Laws for under glow. | GTAMotorcycle.com

Laws for under glow.

Matthew.Tremayne

Matthew.Tremayne

Well-known member
I bought a Yamaha R6 a few days ago from GP Bikes and it has under glow... I attached a picture, would this be legal to ride with or no? I couldn't really care for it, but it would make you more visible on night rides. Maybe the person who owned it was a parking lot warrior, who knows.. I just want to know if it's legal.

Thanks!
 

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Can't help you with the legality of this mod but damn it looks very Area 51.

Nice bike.
 
From what I remember, so long as it's not flashing, and the bulb itself isn't visible, you should be OK.

I'd double check the way it was wired up to make sure there's no draw when the bike is off, etc. Last thing you wanna do is bump start your bike everywhere you go.
 
Thanks guys, much appreciated!
 
I read an article where a young kid was cited for neon underglow. He had his grandma testify that she much appreciated the "courtesy lighting" he had installed on the car to help her see when getting in and out. Charges dropped.
 
omnivore said:
I read an article where a young kid was cited for neon underglow. He had his grandma testify that she much appreciated the "courtesy lighting" he had installed on the car to help her see when getting in and out. Charges dropped.
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That`s funny. Do you think we could get away with it on a motorbike? Here let me help you get your leg over Grandma? lol.
 
cycling said:
Not only on this forum but many others opinions differ...some say gay....some say nice....if you like them...keep them...if not, ditch them...do not go by peer pressure...Enjoy the bike.
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I was looking for info on the legality, not what others think...

LOL @ the Grandmother and the courtesy lighting. Was she from "da hood"?! Her under glow and the 26" rims totally was not her idea!!
 
In the picture posted the lights look blue to me. Therefore it is not legal.

There is a reason you don't see ricer cars with blue tips on their windshield washer jets and especially lights underneath the vehicle and around the plate anymore. Often because the colour is blue which is reserved.

Now, that said, a motorcycle is a licensed vehicle in operation on the road. If the vehicle has incorrect lights it will qualify for tickets.

This past week I saw a car with blue lights in a circle in their tire rims and a bit of underglow as well in a parking lot. Unless they only turn it on in lots, that's a car that will be ticketed often. The car did look nice, but it's still in violation.
 
^ You can have any colour you want, as long as: (A) it doesn't flash ... and lights on the rims can look like they are flashing if the vehicle is moving, and (B) you can only see the lighting indirectly and the light source is not directly visible from outside. The last point is open to interpretation with regards to the height of being viewed ... but if you can't see the light source from person-standing eye level (police officer walking past) or sitting-in-a-car eye level (police officer driving past) then you are probably OK. Not saying you won't get pulled over, not saying you won't end up in court facing a JP with a dim view of what you've done, but by the words of the HTA and their reasonable interpretations you are probably OK. As for the possible unreasonable interpretations of the HTA ... you are on your own. Switch all the stuff off when you are out on the road!

Those blue windshield washer lights are not OK because you can directly see the light source from the front and it's a colour that is not allowed in that situation.

Lights that you can directly see the source of - headlights, running lights, tail lights - have to meet CMVSS 108, and that means white or amber facing forward, red (brake/tail) facing rearward, amber/red (turn) facing rearward, white for reversing lamps and license plate illumination (which has to be indirect!), and no other colours ...
 
Brian P said:
^ You can have any colour you want, as long as: (A) it doesn't flash ... and lights on the rims can look like they are flashing if the vehicle is moving, and (B) you can only see the lighting indirectly and the light source is not directly visible from outside. The last point is open to interpretation with regards to the height of being viewed ... but if you can't see the light source from person-standing eye level (police officer walking past) or sitting-in-a-car eye level (police officer driving past) then you are probably OK. Not saying you won't get pulled over, not saying you won't end up in court facing a JP with a dim view of what you've done, but by the words of the HTA and their reasonable interpretations you are probably OK. As for the possible unreasonable interpretations of the HTA ... you are on your own. Switch all the stuff off when you are out on the road!

