WA State Rear Bumper Laws??

[Ken_B]

So I just got pulled over in my lowered B series, dont need the hate for that, for a dead taillight and the trooper proceded to hastle me for not having a rear bumper. What gets me is a lot of the datsuns didnt have them and this particular truck is such a base model it never had a bumper on it, it rolled of the dealer lot in kitsap county new without one and has never had one on it. So how am I breaking the "law". And no I was not rude to the trooper, it was all yes sir/no sir, very polite. Help here guys he says Im on his "list" now and he will watch for me, I have 30 days to bumper up or get a faulty equipment ticket the next time he sees me, and not being seen by him is not an option ive got like the only lowered mini up here in bumfucknowheresville. I really dont want to put a bumper on it and make the truck uglier.

 

/endrant :angry:

[NOTES...]

Get some kind of documentation stating that the base model truck never had a bumper on it and that u want to keep it oem as possible... there should be somekind of flyer u can find here on the net that has the feautures of the truck when it rolled off the lot...

 

 

[DatWifey]

Get in touch with Pumpkn. He was just talking to us about getting hassled for not having a bumper on his ass end either, and apparently you don't have to have one. He can educate much more since he's well versed in it ;)

[johny F]

thats strange.i wonder if oregon has a rear bumper law.i stripped mine off my 720..

 

take it to court ur ticket will get dropped..i think alot of cops write dumb tickets so people will take them to court..there wage is time and a half on "overtime".

 

some cops are just as crooked as the criminals man..

 

good luck!

[bananahamuck]

........WAC 204-10-022

(6) Bumpers: A motor vehicle must be equipped with a bumper on both the front and rear of the vehicle with the exception of motor vehicles where the original or predominant body configuration, provided by a recognized manufacturer, did not include such bumper or bumpers in the design of the vehicle. For the relevant model year, bumpers must accommodate recognized manufacturer impact absorption systems pursuant to applicable SAE Bumper Standards or equivalent standards.

 

Bumpers are optional equipment on vehicles defined as street rods and kit vehicles by the Washington state patrol vehicle inspectors.

I think the year of your truck is the defining factor he ( state peetroll ) is using against you. Because even though your truck may have not come with a bumper it was designed to have one...Dont get mad at my answer im just the messenger.

[Ken_B]

Thanks for the clarification there!

[hobbes_the_cat]

Not all cops know the laws. I had a cop pull me over and proceed to tell me that that it was illegal for me not to have seat belts in my 62 ford even though it didn't come from the factory with them. had to wait 45 min. while he talked to his superiors about it. He let me go after saying "Well it SHOULD be the law" You should print that RCW that bananahamuck posted and keep it with you to show the officer if he tries that again.

[datzenmike]

Get a piece of horizontal wire and mount it. A bumper is a bumper is a bumper. By definition it's something that bumps it doesn't have to be any particular size or material. Be creative. If you call it a bumper .... it is.

[wayno]

They did come with bumperettes, but you would need to find them with mounting brackets, the ones on ebay don't have the brackets.:( Perhaps you could find something that looks decent on another vehicle, canby is in a few weeks, maybe there will be a set of bumperettes there, also you could try Tana Bryan at vindats@yahoo.com, she has datsun parts for sale.

[metalmonkey47]

I dunno what it is about cops being a dick about simple things.

 

I've never been harassed by the fuzz in my Datsun. I usually try to keep a low profile around them, and I watch for them, but theres just some you just can't avoid. I suppose theres a loophole you can exploit somewhere, you just have to find it.

 

Sounds like that cop just had something up his ass about lowriders/Datsuns/jap cars in general.

[Ken_B]

Good suggestions guys, im thinkin about gettin 1'' tubing and mounting it right at the bottom of the factory roll pan, painting the "bumper" black and calling it good. And for those curious here is the truck in question, no crazy dark tint, bone stock exhaust and intake so its quite as can be, and it only has a casette player an 2 4 inch speakers so im not bumpin base or any of that crap. And yes i have nissan wheels on my mazda :ph34r:

 

 

[Z chopper]

I have seen plenty of trucks on car lots with out bumpers

[wayno]

I don't know what the laws are in Canada, maybe you can slide buy with a tolken piece of metal up there. But I can tell you this, if he puts a joke bumper on his truck as a bumper, he will be on a government workers shit list, you do not want to be on a public employees shit list in this country, at the very least it will end up giving you a major headache, and i couldn't tell you how bad it could get. This is just my opinion. wayno

[HRH]

That RCW is correct. And even on a B series from 86ish-92, bumpers were optional from the dealer. Meaning, they didn't come standard, thus that trooper is full of shit.

