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Question: What are the laws limiting the different color lights you can have on your tires or undercarriage of your car? Are under vehicle ground effect lights legal in Arizona?

Answer: There are many different extras you can add to your car to make it look really cool, including several types of lights that attach to various places on your car. Although these lights can make your car look cool, safety is one of the first considerations for Arizona laws on this topic. There are very specific guidelines in Arizona Law concerning colored lights and undercarriage or "Ground Effects" lights.

Arizona law says (ARS §28-931) that any reflectors or lights mounted on the front or front side of a car be "amber" which is a yellowish-orange color. And any reflectors or lights on the back or side back must be red, except for signal lights which must be red, yellow or amber. The light illuminating the license plate must be white.

Arizona Law (ARS §28-940) also addresses other car and truck lighting equipment. A car or truck cannot have:

  • more than two side or fender lights and they must be amber or white color.
  • more than one running board light on each side and they must be white or amber color.
  • more than two backup lamps (like a spotlight) but the backup lamps must not be shining while the vehicle is in motion.

Also, Arizona Law (ARS §28-947) has restrictions on the type of headlights you can have, and their brightness. And it is against Arizona Law for any car other than an emergency vehicle to have a red or blue light visible from the front of the vehicle.

So, Arizona Law allows you to have certain lights of certain colors on your car, but you cannot put differently colored lights on the body, under carriage or tires of your car. Safety is the priority, and colored lights can be distracting. People's eyes need to be on the road instead of looking at cool lights in order to avoid causing accidents.

Don't forget that some lights on your car are mandatory, like break lights, turn signals and headlights. You can be pulled over if any of these lights aren't working properly, so make sure to do regular maintenance on you car.


Comments
46 thru 50 of 60 comments
On 02/04/04
adam from AZ said:
i just got pulled over for having neon lights around my lic. plate , i thought this was the dummest thing to get stopped for , i was driving ok , and was not hurting anyone , i just wish that seeing you paid or paying on the car , i hope that we can fight back on this , and find some cheap fun with lights , this is the land of the free , not free to not put lights on your care ... LET'S FIGHT THIS LAW ...
On 01/28/04
? from AZ said:
First of all the neon lights are not on top of the car so why would you think there was a police officer behind you. Also you couldn't see the lights unless the car was beside or infront of you. So if you dont know what your talking about then dont talk about it at all.
On 01/28/04
? from AZ said:
I agree with you there should be certain colors. I think the blue and red on be ilegal. But all the rest of them should be legal.
On 01/27/04
craig from VA said:
I think if you custmize your car as long as you don't race it on the street it should be legal
On 01/19/04
Darrell from AZ said:
i think that under car lighting laws are ridiculous i don't see the difference between lighting on a restaurant sign and under your car so why don't they bann those lights or make them illegal. anything can be distracting when your on the, just like if a naked person was walking down the street and imagine what a distraction that would be.
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