Those blue windshield washer lights are not OK because you can directly see the light source from the front and it's a colour that is not allowed in that situation.

Lights that you can directly see the source of - headlights, running lights, tail lights - have to meet CMVSS 108, and that means white or amber facing forward, red (brake/tail) facing rearward, amber/red (turn) facing rearward, white for reversing lamps and license plate illumination (which has to be indirect!), and no other colours ...
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Incorrect Brian.

You can have that stuff operating while your vehicle is not in motion.

If you are operating your vehicle on the roads, and have a visible glow from your vehicle you can be issued a ticket depending on that officers interpretation of the HTA.

I ve been pulled over for having red glow visible ( emergency vehicles only) and purple ( for funeral services).
 
Sunspark said:
In the picture posted the lights look blue to me. Therefore it is not legal.

There is a reason you don't see ricer cars with blue tips on their windshield washer jets and especially lights underneath the vehicle and around the plate anymore. Often because the colour is blue which is reserved.

Now, that said, a motorcycle is a licensed vehicle in operation on the road. If the vehicle has incorrect lights it will qualify for tickets.

This past week I saw a car with blue lights in a circle in their tire rims and a bit of underglow as well in a parking lot. Unless they only turn it on in lots, that's a car that will be ticketed often. The car did look nice, but it's still in violation.
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This is incorrect.

Blue is legal as long as it isn't at the front (Depending if you take the law as Blue and red as it is written or blue or red as most people interpret it.

Here are the laws on underglow:

Intermittent red light restricted

(14) Subject to subsections (14.1) and (15), no person shall use a lamp, other than the vehicular hazard warning signal lamps commonly known as four way flashers, that produces intermittent flashes of red light. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 62 (14); 2007, c. 13, s. 17 (1).


Red and blue lights to the front restricted

(14.1) In addition to the lighting requirements in this Part, a police department vehicle may carry lamps that cast red and blue lights, but no other motor vehicle shall carry any lamp that casts red and blue lights to the front. 2007, c. 13, s. 17 (2).

Red light in front

(15) In addition to the lighting requirements in this Part, a vehicle described in subsection (15.1) may carry lamps that cast a red light only or such other colour of light that may, with the approval of the ministry, be designated by a by-law of the municipality in which the vehicle is operated, but no other motor vehicle shall carry any lamp that casts a red light to the front. 1998, c. 35, s. 103.

Green flashing light restricted

(16) The following persons may carry on or in his or her vehicle and operate a lamp that produces intermittent flashes of green light:

1. A firefighter, within the meaning of subsection 1 (1) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, while proceeding to a fire or other emergency.

2. A prescribed class of volunteer medical responder, while driving a prescribed class or type of vehicle or engaging in a prescribed activity or in prescribed conditions or circumstances. 2007, c. 13, s. 17 (5).


I have blue underglow on my bike and have asked police on 3 different occasions with it on and every time was told they were legal.Not saying the cop won't try to give you a ticket and it is a much greater chance of getting pulled over, but you should have an easy case in court if he was to ticket you.
 
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OP, I believe I sat on your bike and made brambrambraaaammm noises with my mouth when it was on display at GP.

Nice purchase!
 
infernobuster said:
Incorrect Brian.

You can have that stuff operating while your vehicle is not in motion.

If you are operating your vehicle on the roads, and have a visible glow from your vehicle you can be issued a ticket depending on that officers interpretation of the HTA.

I ve been pulled over for having red glow visible ( emergency vehicles only) and purple ( for funeral services).
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Ticket, yes (and I said it would be risky in the original post). Conviction, questionable. By the words of the HTA posted above, it should not stand unless you were sending red (or blue) light out to the front. (Green is only restricted if flashing. Red and blue light cannot be cast to the front.)

My own opinion agrees with yours ... just don't use this stuff when out on the road and then there is no problem. If you are not going to be using your vehicle to pose at Timmies then don't do it at all.
 
I call your attention to the picture posted at the top of the thread. Right to the left of the YZF logo it has a front facing blue light mounted.

