Kisan modulator and Kazoo county sheriff

I was riding on M-89 at 56 mph, I Sheriff did a u-turn and pulled me over. He told me I could not have a head light modulator in Michigan. Since I've had this for about 5 years and passed many a Officer I was a bit surprised.

Before I purchased it long ago, I checked and Kisan stated the fed said you can have one.

Did I argue, I don't look good in orange jump suits, so I just turn off the bright switch.

Michigan Motor Vehicle code:

(3) A motorcycle or moped head lamp may be wired or equipped to allow either its upper beam or its lower beam, but not both, to modulate from a higher intensity to a lower intensity. A head lamp modulator installed on a motorcycle or moped with 2 head lamps shall be wired in a manner to prevent the head lamps from modulating at different rates or not in synchronization with each other. A head lamp modulator installed on a motorcycle or moped shall meet the standards prescribed in 49 CFR 571.108.

MIAirhead said:

I was riding on M-89 at 56 mph, I Sheriff did a u-turn and pulled me over. He told me I could not have a head light modulator in Michigan. Since I've had this for about 5 years and passed many a Officer I was a bit surprised.

Before I purchased it long ago, I checked and Kisan stated the fed said you can have one.

Did I argue, I don't look good in orange jump suits, so I just turn off the bright switch.

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From the Kisan web site: https://www.kisantech.com/regulations.php

USA - Department of Transportation:

FMVSS 108 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) (49 CFR Part 571.108 S7.9.4) allows motorcycle headlight modulation systems in all 50 states provided they comply with the standards set forth in Section S7.9.4.

CANADA - Canada Transport:

FMVSS 108 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) (49 CFR Part 571.108 S7.9.4) allows motorcycle headlight modulation systems in all Provinces provided they comply with the standards set forth in Section S7.9.4.

Kisan Headlight modulators are manufactured and tested to be in full compliance with US Department of Transportation (DOT) Standard 108 and Transport Canada Technical Standard 108.

To obtain a full copy of these standards, select from below. You can choose text or PDF format and also select the latest revision (default) or publication from earlier years.

Revision Year Title Part Section File Type
Most Recent Available200420032002200120001999199819971996 CFR . TextPDFSummary



Title 49 USC 30103(b1) (US Codes) prohibits any state from forbidding a system that conforms to FMVSS 108. No State or Local ordinance shall usurp the authority and enforcement of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.


I would download a copy and carry it with you, the next local may not be as tolerant in letting you turn of the switch.....

MIAirhead said:

Did I argue, I don't look good in orange jump suits, so I just turn off the bright switch.

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In my opinion that's the best you can do on the highway.

Teaching LEO's the letter of the law is a really bad plan.
I'm not 100% sure all my lighting is legal but I'm ready to cut wires or unplug stuff on the side of the road to avoid a ticket.

Hope you didn't get a ticket.

Wonder

I sure he looked for my endorsement for MC. He never did ask for proof insurance. I wonder if he saw it was an old airhead before he stopped me. I was behind a van and he did not get a long time to view me before he pulled a u and chased me down at 55 mph.

I guess I lucking he did not seem my ABATE sticker.

You did the right thing, Tom. The Sheriff was wrong - both because Michigan law allows modulators and as MotorradMike points out individual states cannot abrograte provisions of the FMVSS - but an argument in the field with a cop rarely turns out well for the citizen.

dbrick said:

You did the right thing, Tom. The Sheriff was wrong - both because Michigan law allows modulators and as MotorradMike points out individual states cannot abrograte provisions of the FMVSS - but an argument in the field with a cop rarely turns out well for the citizen.

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I wouldn't argue on the side of the road, but I would certainly fight it in court.

Bobmws said:

I wouldn't argue on the side of the road, but I would certainly fight it in court.

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I agree with Bob here....but I'd go one step further, and in a slightly different direction. For the Michigan rider involved, send a polite letter off to the Sheriff's Dept. involved, explaining that they are legal in all fifty states, and include the Kisan Federal Information.

