Pontiac G8 GT Tail Lights Illegal in Maryland, Says Judge

Here’s a great David vs Goliath story that’s sure to get you all fired up at “the man” on a Monday morning. G8Board.com member “jackalope” was recently ticketed for having what a police officer deemed to be illegal tail lights. Knowing that the lights are factory equipment on his Pontiac G8 GT, and are certified by the DOT, he took the ticket to court, considering the whole thing to be some kind of mistake. Knowing he was in the right and had the law on his side, Jackalope was shocked when the judge found him guilty and upheld the ticket, meaning he had to pay the $85. Worse still, he was told by the judge (this time “the man” was actually a woman) that she would continue to fine him if he refused to pay. And to add insult to injury, the judge even went so far as to advise the defendant that he should consider selling his car as its not legal in Maryland.

The issue surrounding the tail lights on Jackalope’s Pontiac G8 GT, involves the fact that the clear lenses on the G8 GT’s lights means GM had to use reflectors on the bumper in order to meet regulations. The state law requires the reflectors to reflect the color red, which the officer who issued the ticket obvious felt he couldn’t see.

According to Jackalope, the judge wasn’t interested in what the manufacturer or the DOT said, commenting that the opinion of the officer superseeded that of any other authorities on the matter and that as a judge she would uphold the officer’s decision to issue the ticket.

Jakalope has since contacted Pontiac and has an appointment to speak with them regarding the issue.

But the story doesn’t stop there, with some folks alleging that Jakalope wasn’t sporting factory lights, but rather modified taillights on his car. Jakalope has since both stated that he did have the factory lights on the car when the ticket was issued (although he does have other “show” lights). He also claims that even the modified taillights, which can be seen on his Cardomain page, should be legal as well, as they continue to reflect the color red.

[Source: G8Board via Jalopnik]