(Beaver Dam) Beaver Dam residents are asked to be mindful about one element of their vehicles. During the Beaver Dam Police Departments last two appearances on WBEV’s Community Comment, the majority of listener phone calls concerned automobile headlights. While these lights are traditionally white in color, some new halogen lights have a bluish tint. According to Sergeant Erik Smedema, the matter is not clearly defined by state statute. If a headlight appears to be too blue by officer discretion, the driver will likely receive a written warning on the first stop but could be cited. If the person chooses to contest the citation, he says it would be up to the courts to define what is ‘too blue.’ Sergeant Craig Retzlaff says the issue has a lot to do with color intensity. He says many white lights appear to be blue due to their hue. According to Retzlaff, the only colors allowed for forward-facing lights are white and amber. While Smedema says Beaver Dam officers have not had a large number of issues with headlight colors, he has seen some higher-sitting trucks use lights that are at a similar intensity as a vehicle’s brights. Retzlaff says what is clear cut is that the headlight cover must be clear and cannot have any tint.
