I thought tail lights had to be red....

Congrats on posting with 0 pics when said post appears that you're trying to reference a pic and in broken english. 10/10 my guy

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asking someone to rear end you

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Aggie board

Tail lights or brake lights? Either is supposed to be red, though. It is possible to have 1 red brake light, however. Did you notice if it had 1 red light mounted near the top of the cab? Like this one:




Here are the relevant regs, I believe.

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RS 32:304


§304. Tail lamps

A. Every motor vehicle, trailer, semi-trailer and pole trailer and any other vehicle which is being drawn at the end of a train of vehicles, shall be equipped with at least one tail lamp mounted on the rear, which, when lighted as required in R.S. 32:301, shall emit a red light plainly visible from a distance of one thousand feet to the rear, provided that in the case of a train of vehicles only the tail lamps on the rearmost vehicle need actually be seen from the distance specified. Every vehicle or trailer listed in this Subsection, other than a motorcycle or motor driven cycle registered in this state and manufactured or assembled after December 31, 1962, shall be equipped with at least two tail lamps mounted on the rear, on the same level and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, which, when lighted as herein required, shall comply with the provisions of this Section.

B. Every tail lamp upon every vehicle shall be located at a height of not more than seventy-two inches nor less than fifteen inches measured as provided in R.S. 32:302.

C. Either a tail lamp or a separate lamp shall be so constructed and placed as to illuminate with a white light the rear registration plate and render it clearly legible from a distance of fifty feet to the rear. Any tail lamp or tail lamps, together with any separate lamp for illuminating the rear registration plate, shall be so wired as to be lighted whenever the head lamps or auxiliary driving lamps are lighted.

Acts 1962, No. 310, §1. Amended by Acts 1974, No. 140, §1; Acts 2005, No. 129, §1, eff. June 22, 2005.

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RS 32:306


§306. Stop lamps and turn signals required on new motor vehicles

A. No person shall sell or offer for sale or operate on the highways of this state any motor vehicle manufactured or assembled after December 31, 1962, unless it is equipped with at least two stop lamps meeting the requirements of R.S. 32:319, except that a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle, or truck tractor manufactured or assembled after said date shall be equipped with at least one stop lamp meeting the requirements of said R.S. 32:319.

B. No person shall sell or offer for sale or operate on the highways of this state any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer manufactured or assembled after December 31, 1962, unless it is equipped with electrical turn signals meeting the requirements of R.S. 32:319. This Subsection shall not apply to any motorcycle or motor-driven cycle.

Acts 1962, No. 310, §1; Acts 2004, No. 531, §1.

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RS 32:319


§319. Signal lamps and signal devices

A. Any vehicle may be equipped and when required under this chapter, shall be equipped with a stop lamp or lamps on the rear of the vehicle which shall display a red light, visible from a distance of not less than 300 feet to the rear in normal sunlight, and which shall be actuated upon application of the service (foot) brake, and which may, but need not be, incorporated with one or more other rear lamps.

B. Any vehicle may be equipped and when required under R.S. 32:306(B) shall be equipped with electric turn signals which shall indicate an intention to turn by flashing lights showing to the front and rear of a vehicle or on a combination of vehicles, on the side of the vehicle or combination toward which the turn is to be made. The lamps showing to the front shall be mounted on the same level and as widely spaced laterally as practicable and, when signaling, shall emit amber light, provided that on any vehicle manufactured prior to January 1, 1969, the lamps showing to the front may emit white or amber light, or any shade of light between white and amber. The lamps showing to the rear shall be mounted on the same level and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, and, when signaling, shall emit a red or amber light, or any shade of color between red and amber. Turn signal lamps on vehicles 80 inches or more in overall width shall be visible from a distance of not less than 500 feet to the front and rear in normal sunlight. Turn signal lamps on vehicles less than 80 inches wide shall be visible at a distance of not less than 300 feet to the front and rear in normal sunlight. Turn signal lamps may, but need not be, incorporated in other lamps on the vehicle.

C. A truck-tractor need not be equipped with turn signal lamps mounted on the rear provided the turn signal lamps mounted at or near the front are double-faced and so located as to be visible both to the front and to the rear from a distance of not less than 500 feet in normal sunlight.

Acts 1962, No. 310, §1. Amended by Acts 1974, No. 229, §1.

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I thought tail lights had to be red

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no the bulbs must light up as red, the lenses can be any color, as long as its red when lit

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The tail light has to illuminate red. Whether that's the bulbs or the lens cover isn't important. I thought the OP said, or at least implied heavily, the tail light lit up white.

Nice car, you raised that boy right.

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The tail light has to illuminate red. Whether that's the bulbs or the lens cover isn't important. I thought the OP said, or at least implied heavily, the tail light lit up white.

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Yeah that’s what I thought he was implying as well by saying it’s hard to see brake lights during the day.

That said, I have seen some aftermarket tail lights with clear housings that are very difficult to see in sunlight. Particularly on white trucks where the housing is completely clear and holds a handful of single LEDs. The LEDs light up red, but since each one is a single diode and the housing is completely clear they don’t light up the whole tail light. It’s just a few little red dots that may or may not be visible in the daytime. Maybe that’s what OP is referring to.

I tried to find a picture of what I’m describing but no success. You usually see them on work trucks with aftermarket beds, rather than trucks with stock beds (which probably have wrap-around tail lights anyway).

Probably not what OP means, but those "Altezza" taillights that were popular ~20 years ago always struck me as trashy:



Seemed like 50% of the F-150s in Mississippi had these back then. Those F-150s weren't much to look at stock, and the Altezzas just made them look totally crappy.

I thought they should be yellow if you tap the brakes, orange for a medium press, and red for a hard press.