Is It Legal to Have LED Lights Inside Your Car?
Car enthusiasts go to every extent to make their car stand out. One popular way to do this is by introducing custom interior lights. These add color and vibe to your car. Whether you need a cool blue glow or a multicolor impact, custom lights help you achieve an exceptional look. However there can be some restrictions that you may need to keep in mind legally, but not all LED Lights are usually restricted by law.
Contrary to popular belief, it is legal to have LED lights inside your car. Although they make your car’s interior look cool, they also illuminate the inside, making it harder to see outside. However, you can still stay cool and trendy while maintaining safety standards. So if your car lacks that little something that makes it stand out, you might want to consider giving it a little makeover, the safe way!
What Are Interior Car Lights?
Custom interior car lights are usually LED in most cases, but bulb replacements are also a good alternative. There are many types of LED car lights, such as a strip, battery-operated, remote-operated, etc.
Interior Car Lighting Laws to Consider (in Idaho specifically)
While it isn’t illegal just to have interior LED lights in your car there are a few laws that you’ll want to keep in mind that may be a little restrictive:
- No red color may be visible from the front of the car
- No flashing lights are permitted
- Blue color is prohibited
- Only red color may be visible on the rear of the car
- License plate illumination must be white
As with any legal matters, it is always best to look up the specific restrictions that pertain to you regarding your specific state laws.
Types of Custom Interior Car Lights
You might want to decorate your car’s interior with different types of car LED lights. Some custom interior car lights you can consider are door lights, dome lights, trunk lights, map lights, accent lights, etc.
Door Lights
Door lights illuminate your doors at nighttime, so you can quickly find the door handle or window controls.
Dome Lights
Dome lights enlighten the front and back of your vehicle when opening or shutting the doors. They’re a must-have addition for customized styling.
Trunk Lights
Trunk lights give your car’s trunk a unique, elegant look.
Map lights
While map lights do not have much use, they can serve as additional lighting for the car to give it a distinctive look or read books or maps easily.
Accent Lights
You can place accent lights anywhere in the vehicle to make it look extra unique and stylish.
Why Is It A Common Belief That LED Lights Inside Cars Are Illegal?
LED lights are thought to be illegal solely because, as fun as they look and sound, they are not exactly safe. Traveling with interior lights switched on at nighttime can be extremely dangerous. Other than imposing danger to your field of vision, it can reflect off your windshield wiper, impairing your ability to see the road ahead.
It might also happen that the person sitting in the passenger seat will switch on a dome light for various purposes, which may cause the driver to be distracted, resulting in major or minor accidents. So while it is not illegal to have LED lights inside your car, you can still get pulled over simply for creating distractions.
Before Installing Interior Car LEDs
- Make sure you know where you want your lights installed. There are endless options to choose from, so choose wisely
- While there are various methods to install lights, glue and zip ties are the most common.
- Collect all the required materials and tools beforehand, so you don’t have to do it during fitting.
- The most important thing to consider is the power supply. Ideally, you should have at least a 12V battery connected to the vehicle’s fuse box.
- After installing lights, take them out for a test run before using them on the road.
Final Thoughts On Legal Concerns With Interior Car Lights
You now know that despite popular belief, LED lights in your car aren’t illegal.
Just remember that you can’t show anything out the back windscreen of a vehicle other than the red light, and the LED should not divert the driver while driving. Apart from that, there’s nothing stopping you from having LED lights inside your car.
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