upstatelaw

In the past couple of years, while driving around Albany, NY and the greater Capital Region, I’ve notice the prevalence of halogen headlights in traffic. In addition to noticing them I have found these headlights to be increasingly distracting and sometimes blinding. I decided to research whether New York State had any input into the matter. Section 376(3) of New York State vehicle and traffic law states that “[n]o light having a candlepower rating in excess of thirty-two candle power shall be used on any vehicle, unless it is of a type approved by the commissioner.” So I decided to do a little shopping on the internet. I couldn’t find any halogen headlight bulbs that listed their luminosity by the antiquated measure of candlepower although some did claim to be “street legal.” This brings me to the question of how the police enforce this law. I asked my friend who is in law enforcement how this statute is carried out and he noted that it’s “something that isn’t really enforced. There may be a select few officers that would estimate the brightness and write that ticket, but [he hadn't] seen it done.” He went on to say that “there are a lot of tickets written for high beams on…and tickets written to drivers who have their fog lights on and don’t turn them off when they pass oncoming traffic.”

Along with the prevalence of halogen headlights I’ve noticed a greater number of vehicles that don’t have halogen headlights but rather they drive with their high beams on. No doubt this is an exhibition of the sincerest form of flattery that being imitation. To put those individuals on notice, section 375(3) of New York State vehicle and traffic law states that “whenever a vehicle approaching from ahead is within five hundred feet, or when approaching a moving vehicle from the rear and within two hundred feet of the same, the headlamps…shall be operated so that dazzling light does not interfere with the driver…and, whenever the highway is so lighted or traffic thereon is such that illumination of the highway for more than two hundred feet ahead of the vehicle by lights on such vehicle is unnecessary or impracticable, the headlamps…shall be operated with the lowermost distribution of light in use.”

This must be considered in the context of laws designed to prevent distracted driving. One of the major laws passed in recent history forbids the using a cell phone by holding it in the immediate proximity of their ear. Violating this law is likely to result in the violator becoming a victim of their own recalcitrance. Violation of one of these traffic laws however would almost never result in the violator’s detriment. The perfect crime.