- Kansas Highway Patrol says holiday car lights violate safety laws.
- Police warn added lighting can confuse drivers and mimic police.
- Car lights on public roads are allowed only in approved parades.
It’s that time of year when lights get put up only to stick around until mid-January or later. Holiday displays spill from homes into yards, and sometimes, even onto the road. For some drivers, stringing festive lights on their car might seem like a fun seasonal gesture, one more way to spread cheer.
But before you turn your vehicle into a mobile ornament, you might want to pump the brakes a little.
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The Kansas Highway Patrol has a different take on festive modifications, issuing an important reminder. Cars decked out in Christmas lights aren’t just in bad taste; they’re illegal, and troopers will pull you over for it.
Can You Light It Up?
According to KHP Public Information Officer Tod Hileman, the rule is far from new. A decades-old safety regulation in Kansas specifies exactly how many lights a vehicle can have, where they can be located on a car, how high they can sit, and what colors they’re allowed to be.
Notably, most states have similar legislation to control such things, so drivers across the U.S. should take note.
Speaking to WIBW, Hileman said that “The fear is, is that if people start putting all those Christmas lights on their cars, what’s to stop someone from putting, you know, all red and blue flashing lights on their car. And that would signify to most people that that is law enforcement or an emergency type of vehicle.”
Put another way, the law is meant to make it easy for motorists to tell the difference between everyday traffic and an emergency vehicle.
Fines, Exceptions, and One Loophole
The law in Kansas considers Christmas lights on a car as a moving hazard and as such, violators can expect a citation of around $75 for each violation. The restriction applies specifically to cars on public roads but there’s one interesting exception. Should that vehicle be part of a parade, the law allows for such lighting.
“There is a law in the state statutes that talks about parades and what you can do in a parade,” Hileman said. The Highway Patrol also noted that the lighting rules help deter people who intentionally try to imitate emergency vehicles, an issue every state has dealt with at one point or another.
When Decorations Leave Marks
Beyond the legal implications, there’s the practical issue of how those lights actually get onto your car. Adhesive clips, tape, suction cups, and zip ties might seem harmless enough, but depending on your paint or trim, they can leave scratches, scuffs, or worse, especially when removed in cold weather.
And if you’re thinking of running cords through the window or routing wires across moving panels, you could be setting yourself up for future repairs that won’t be covered by holiday cheer.