That would protect you specifically in the future in your neck of the woods, avoid using a court of law as your battleground, and help out future motorcyclists that may get stopped by this same deputy.

I agree with Bob and Kevin - Kevin's suggestion is particularly likely to get the department's attention because they can look at the issue without having you or a judge peering over their shoulder, maybe they'd even ask the County Attorney for an opinion.

For those who get modulator tickets - rarer now than in years past, I think - and can't return to contest the ticket in court, you might check the statutes of the state where the ticket was issued. There may be provisions for "trial by declaration" where the arguments can be submitted to the Court in writing. Legal issues as presented here are very appropriate for a remote trial. The defendant's concession of the facts ("Yes, my bike had a modulator") will support an inference of credibility, and - if you're lucky - the judicial officer may be bright or inquisitive enough to respond to the legal argument (which is correct, after all) that such devices may not be prohibited.

What I did

I wrote this email to the Sheriff, so I guess next time I get pulled over in Kalamazoo County, I may be wearing orange, and and a sign on my back saying exit only. I may be back asking for bail next time I ride through Kalamazoo County. I take PayPal, not sure about Kalamazoo County.


I sent this to the Sheriff

To rcfull@kalcounty.com


I know you have much more pressing issues to attend to. I send this as a FYI to you and your department.

Today a County Officer stopped me on my motorcycle. I was riding at the speed limit and not following to close to the vehicle in front. The Officer parked facing the opposite direction, I believe monitoring traffic on the highway. As I approached he turn on his lights, made a 180 from the stop and pulled me over.

I asked if I was speeding, he said I was not. He then stated that he pulled me over because my head light was flashing, which is illegal in the State of Michigan. I have as many motorcycles do, a kisan modulator. He informed me I was breaking the law. I then said I would keep it off, showing him how it worked by a by a sensor that made the bright only work at night. We politely when our separate ways. I will say he was very professional at the stop, and showed me in a book he carried that I could not have a flashing light of any color. I do not believe the headlight qualifies as a colored light.

I wish to inform your department that I believe was NOT breaking the law. I have a legal Kisan Modulator.
https://www.kisantech.com/index.php?cat_id=2

Michigan Motor Vehicle code:

(3) A motorcycle or moped head lamp may be wired or equipped to allow either its upper beam or its lower beam, but not both, to modulate from a higher intensity to a lower intensity. A head lamp modulator installed on a motorcycle or moped with 2 head lamps shall be wired in a manner to prevent the head lamps from modulating at different rates or not in synchronization with each other. A head lamp modulator installed on a motorcycle or moped shall meet the standards prescribed in 49 CFR 571.108.


USA - Department of Transportation:

FMVSS 108 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) (49 CFR Part 571.108 S7.9.4) allows motorcycle headlight modulation systems in all 50 states provided they comply with the standards set forth in Section S7.9.4.

Kisan Headlight modulators are manufactured and tested to be in full compliance with US Department of Transportation (DOT) Standard 108 and Transport Canada Technical Standard 108.

If you find I am wrong in believing my Kisan Modulator is legal, please let me know.

Let me close as saying I understand being a Officer of the Law is one of the most difficult job one can have.

Thank You and your department for the difficult job you do to keep the area a safer place for all.

Thomas Burns

Not sure I should, but sometimes I can be quite stubborn.
.

That's a good letter, Tom: clear, direct, polite.

Any one surprised

Anyone surprised I did not ever get an acknowledgment of my Email to the Sheriff and the Under Sheriff?

I really did not expect a reply. Police like doctors almost never criticize another, or question what another did.

It did make me feel a little better emailing them.

MIAirhead said:

Anyone surprised I did not ever get an acknowledgment of my Email to the Sheriff and the Under Sheriff?

I really did not expect a reply. Police like doctors almost never criticize another, or question what another did.

It did make me feel a little better emailing them.

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Somethings are still better left to ink and pen. You never know who, if anyone, reads the emails. Try a letter if you're really concerned...

