Hey all,
First let me begin by saying, I respect LEOs 100%. They get the up-close and personal done with some of the shadiest and meanest people on our streets today. I understand they are under constant stress and have a job to do and I respect them (and all you LEOs here) but there's a very fine line between Zero Tolerance and being a total ******* ******.
So here's the situation... I'm driving back on a Saturday evening going under speed limit and have my headlights on, no obnoxious music playing and my seat belt on. No, I never use my phone while driving, I have a console vault that I lock my phone into that I leave on BT there and I do not own a radar detector either. No visual obstruction of my license plates or any exterior extensions of my vehicle further than the allowable 4". And... I get pulled over.
Why? Apparently, "Your headlights, they're blinding everyone." Instant Warning, and no apparent further explanation. No, I don't give a **** that you're in the military. No, I don't care that this is the first evening you've had your truck back since you were in a bad collision. No, I don't even care that there were 2 other vehicles that drove by me with their headlights off at night. I just want to pull you over because my squad car is lower than Your headlights and I looked in my rearview and stared at Your headlights for 1 minute then got mad because I couldn't see.
What the hell?! I promise you all that this was my first evening drive with my truck and Koons Ford did a hell of a good job at fixing Wally up but I am 100% certain that Dawson (Raptor Retrofit) and my shop guy Bob all had my headlights squared away. I looked at them briefly beforehand but I was only doing daytime driving but I could tell they were aimed correctly. So what gives? That ******** response and answer, "Your headlights, they're blinding everyone." What a **** move and a great way to ruin my evening.
So I talked to one of my LEO buddies in town and he said, "Yeah... that's really partially a judgment call by the on scene officer. Your headlights look fine to me, I'd say it was the angle and directness that the other officer looked at it and decided to give you a warning. Our cars are a little lower than your truck so I'd say its just a hit & miss." (Enters his squad mate) Him, "Hmm... I mean they're fine in any other midsized vehicle or around other trucks but hell in our s. cars if I was having a bad day I'd give you a warning too."
Seriously? WTF?! I'm from Texas and that sort of ******** would quickly boil over badly. But its MD and I can see that Trucks aren't quite as welcome here.
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The kicker to the situation, on the way back got a $3XX citation for "Failure to properly Locate and/or Equip headlights and appropriate equipment." I don't have time to fight this, so I'll pay it but that's garbage. Last I checked 6K HIDs w/ 50w projectors were legal and fine, and I trust my shop guy 100% that they were aimed right. Guess the earlier cop didn't like my dumbfounded expression and respectful silence and sent up another car to wait till I got off the highway.
First let me begin by saying, I respect LEOs 100%. They get the up-close and personal done with some of the shadiest and meanest people on our streets today. I understand they are under constant stress and have a job to do and I respect them (and all you LEOs here) but there's a very fine line between Zero Tolerance and being a total ******* ******.
So here's the situation... I'm driving back on a Saturday evening going under speed limit and have my headlights on, no obnoxious music playing and my seat belt on. No, I never use my phone while driving, I have a console vault that I lock my phone into that I leave on BT there and I do not own a radar detector either. No visual obstruction of my license plates or any exterior extensions of my vehicle further than the allowable 4". And... I get pulled over.
Why? Apparently, "Your headlights, they're blinding everyone." Instant Warning, and no apparent further explanation. No, I don't give a **** that you're in the military. No, I don't care that this is the first evening you've had your truck back since you were in a bad collision. No, I don't even care that there were 2 other vehicles that drove by me with their headlights off at night. I just want to pull you over because my squad car is lower than Your headlights and I looked in my rearview and stared at Your headlights for 1 minute then got mad because I couldn't see.
What the hell?! I promise you all that this was my first evening drive with my truck and Koons Ford did a hell of a good job at fixing Wally up but I am 100% certain that Dawson (Raptor Retrofit) and my shop guy Bob all had my headlights squared away. I looked at them briefly beforehand but I was only doing daytime driving but I could tell they were aimed correctly. So what gives? That ******** response and answer, "Your headlights, they're blinding everyone." What a **** move and a great way to ruin my evening.
So I talked to one of my LEO buddies in town and he said, "Yeah... that's really partially a judgment call by the on scene officer. Your headlights look fine to me, I'd say it was the angle and directness that the other officer looked at it and decided to give you a warning. Our cars are a little lower than your truck so I'd say its just a hit & miss." (Enters his squad mate) Him, "Hmm... I mean they're fine in any other midsized vehicle or around other trucks but hell in our s. cars if I was having a bad day I'd give you a warning too."
Seriously? WTF?! I'm from Texas and that sort of ******** would quickly boil over badly. But its MD and I can see that Trucks aren't quite as welcome here.
---
The kicker to the situation, on the way back got a $3XX citation for "Failure to properly Locate and/or Equip headlights and appropriate equipment." I don't have time to fight this, so I'll pay it but that's garbage. Last I checked 6K HIDs w/ 50w projectors were legal and fine, and I trust my shop guy 100% that they were aimed right. Guess the earlier cop didn't like my dumbfounded expression and respectful silence and sent up another car to wait till I got off the highway.