Hmmmm... Possible to put an LED display in my cars rear window?

aphex

Moderator<br>All Things Apple
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Jul 19, 2001
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I wonder if this would be possible....

To put one of those moving LED displays in my cars rear window so that when you pass the fvcker that was going 20 mph in the fast lane you could give him a nice little comment on his driving skills as you cut him off. :)
 

BCYL

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Jun 7, 2000
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haha... I have thought about doing that for a looooong time... But I thought it's illegal since it would distract other drivers... :D
 

aphex

Moderator<br>All Things Apple
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Jul 19, 2001
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Originally posted by: BCYL
haha... I have thought about doing that for a looooong time... But I thought it's illegal since it would distract other drivers... :D

Would it be illegal?
 

incallisto

Golden Member
Apr 30, 2000
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Originally posted by: aphexII
I wonder if this would be possible....

To put one of those moving LED displays in my cars rear window so that when you pass the fvcker that was going 20 mph in the fast lane you could give him a nice little comment on his driving skills as you cut him off. :)

I saw an LED display "in" a modified Supra. Actually, it was not mounted in the window, but between the rear spoiler and the trunk. He modified a housing that appeared to be weather-resistant and contained a standard 4-colour LED banner. It was scrolling the following text "Toyota Racing Team - www.toyota-f1.com". ;)
 

SHoddyCOmp

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Apr 1, 2002
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Originally posted by: aphexII
Originally posted by: BCYL
haha... I have thought about doing that for a looooong time... But I thought it's illegal since it would distract other drivers... :D

Would it be illegal?

I would say who cares, you're either gonna be so far ahead of them it wont matter, if they complain about it you could take it out and deny everything since its highly unlikely they got a picture of it anyway if it was illegal in the first place. What about those things hanging from your rear view mirror? I dont see everybody with that getting pulled over...harmless fun unless the words get nice and creative :D :D :D
 

Supermercado

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Jan 18, 2002
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LMAO, that would be awesome. Probably not legal, though :( You never know, though. They let those goobs with the lights underneath their cars do sort of the same thing.
 

SHoddyCOmp

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Apr 1, 2002
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In addition...so should bumper stickers with really big lettering that just begs to be read be illegal too? nahh
 

Nefrodite

Banned
Feb 15, 2001
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Originally posted by: BCYL
haha... I have thought about doing that for a looooong time... But I thought it's illegal since it would distract other drivers... :D

i've so wanted one forever too:) and no distraction, just leave it off most of the time:p
 

amnesiac

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
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Yes, it would be illegal in CA at least. It's considered "Excessive lighting" -- this is a very grey area and very subjective.. basically if an officer thinks it presents a distraction to other drivers they *can* issue you a ticket. Usually you'll get off with a warning.

I used to drive around my hometown every christmas with a 3' lawn Santa and christmas lights strewn all over my car.. DEFINITELY a distraction and definitely illegal, and I'm sure under any other circumstance I'd have gotten a ticket, but with the town being so small I'm sure none of the sheriffs wanted to be known as "Officer Scrooge." :)
Only got pulled over once for a warning and the officer said he wouldn't dare give me a ticket but he couldn't speak for the others. Hehe.
 

NikPreviousAcct

No Lifer
Aug 15, 2000
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Yup, it's possible. A number of years ago, I helped a friend fit his old beetle with Christmas lights for the season :D :D :D

That kicked ass!

nik
 

Beau

Lifer
Jun 25, 2001
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www.beauscott.com
I've always wanted to develop an LCD film for your windows (sorta like a tinting film) that was sensitive to the sound frequencies and pressure on the inside of the car, so that when you're listing to music, it'd be like a occiliscope display on your windows at night.
 

badluck

Diamond Member
Feb 19, 2001
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I saw this on some TV show about a year ago. A company (in the UK) made something like this where you can say "Thanks" if they let you merge or whatever. It also said a few other things on it depending on the situation....
 

NetCadet

Senior member
Oct 9, 1999
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I remember thinking about this idea almost ten years ago although I always imagined that it would replace signal lights/brake lights/etc. When you activate your right signal, for example, a little flashing arrow would appear on the right of the LED display. When braking, perhaps the center of the display would light up.

I also figured that there would be some factory-configured messages that could be displayed also such as "Thanks", "Back Off", "Student Driver", etc. and that the commerically deployed ones (on busses and such) would display advertisements.

I realized however that it would probably be illegal simply because, as mentioned, it is a distraction to other motorists. However, is it really that different from advertising/bumper stickers and such on other vehicles?
 

Pastore

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Feb 9, 2000
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Cops could pull you over for 21 reasons... Excessive lighting, like was mentioned before, or obstructing the drivers view out the back window...
 

SuperTool

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
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I think you can get one.
I am in CA, and it will be pretty hard for cops to spot from under my tint unless it's displaying something.
Also, you can wire it to act as a brake LED when not in use, and just put it instead of your brake light.
I am thinking about doing something like that and have 10 preset insult buttons. Shouldn't be too hard.