Does anyone know case law regarding green hood lights? A judge just suppressed a DWI stop because the transportation code did not explicitly say that greed hood lights are not allowed....

There are so many provisions of the TC controlling vehicle lighting, I'm not sure case law would be help. Look at 547.305 (c). This was probably the provision the officer/trooper was trying to enforce. As you can see it is eaten up with administrative references, exceptions, etc.

My best suggestion is that officers should not enforce laws they can not explain during direct. Look at the statute and help the officer out. Making stops based on these very difficult statutes is always a big risk. Spread that word.

Look at 547.3215, this general prohibition references Federal standards. Think the other section is hard to qualify, this one is worse, but it is a possibility. Be ready for the officer to have to answer "So what is the Federal standard for hood lights on the 1982 Chevy Suburban with the delux package."

It all depends on what kind of green hood lights. For example, lots of teens are putting tiny colored lights in the place where the windshield washer fluid ejectors are located. Anyway, the man of the hour on vehicle equipment is Eugene Summerford. He is the attorney for the Department's Vehicle Inspection Bureau. You can reach him by calling the Department's main number, 512-424-2000, getting the switchboard operator, and asking for him. Eugene has forgotten more than I will ever know about vehicle equipment--particularly odd colored lights!

Janette Ansolabehere
Texas Department of Public Safety
Office of General Counsel

Thanks for all the great info - you guys never let me down.

I have seen cars like that and at night it looks pretty weird. I wonder how they clean the windshield with the washers blocked off. Perhaps there is something in the Trans Code that says you must have a working washer. So if you see those little lights there instead of the washer nozzels, perhaps that could give you PC to make the stop and check them out for DWI, warrants, ect.