{"id":5756,"date":"2019-12-02T06:00:23","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T12:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.schaeferautobody.com\/?p=5756"},"modified":"2023-05-08T13:45:53","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T18:45:53","slug":"is-it-illegal-to-drive-with-interior-lights-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schaeferautobody.com\/is-it-illegal-to-drive-with-interior-lights-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Is It Illegal to Drive With Interior Lights On?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
When you were 16 and just learning to drive, your parents likely told you at some point that it\u2019s illegal to drive with interior lights on. You questioned it, insisted on a good reason why, but in the end, you likely lost the fight. Ironically, to this day, you\u2019re quick to snap off the interior car lights while you\u2019re on the road \u2014 it\u2019s what you learned and what you stick with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But why? Did our parents ever really give us a sure-fire reason? Some claimed it caused limited vision of the road; others claimed it was downright illegal. The former is actually true; the latter, not usually (though there are stipulations depending on the state you\u2019re driving in).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, is it illegal or not?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Yes, believe it or not, driving with interior lights on is, in fact, legal in most states. And while this is technically good news, it\u2019s certainly not the safest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a reason parents with young drivers tell that age-old myth: It keeps their family safe, especially at night. To travel with interior lights on at night while actively driving can be hazardous \u2014 the dome-light may affect your field of vision and, worse, can reflect off of your windshield wiper, impairing your ability to see the road ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of the time, the person in your passenger seat will switch on an overhead light or dome light: They need it to locate their phone charger that fell amid the seat cracks, fish for the last few French fries at the bottom of the bag, or help navigate a map on a road trip (yes, it still happens!). It\u2019s in this moment that the situation becomes distracting for the driver; it doesn\u2019t affect the passenger at all, so they think nothing of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If this is occurring while a cop is posted somewhere, he can pull you over, but not because it\u2019s illegal to drive with interior lights on. Rather, using the light to find something in your car can be considered a form of distracted driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interior lights, another type of distracted driving<\/h4>\n\n\n\n