You could replace the blue with white.. The fairing on the bike is white and it would still look nice.
 
I have done lots of work with the OPP recently regarding lights on Off road vehicles etc, but the regs are the SAME for street or highway use.

You CAN HAVE a flashing BLUE light on your vehicle flashing BLUE to the front, (just as SNOW plows etc do). What you can NOT have is a combination of blue AND red. You can NOT have red lights VISIBLE flashing or not on the front of your vehicle. You can NOT, (unless your a fire fighter, normally volunteers outside the city), have a flashing GREEN light to the front. Even then the firefighter or emergency personnel must either be enroute to the hall or stopped at a scene offering assistance they can't just drive around with it on..lol People in the country know what this light means and will generally slow or pull over for them not so much in populated areas.

As for the "purple lights" yes funeral processions use them BUT there is nothing in the HTA< (that I have been able to locate), which restricts their use to that specific use so you "could" have purple as well

Now I do a LOT of my riding out of the city and I have blue under glow as well as flashing BLUE in the front frame of my cruiser, (so it is not directly visible from the front due to placement of front tire and forks. I ONLY use them after dark on the unlit roads. I actually had a Durham regional cruiser make a WIDE right turn partially into my lane on an unlit road, (it was after that that I installed the lights to give better side lighting. I have had friends, (riding both in front and to my rear), tell me they can see the "glow" but they can't actually see the flashing LED strips.
 
hedo2002 said:
I have done lots of work with the OPP recently regarding lights on Off road vehicles etc, but the regs are the SAME for street or highway use.

You CAN HAVE a flashing BLUE light on your vehicle flashing BLUE to the front, (just as SNOW plows etc do).
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The regulation are NOT the same for Off Road and Street. The HTA doesn't apply for Off Road.


You cannot have a flashing blue light on the road.

Flashing blue light on snow-removal equipment
(31) No person shall, while operating a road service vehicle on a highway, plow, salt or de-ice the highway or apply chemicals or abrasives to the highway for snow or ice control unless the road service vehicle is equipped with a lamp producing intermittent flashes of blue light visible for a distance of 150 metres from all directions. 1996, c. 33, s. 11.
Restriction on use of flashing blue light
(32) No person shall operate a lamp that produces intermittent flashes of blue light on a highway except,

(a) a person operating a road service vehicle in the circumstances described in subsection (31); or
(b) a person operating a police department vehicle, together with a lamp that produces intermittent flashes of red light, as permitted by subsection (14.1). 2007, c. 13, s. 17 (8).
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Splash said:
The regulation are NOT the same for Off Road and Street. The HTA doesn't apply for Off Road.


You cannot have a flashing blue light the road.
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Actually the ORVA has been brought into line with the HTA as many ORV's are now permitted to be used on roads, also the HTA DOES indeed apply to off road vehicles, (in certain circumstances), like when they are being operated ON a roadway. Also regulation HTA 316 is what deals with Off Road vehicle regs.

I have had my LED strips checked and confirmed by OPP that they ARE legal and one of my friends, (who for obvious reasons, I won't identify), have provided a letter that states they ARE legal. They don't actually "flash" in that at least some of the LEDS are constantly illuminated whereas the lights "move" along the strip giving it an "appearance" of motion"

As for the OPS bike the blue light at the front which "appears" to be forward facing doesn't appear to flash but is constantly illuminated therefore it is not a "flashing blue light". I admit it is a "grey area" and the only way for total clarification would be to get an "equipment violation" ticket and take it to court. Once a ruling is obtained then all one has to do is keep a copy of the ruling under their seat..lol

The point is the HTA is at best a poorly worded, (in many sections), regulation. If one were to read it a red turn signal could be either legal or illegal depending upon how one read and interpreted, as the wording in the equipment violations is ambiguous. Also one would have to be a real dick to piss an officer off enough that they would go looking for this as a violation to issue. They don't ticket PRIVATE snow plows, which are NOT covered under the above section, which drive from job to job with their flashing blue light on the road.
 
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