Blue Dot Tail Lights WHY? When did this start?

I don't know why they came to be, but since the staties here switched to blue lights on the cop cars, I can see them a lot easier from far back up the Thruway or whereever to see they've nailed someone for a traffic offense. And the cars I've seen with blue dots usually show up brighter. Maybe it was just a way to compensate for the low brightness of a single 6v taillight bulb -

 

Got 'em on my '40 sedan... got harrassed one night; thought he was pulling me over to give me a ticket but just wanted to tell me my taillights were real small and not very visible. I told him they were the coolest around and I wasn't going to change 'em. He said, "Well, ok then. Nice car."

 

During the 50's you seldom saw them in anything that didn't have a sun visor, mudflaps with stars, skirts, & a big chrome bird hood ornament. 2 notable exceptions were the Larry Ernst '51 Chev Bel Air & the Fred Steele '32 roadster. They enjoyed a huge comeback with rodders & restorers around '70-'71, then soon after just the insert & retaining ring were repopped, so we began to see them in Chevy vans.
We used to travel hundreds of miles to hunt up old parts houses that never threw anything away - found several hundred once in Twin Falls, had to buy them all - he wouldn't sell just the ones we wanted. The purple effect looks best about 2 AM following a 12 volted '48 Chev in a snowstorm - it lights up the whole horizon when he hits the brakes ...

 

I run em on all my Hot Rods. never have had a ticket for em in about 50 years, and i live in California!

 

Back in the late 70's the Huntsville Ala. Police Dept. used Kawasaki (sp?) motor cycles that came standard with guess what???? BLUE DOT tail lights.

 

I took mine out 15 years ago......cops pulled me over all the time!!! now guys run them and say they've never been hasseld. maybe have to put them back in!!

 

Cool...

 

Killing time while its 18 degrees outside and wondering about the history of the blue dots in my junk box. Amazing what can be learned on the HAMB.

 

Why? because they look great. In australia lots of rods run them,a stream of rods cruising at night looks cool as...........

 

blue dots rule !!!

 

Me too, after being rear ended 12 times, I've had enough thanks!

 

Maybe you should drive faster.LOL...

 

Ha Ha, I've wondered, if I could apply for a special licence, allowing me to speed, but I already have a tendency to drive too fast.

 

Me too. my 82 FLH has them on the turn signals and the tail light. Never had a issue with LEO's. Kind of like historical plates/year of manufacture plates up here. It seems if you use common sense here in how you drive and in the case of the plates how much you drive (like each day to and from work at the same times) you won't get screwed with. At least that's been how it's worked for me in the last twnety two years I've been back here.

 

I've run blue-dots in all 3 of my hotrods, never been hassled for them.

 

I ran them on my chevy II back in 1984-1987.
had one officer say something to me,but never a ticket.
there still on the car,and when I get it out some day,they will still be on there.
they look cool,I like to be behind a car,or a bike that has them on.
for one I know that the driver in front of me is a car,or bike person.
and they do seem to be brighter so you can see them better.

 

I can't say for sure about the tail light lens.
The blue dots have to be glass to look right.
Plastic blue dots just don't have the right color when the brakes are applied.

 

Ok, whats the deal with the glass "RED" dots that I have seen? My only logical guess is that they are for filling the hole in your lens after having to remove the blue dot???

 

From a distance dont they make your brake lights look kinda purple?

 

I think its funny how KY state law says that there is to be no blue light facing backwards, or red light facing forwards, etc. etc. so that one cannot confuse them with Emergency lights.

However, all night long, I can see people running red, blue,green neon license plate frames, washer nozzles, license plate bulbs, valve caps, etc.

 

Howdy Speed Wagon said a purple glow in fog. A real heavy fog ,that was the only thing you could see, they really showed up,as the red len's didn't cut much threw the fog. A lot of the stae's now have dropped the ban on them. My Dad bought a like new 50 chevy 2 dr, had one bluedot,think he got stopped the first week. I belive they are legal here in Illinois now. happy motorin

 

i love this thread i had them in my 64 impala and a spare set of stocks for when i got pulled over id act stupid and change them..... hahaha my harley has one and has had it for bout 7 years never bothered me once on that loud ass thing

 

I got them legalized in Idaho in the mid 80's.

 

Great thread, not a stupid question....have them on my 64 Nova...always like them...are they illegal in Arizona?

 

I have always run them in NY since 1974. Never got stopped for them, only burn outs and open headers. I though they were illegal but just looked it up and they are legal. If the dot lines up with the lamp you get a blue glow off the running lights. Very KOOL

 

I just pondered this very ? today, I've been running Blue Dots for over 25 yrs on my 34 cpe and roadster, It seems that no 40's era Hot Rod ever used them and I can't remember seeing any in a mag feature of early rods.

I like the way the reflect on my purple roadster, been pulled over once for them. No ticket issued, The sherrif liked the car
Was thinking about taking them off though for a more correct period look?????

 

Legal in Washington on vehicles 40+ years old or any motorcycle regardless of age.

 

In 1980, San Jose, the whole 'Street Rod' contingent was out to cruise, but San Jose downtown was getting First Street torn up for 'Urban Renewal', making First Street a 'walkabout' with curbed plateaus jutting out, making 'cruising' difficult, if not impossible.
My younger brother changed my jazz station to his dorky rock station at the shop, but just as I began to growl...the D,J, announced the "New Cruise". It was on El Camino Real, from Santa Clara to Sunnyvale, 3 miles of bumper to bumper cool rides...
Wife Joey (girlfriend Joey at the time) and I got in my cool '55 F100 shop truck, and headed on down there. It was police city! Cop cars were out en force!
We pulled onto El Camino, slow lane, were cruisin' and gettin' waves, when not 1/4 mile into it, Siren whoops and there's a Sunnyvale radio car with the heat lamps on us.
I pull over, and get out...The cop wants 'papers', I hand him everything, he says "Your taillights have blue 'diffusers' in them, they're illegal." I explained that I had just returned from Wyoming/Montana, and they're used for visibility in the snow...but I'd remove them, replacing them with stock Shield lenses...I had a shop, and they were in stock.
The policeman said that would be fine, and handed me back my 'papers'.
When I got back in, Joey asked how I avoided a ticket.
I told her I 'snowed' the smoky.

 

Don't know when they started, but 2 years ago I pushed the idea of making them legal in Illinois. It was put on the agenda along with motorcycle accent lighting by ABATE of Illinois. The Accent lighting Bill is now law & the blue dot Bill is on our Governor'so desk ready to be signed in 2016 .
Legislative Director
River Valley ABATE IL.
Roland Bogie Boguszewski