Question: I want to put smoked covers on my headlight and tail lights. Is this Illegal in BC? If it is, are aftermarket headlights and tail lights with the smoked lenses illegal too? Is there somewhere I can go on the internet to find out what is illegal and what isn't?
Answer
Well, I think you found the right place on the internet to check for an answer to this question!
Creating Smoked Lenses
Whether it's a dark vinyl sheet, a plastic spray, a hard plastic cover or black dye used to create smoked lenses, the result is unsafe and illegal.
The Law
The Motor Vehicle Act Regulations govern vehicle equipment and has this to say about smoked lenses:
General maintenance
4.04 (2) Lamps and reflectors required by this Division
(c) must not be shielded, covered or obscured by any part of the vehicle or load or by dirt or other material.
Limiting Effectiveness
Lights and reflectors are safety equipment on your vehicle. It is foolish to limit their effectiveness at any time of the day or night, especially if it is only for cosmetic reasons. Doing so could lead to a collision when other road users fail to see your vehicle.
Enforcement
Smoked lenses will definitely attract the attention of the police. They may choose to issue a vehicle inspection order, a traffic ticket with a penalty of $109 or both.
Expensive if not Removable
Chances are good that if you have used a spray coating of some sort to create the smoked lenses, you will be unable to remove the coating and will have to buy new lenses on top of it all.
In many ways, modding your vehicle with smoked lenses could turn out to be a very expensive mistake. Think twice before you do this.
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