Can I decorate my car with holiday lights in Virginia?
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- With the holiday season in full swing, drivers across America are choosing to deck their halls and their cars -- but instead of classics like reindeer antlers or a Rudolph nose, some are wrapping their vehicles in multi-colored holiday lights. However, is that street legal in Virginia? Virginia has a variety of laws dictating what lights are and are not legal on all vehicles, from privately owned passenger cars to police cruisers. There are rules about headlights, tail lights, brake lights, all manner of auxiliary lights and more. The Code of Virginia does not have a provision that explicitly mentions multi-colored holiday string lights -- however, they are illegal for several reasons, especially if a driver installs them in a certain way. Virginia’s minimum wage to increase by 41 cents on New Year’s Day "It's illegal," said Sgt. Jessica Shehan with Virginia State Police in an email to 8News. "You shouldn't add lights to your vehicle, even in the name of the holiday season." She added that this is an offense that can result in a ticket -- one she's handed out before. The first issue is the colors of the lights. In Virginia, privately owned passenger cars -- unless being used in very specific ways -- are not permitted to display colors that would typically be associated with emergency vehicles. Light colors allowed on such cars are white/clear or amber, with red allowed in the case of brake lights. Colors like red, blue, green, purple and others are associated with different emergency signals and are only permitted for that particular use by designated agencies. Flashing lights are even more restricted. Construction worker stuck in 15-foot deep hole rescued by Chesterfield Fire and EMS crews There are also restrictions on the amount of lights a passenger vehicle may have. In Virginia, only four lamps -- including a car's two headlights -- are allowed to be lit on the front of the car at any time. Overall, only up to two running fog lights, one to two auxiliary lights, two daytime running lights and two side lights may be equipped to any car at any time. Additionally, the positioning of the lights can make them even more illegal. It is illegal for a vehicle's permitted lights -- meaning headlights, brake lights or any other necessary light -- to be obscured by wire, unapproved lenses, plastic covers or "any other materials that are not original equipment." It is also illegal for any light to be placed less than 15 inches above the road surface.
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- With the holiday season in full swing, drivers across America are choosing to deck their halls and their cars -- but instead of classics like reindeer antlers or a Rudolph nose, some are wrapping their vehicles in multi-colored holiday lights. However, is that street legal in Virginia?
Virginia has a variety of laws dictating what lights are and are not legal on all vehicles, from privately owned passenger cars to police cruisers. There are rules about headlights, tail lights, brake lights, all manner of auxiliary lights and more.
The Code of Virginia does not have a provision that explicitly mentions multi-colored holiday string lights -- however, they are illegal for several reasons, especially if a driver installs them in a certain way.
Virginia’s minimum wage to increase by 41 cents on New Year’s Day
"It's illegal," said Sgt. Jessica Shehan with Virginia State Police in an email to 8News. "You shouldn't add lights to your vehicle, even in the name of the holiday season."
She added that this is an offense that can result in a ticket -- one she's handed out before.
The first issue is the colors of the lights. In Virginia, privately owned passenger cars -- unless being used in very specific ways -- are not permitted to display colors that would typically be associated with emergency vehicles. Light colors allowed on such cars are white/clear or amber, with red allowed in the case of brake lights.
Colors like red, blue, green, purple and others are associated with different emergency signals and are only permitted for that particular use by designated agencies. Flashing lights are even more restricted.
Construction worker stuck in 15-foot deep hole rescued by Chesterfield Fire and EMS crews
There are also restrictions on the amount of lights a passenger vehicle may have. In Virginia, only four lamps -- including a car's two headlights -- are allowed to be lit on the front of the car at any time. Overall, only up to two running fog lights, one to two auxiliary lights, two daytime running lights and two side lights may be equipped to any car at any time.
Additionally, the positioning of the lights can make them even more illegal.
It is illegal for a vehicle's permitted lights -- meaning headlights, brake lights or any other necessary light -- to be obscured by wire, unapproved lenses, plastic covers or "any other materials that are not original equipment." It is also illegal for any light to be placed less than 15 inches above the road surface.