MIAirhead said:

Anyone surprised I did not ever get an acknowledgment of my Email to the Sheriff and the Under Sheriff?

I really did not expect a reply. Police like doctors almost never criticize another, or question what another did.

It did make me feel a little better emailing them.

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Whoa! Your 'e-mail' is not even 72 hrs. old, and you hoped for a reply?!

You may be resting in the IN BOX by now, but not their '911 BOX.'

Give it some time. And for the record, I did suggest a letter be dispatched - not an easily deleted electronic correspondence.

Good Luck.

I must say, and have many times before

that i find a headlight modulator to be the most annoying thing (only after loud pipes) that i have ever seen on a motorcycle. Watching them come down the road towards me raises my blood pressure.

But too each his own.

MIAirhead said:

Anyone surprised I did not ever get an acknowledgment of my Email to the Sheriff and the Under Sheriff?

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I'm not surprised.

If you're still not entirely happy, write them a letter and snail mail it or FAX them your email.
Agencies freak out when they see things in ink.
Email can be deleted.

Modulator regulations

I always carry a copy of the attached in my motorcycles with headlight modulators. It is a PDF file with the complete U.S. and Canadian federal regulations. That way I can show an officer the regs without arguing at all. If he/she chooses to ignore the regs I can turn my headlight to low beam. But at least he/she would have seen the regs and, perhaps, accepted them. Indeed, he/she would be welcome to keep my copy.

That said, I have never been stopped.

If you want to print out the regs, be my guest.

bmwdean said:

I always carry a copy of the attached in my motorcycles with headlight modulators. It is a PDF file with the complete U.S. and Canadian federal regulations. That way I can show an officer the regs without arguing at all. If he/she chooses to ignore the regs I can turn my headlight to low beam. But at least he/she would have seen the regs and, perhaps, accepted them. Indeed, he/she would be welcome to keep my copy.

That said, I have never been stopped.

If you want to print out the regs, be my guest.

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Likewise, I took the summary of Federal Regs that comes with the Kisan kit and laminated it - it's always with me (in a compartment under my Sargent seats) and can be shown if stopped. Having ridden in over 25 states while in use, no issues when having passed LEO's. However, I use this tool judiciously - in other words, only in heavy traffic - not 24/7.

Makes no sense to get motorists so acclimated to it that, like our headlamps that are now mimiced by everyone's daytime running lights, it becomes 'commonplace' and ignored.

Kevin' point is a good one about not overusing a modulator.

But you shouldn't worry about taking a little time to go to court over a dispute on what the law means either. A judge will be happy to teach the LEO whose training was inadequate. I had the opportunity to do this once when a VA kiddie (basically a young snot with a bad attitude not typical of folks I know in that business) cited me for a device he called a radar detector when in fact it is a scanner specifically exempted by the same VA statute that makes detectors illegal there. His failure to learn the law, believe what I told him, or consult a more experienced colleague on his radio or his statute book caused him a red faced episode in the courtroom that I suspect he'll remember after I explained the facts to the judge. To me, that's a fair exchange for wasting my time with his ignorance.
I've had enough friends in various aspects of law enforcment that I know how easy it is to develop a very cynical approach but that's why we've got courts.

sdpc2 said:

I must say, and have many times before that i find a headlight modulator to be the most annoying thing (only after loud pipes) that i have ever seen on a motorcycle. Watching them come down the road towards me raises my blood pressure. But too each his own.

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I'm not a fan either, but maybe not as annoyed as you are. Wrong color headlights can be annoying too. I don't like the idea of annoying other drivers--maybe that's what triggered the officer to pull Tom over. I'd much rather put the money towards MotoLights to increase conspicuousness.

I wrote this email to the Sheriff,

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Folks, any time you need to communicate something to any agency of the government in correspondence regarding a legal issue, don't even consider email.

ALWAYS use the U.S. Postal Service.
ALWAYS obtain proof of delivery signature required.