Does the 3rd brake light have to be modified with a bigger spare tire?

atikovi said:
Check out https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/chmsl_complete.pdf

This spells it out pretty clearly, Center High Mounted Stop Lamps (CHMSL) have been standard equipment on all new passenger cars sold in the United States since model year 1986 and all new light trucks since model year 1994, as required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108.
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You're misinterpreting it. It's required that manufacturers produce their vehicles with a CHMSL. It does not say the CHMSL cannot be removed from the vehicle.

atikovi said:
I don't think all the car makers would have installed them at the same time if it wasn't a federal requirement.
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Again, you're misinterpreting. It's a federal requirement for manufacturers to produce vehicles with a CHMSL. It does not govern the CHMSL beyond the sale of the vehicle.

I haven't had my CHMSL light on my TJ for quite a few years. I live in an area where annual vehicle inspections are required to renew your license plates. Not once have I failed an inspection.
 
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Jeffreybomb said:
You're misinterpreting it. It's required that manufacturers produce their vehicles with a CHMSL. It does not say the CHMSL cannot be removed from the vehicle.



Again, you're misinterpreting. It's a federal requirement for manufacturers to produce vehicles with a CHMSL. It does not govern the CHMSL beyond the sale of the vehicle.

I haven't had my CHMSL light on my TJ for quite a few years. I live in an area where annual vehicle inspections are required to renew your license plates. Not once have I failed an inspection.
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This is what I was getting at. Just because a manufacture includes something and we remove it - doesn’t always make it illegal to then use on the road.
 
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Well, if someone accidentally hits you in the back and shows you removed the center brake light, their lawyer could have a good case against you. Doesn't mean they would win but would cost a lot to defend.
 
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atikovi said:
Well, if someone accidentally hits you in the back and shows you removed the center brake light, their lawyer could have a good case against you. Doesn't mean they would win but would cost a lot to defend.
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If someone accidentally rear-ends me, it's automatically their fault. There's exactly zero ways to sue someone when you're cited for "failure to avoid an accident".

No lawyer is going to win a case like that against my TJ. According to law, I'm 100% in compliance and several years of inspections prove that.

I would be more than happy to file a countersuit against someone dumb enough to try to take me to court for their inept driving ability.
 
Ideally and in most cases, but if your brake light is out, or missing, a lawyer could argue contributory negligence. Failure to avoid an accident is why the one in front usually prevails, but if you brake quickly and the guy behind you can't react fast enough because of inop or missing brake lights, their lawyer will say you contributed to the accident.
 
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atikovi said:
Ideally and in most cases, but if your brake light is out, or missing, a lawyer could argue contributory negligence. Failure to avoid an accident is why the one in front usually prevails, but if you brake quickly and the guy behind you can't react fast enough because of inop or missing brake lights, their lawyer will say you contributed to the accident.
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That’s inop or missing the 2 required brake lights. The law is pretty black and white in the document you posted. Not. Required. Means they can’t use it as a reason to litigate because it’s not unlawful. And I understand your point - safety is increased with three lights yes. But it’s not a legal issue nor has it ever been - it’s a personal safety preference.
 
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Jeffreybomb said:
I live in an area where annual vehicle inspections are required to renew your license plates. Not once have I failed an inspection.
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I'm from central IL and did not know Chicago had vehicle inspections. Is the inspection simply a smog inspection or is it an overall safety/equiupment inspection? Just curious. I do agree the above posts refer to manufacturers not owners but would your Jeep be OK if you removed the left and right brake lights?
 
Mike the Silver TJ said:
I'm from central IL and did not know Chicago had vehicle inspections. Is the inspection simply a smog inspection or is it an overall safety/equiupment inspection? Just curious. I do agree the above posts refer to manufacturers not owners but would your Jeep be OK if you removed the left and right brake lights?
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No...because then it wouldn’t have the 2 required stop lights (you can see my posts above where I screenshot that part)
 
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Mike the Silver TJ said:
I'm from central IL and did not know Chicago had vehicle inspections.
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It depends on what part of the area you live in. I was in Cook county for a long time; I received inspection notices pretty much annually for my TJ. I didn't get them very often at all for my F150.

Mike the Silver TJ said:
Is the inspection simply a smog inspection or is it an overall safety/equiupment inspection?
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It's emissions and equipment.
 
PVC pipe or aluminum tube, 2, 3, 4 inches longer bolts. May also need to add a spare tire off set to get the bigger tire to fit the tailgate. At least that is what I had to do. The thickness of the tire is greater and would require such modification to the carrier.
 
I used 3/4" plastic conduit to raise my center brake light about an inch. I had to reroute the wiring to get the extra length needed.
 
I would like to raise mine about 3/8"— would I need any wiring modifications?
 
This is my opinion: Anybody who doesn't have a CHMSL on their vehicle is being foolish - to put it politely. I added one to my '85 Mercedes for that very reason. The "Triad" of lites is hard to miss, just having the two isn't nearly as effective - especially on our TJs with the obsolete-but-still-legal combined red stop/turn bulb. "They" *really* need to outlaw that, and red turn signals entirely, separate bulb or not. Now even some of the European cars are doing "separate but red" and I can't see their lights nearly as well as amber separates.
 
Required for manufacturing and operations or not always the same. In my state and in most, it states you must have at a minimum of 2 rear view mirrors, but doesn’t state which location.
 
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Wondering Why no one is looking at the red led lights that fit in the rim as an alternative to the high mount?
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