roll bar?

I'll just interject a random thought here...
Having a rollbar ( & seatbelts! ) is an important saftey upgrade.
You're never gonna make an early CJ into a Volvo station wagon, but at least with belts and a bar you'll have a fighting chance if the worst happens. There's nothing cooler than driving around with no rollbar and the windshield down, but with modern traffic speeds it just ain't safe IMO.

 

I like to drive with windshield down, I took off the roll bar (maybe to paint it and the readapt) and I have no belt.

You could find a Jeep friend in the same area of yours, a Jeep of similar, with no roll bar and ask him to check with the police what they say.

You can find if already there was a judgment on this subject... you are not the only one with a Jeep in your area.

In the official books of this year (and my 1971 had no roll bar) you don't have the roll bar. So probably this policeman doesn't like the color of your Jeep...that's typical of some people with a uniform.

The best thing is to write to the authority to ask for the law concerning old cars. You can pay a lawyer for this. before asking for a fine, they must show you the law because your car is by origin without a roll bar and you can prove it.

Probably just a nice letter to the chief can be enough. Not from a lawyer because it becomes a lawyer letter. Just a gentle letter, which your lawyer can use afterwards. If useful.

 

"Probably just a nice letter to the chief can be enough. Not from a lawyer because it becomes a lawyer letter. Just a gentle letter, which your lawyer can use afterwards. If useful."

Excellent advice. Keep copies and log everything you do.

 

Obviously, the gentleman from La Chaise has never spent time in the Peoples Republik of Nuevo Yersey.
Stuff like this is the reason I don't live in NJ any more. Don't even go back to see my family. I blow them to a week in Myrtle Beach a couple of times a years.



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Hunter

 

I have seen some US movies like this. One TV serie is JUSTIFIED.
Invest in a bulletproof vest.
To be honest, the fact to send a gentle nice letter to the chief and not a lawyer letter is a small trick we use in attorneys office.
The ugly ones like to answer to the poor guy, and generally this answer contains some ideas which can be used by your lawyer.
If your lawyer writes, the bad guy takes care and the answer is not the same.

 

Not many law enforcement agencies will blow off a written formal complaint letter these days.
Just talking to a supervisor doesn't always go anywhere.
The harassment side is where you have a concern.
Very few Jeeps on the road today are actually 100% legal with local, state, and federal safety standards.
So "being legal" isn't always the test you want to go up against.

 

Did the guy give you a written something? I think I'd take what ever documentation I had and go visit the local PD and ask for the best guy you know, or know of, or ask for the person in charge of traffic. Then I'd lay everything out for that person, including the threats and explain you just want to comply with the law but you can't find anything and then explain how, again with documentation that the roll bar was not available for your year, and you want clarification on what you should do.

Seem very interested in compliance but let the person you talk to tell you you are fine. Then get it in writing.

 

I also suggested to write for info to the police management, but someone more clever than me said that it is better to forget because they can always find some problems on an old Jeep.

Maybe it is better to forget, but not stopping to look for information about the law.
In fact I avoid contact with the police authorities except when useful, they have enough to do! And it is not easy.

 

"...they can always find some problems...".

Yup. One night I got the blue lights and was threatened with a ticket because supposedly my tires squealed as I stopped at a stop sign.

 

How legal is it driving with the windshield down?

 

I've never been stopped in NH, and I do wear eye protection/

 

Windshield down Illegal in PA.

To the OP...Are you in a state that requires state inspection? If you are, you have already met all APPLICABLE Standards for your state...satisfy the state the locals MUST agree.
Practice the presentation to several others BEFORE you speak to anyone for this matter officially. Identify the officer by name and rank, date and time, you CAN summarize the conversation to the BEST of your recollection IS OK. Do state somewhere in an appropriate manner that the officer was NOT having a conversation with you because you stated that he spoke over your knowledge of your vehicle. If I could find out where every bolt was contracted from I would know that too. We all know what we own. Do illustrate that that body is original and no mounting holes for a roll bar was not mounted, ever. (photos)
Hope that that helps!

 

just asked a state trooper last week. illegal in Maine but generally un enforced. i drove off with it folded down and he didnt do anything...

 

Windshield down with eye protection in mo. Might need a full helmet in some areas.

 

Since the original incident I haven't been stopped once. The Jeep has a valid inspection and most cops just give a wave. I'm sure I've since passed the officer that gave me a hard time but he's left me alone.

Lots of good ideas and info here guys thanks a lot. If i do encounter a problem in the future I'll be more than prepared.

 

I find it amazing some cop would GAS about that. Modern jeeps come with roll bars (don't know if they call them that), but are they even mandated for the new ones? Seems like you should just go on your way and ignore this buffoon. Cars & trucks didn't have standard safety belts back then, did he hassle you about those too? If you have a current safety sticker and your vehicle hasn't been changed since the last inspection and nothing mechanical (and required) has failed, you're good to go.

 

First off, I'm recovering New Jersey resident. I have never encountered nearly as much police harassment as when I lived in NJ. I am not at all surprised at your problems. I never go back, not even to visit family or old friends. I have lived in MD, AZ, WA, DC and NJ. I drove a cj2a as a daily driver for 4 years.

Now, some of these other guys are right about roll bars and seat belts, get them, put them in. An old jeep is never going to be safe, but at least you can prevent getting thrown out and run over by another motorist.

little story, When I lived in New Jersey I had a 77 CJ-5 with a 304. It was 1993 or so and I was driving home from coffee with some friends. No lie, coffee. It was winter and thing were really cold so there was ice on the road. I hit a patch going straight, went sideways, turned into it, hit non ice, went up on 2 wheels, hit some more ice and went sideways into a telephone pole at about 40 MPH. It was glancing and I didnt wrap myself around the pole, but I was not wearing a seat belt. I hit my head onteh roll bar, got knocked out ejected from my jeep and came too sliding on my back feet first toward my wrecked jeep. My gas tank was ripped out, the road was covered in gasoline and so was I. Luckily I was wearing a biker jacket and a flannel shirt, so no road rash from this particular accident.

The moral of the story is that even a small amount of upgrade in safety and comfort might save your life. High back seats and wearing a seat belt might be a good choice. A roll bar can also help in a roll over, but also stiffens the body somewhat and might add that tinniest bit of safety.

All that being said, if you ride a motorcycle you need none of this and in PA you don't even need a helmet. And.. road bikes are the reason why 2 of my friends in dirty jersey are dead.

I suggest putting in at least lap belts and a roll bar. The guy who used to run the CJ2a page lives in jersey. Maybe email him.

Good luck

 

In France, the law for old cars is that they are accepted like they were at the beginning of their life.
That's why I have an old CJ5. No need of toolbar, no belt, and I can drive with the windshield down, which is not accepted with a new Wrangler.

Well, I had the roll bar way, it is more beautiful and useful to drive under trees, but now I painted it, it is nice and it is a safety.
I have no belts, because if I had belts I would be obliged to used them.
I don't drive very often with the windshield down because afterwards I cough, it is too cold in fact in our place.

The main problem is that an old car has less safeties than a new one, cannot stop so fast, and is not adapted to modern traffic.
I use my CJ5 on small roads or tracks, I am not at ease on normal traffic, brakes are not abs, so if I drive 'fast' not sure of what can happen.
Comparison with a motorcycle is good. On wet road, in traffic, not so easy.