 

For the record, that's the nicest lowered B series I've seen, I'm surprised he fucked with you. Of course taillight out, yeah, but he was probably looking for revenue. That's all the state patrol is, ticket writers.

 

I wouldn't put a bumper on. I'd go to court with the RCW and perhaps if you could find one, some documentation from a Mazda dealer showing a bumper as optional equipment.

[moparvwfreak]

i got pulled over for it in my 73. Carnation/Duvall cop. he basically told me if i dont have a bumper on it the next time he saw me i would be facing a ticket that i wouldn't like as he would find everything wrong and it would be my ass. still dont ahve a bumper on it as they were optional in 73 and it didn't have one when i bought it. although it might have.... ;)

[MikeRL411]

Not sure what Washington State law requires but as far as tail lights go most state laws state that a moving vehicle at night must display "a red light in the rear", not a pair of red lights. Good common sense says that two lights defining the width of the vehicle is preferred, but since when has the law been concerned with common sense? To quote "the Beadle" in David Copperfield "Well sir, if that is what the law says, then the law is a Ass!"

[Ooph!]

Back in the day, they were on the new car lot without rear bumpers but were required to have one. My Dad bought a 70 pickup and had the heavy duty bumper installed. They were ordered that way because owners could save a couple bucks and get a custom bumper like a "Bardon" brand heavy duty bumper.

Just because someone else gets away with it doesn't make it legal.

[dirtydiesel]

 

RCW 46.37.518

 

Street rods and kit vehicles.

 

 

</B>

*** CHANGE IN 2011 *** (SEE 5585-S.SL) ***

 

Notwithstanding the requirements of this chapter, hoods and bumpers are optional equipment on street rods and kit vehicles. Street rods and kit vehicles must comply with fender requirements under RCW 46.37.500(2) and the windshield requirement of RCW 46.37.410(1).

 

[1996 c 225 § 12.]

 

 

 

 

Notes:

Finding -- 1996 c 225: See note following RCW 46.04.125.

[Pumpkn210]

I cant find the E-mail, but I talked to the RCW people and found out that there is a law that states that you cant take off your bumper if it makes your vehicle moare dangerous to a pedestrian in a car vs people accident. The "Dick" Puyallup cop told me it had to be there cause the car came with one, I proceeded to tell him politely the afore mentioned info and he backed off and didnt write me up for it. I must admit that this made me not too popular with the local law. I got pulled over for BS the next two friday nights, on the last one I proceeded to hand the officer my lawyers card and told her that she could call my lawyer for moare info and said nothing else! Havent had a prollem sence..

 

The moral of the story is to get on that email with the state and make them clarify anything and everything, save those e-mails and take em into court! There is no point in arguing with the cops, some of em are DICKS!

 

Remember, Im pullin for ya... were all in this together! ;)

[Shagy]

Keeping a copy of vehicle codes in my glove box has saved me a few times...it was for exhaust stuff though.

[Z-train]

If at the time of sale,the law required a vehicle to have a rear bumper,then said vehicle would never have left the lot w/o one and the bumper would have been standard equiptment.

[wildmaninid]

I was looking at buyin a 1999 toyota tacoma new in 99 and there were tons of 2wd std cab trucks with no bumpers for sale....

[Pumpkn210]

If at the time of sale,the law required a vehicle to have a rear bumper,then said vehicle would never have left the lot w/o one and the bumper would have been standard equiptment.

Where? WA, AZ, CA? Every state hav different laws and wording of laws...

[Shagy]

that seems like a federal thing.... cars produced have to meet federal standards. So the bumper thing would be a federal code. IIRC

[Hardwyre]

Bumpers, and nearly all other "safety equipment" is a federal issue. States can require additional safety equipment on vehicles of the law's year sold in that state, but can not legally allow less. On the same note, a state can not force you to adhere to safety standards in excess of the federal's for a given year. Ergo, tiny bumpers on earlier Z cars.