ve been driving since 1977 and I’ve always been able to tell when a headlight is burned out. It’s just noticeable. And many cars today still make it easy enough to change the bulbs without the need for a mechanic. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675/60 "2016-03-01T14:40:11Z")
> [@ManassasReader](#): > > Baloney. I’ve been driving since 1977 and I’ve always been able to tell when a headlight is burned out. It’s just noticeable. And many cars today still make it easy enough to change the bulbs without the need for a mechanic. Driving since 1975, and you will not notice if a headlight is out in twilight/dawn/dusk unless you pull up behind another car. Happened to me recently, and while it was light enough to not need my lights, I had them on. One was burned out and I got pulled over for a warning. Now fine or anything, just a heads up really. But no, you will not always notice if you have a headlight out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticket-for-a-burned-out-headlight/746675.md?page=4)