Kennewick Police Scoop on Legal and Illegal After Market Lighting

With the month of May upon us and the warmer weather too, maybe its time to show off that bad ass new lighting you're so very proud of. Well, KPD would like you to read this first:

How many lights can you have on the front of your car? Let’s talk about headlights first. Headlights are to emit only a white light. There are new cars and aftermarket bulbs that are high intensity. These are legal as long as they only emit a white light. That means that even though the light may appear to have a bluish color, as long as when you hold a white sheet of paper in front of the light and there is no blue color on the paper then it is legal. There are some lesser quality aftermarket high intensity lights that do emit a blue color. You are restricted on how many can you have turned on while driving on the street or highway. You can have no more than four headlights, fog lights or running lights or combination total turned on while driving on the street or highway. How high your headlights are aimed is also a concern. The best idea is to have your headlights checked by a mechanic who can properly adjust the lights so you do not blind other drivers. If you are driving a four wheel drive and you have bright lights on the roll cage, those lights must be covered and turned off while driving on the street or highway. Other than headlights or fog lights, the only other lights you can have on the front of your car is amber marker lights. White or amber is the only color you should have on the front half of your vehicle.

The next question then becomes; “what about green or blue marker lights?” Those are not legal. Most of the LED aftermarket lighting that you can add to your vehicle like the photo shown here are not going to be legal for street use. Many drivers are confused because they can purchase these aftermarket lights in a store. If you read the fine print, you will see that they are not legal for street use.