I Had No Idea Police Would Pull Me Over for This Violation

My Thursday morning started like every other weekday morning. Too early. I leave my house to head to the radio station each day at around 3:45 a.m. Needless to say, there aren't many other people on the road at that time of day. This morning, I pulled out onto 7th Avenue in Marion and found out that I was not alone.

The one group of people that are up and out when I am each morning is law enforcement. This morning, I met a Marion police cruiser headed in the opposite direction. I thought nothing of it until I saw him turn around in my rearview mirror. I wasn't worried as I knew I wasn't speeding, my headlights were on, and I certainly wasn't driving erratically. That all changed when the police car got closer to me, turned off his headlights briefly, and then turned on his flashers. Great. I was getting pulled over.

It had been a while since I'd been stopped by police. And when the officer asked if I knew why he had pulled me over, I honestly replied, "No, I don't." It turned out that I had a light on the back of my car that was out, but not the one I expected. The officer informed me that my license plate light was out. Yes, the small light that shines on your license plate and allows law enforcement to identify your vehicle at night was burned out. I had no idea it was out, and I had no idea that was illegal. But, Iowa code states that it is.

Iowa.gov

If a citation is issued, Iowa law states that police will generally give you a 72-hour grace period to get the issue fixed. Marion police issued me a warning this morning, but needless to say, I'll be stopping by an auto parts store later today to get the issue fixed!