Trailer lighting regulations

[ntsqd]

As always it varies from DMV to DMV and from individuals within that DMV office. Where it seems to be non negotiable is with the CHP on a traffic stop. Those guys will write you up and site every regulation you broke having memorized the regulation down to the last digit.

If the CHP officer who pulled over my same friend, then a BAR Smog Referee though out of uniform, is any indication then I wouldn't expect them to know every last nuance of the Vehicle Code. I don't think that's being unfair to them. If you don't deal with some aspect at least semi-frequently then the odds of your knowing it off the cuff aren't great. In my job I periodically need to look up something that I learned in college because I haven't used it in a couple years.
This particular Officer threatened to write my friend a ticket for non-smog compliance. If only he'd actually known what he was looking at......
No doubt that there are those who do know nearly every nuance, but getting he or she when pulled over has very long odds.

I wouldn't discourage compliance to the letter of the law, but particularly for a short length trailer I'd be surprised if the side lights & reflectors were enforced as the primary reason for the atop.

 

[elcoyote]

There is more than meets the eye in designing and building trailers to comply in 50 states and Canada.