Can I get a ticket for covering my car in Christmas lights? What KS & Wichita allow
With Christmas just around the corner, you may be thinking of ways to get into the holiday spirit, whether that involves decorating your house, baking goodies or even the festive trend of decking your car in twinkling lights.
But if you want to hop on that last trend, you may want to be careful.
Kansas state law and Wichita city statute have specific regulations about lights on vehicles, which require all headlights to be white or amber in color, and prohibit vehicles other than school buses, church buses, day care buses or emergency vehicles from having flashing lights.
Kansas law also prohibits vehicles from having more than four headlights higher than 300 candlepower on at the same time. Tail lights must be red in color, and stop lights and signal devices can be amber or white.
While the law doesn’t specifically cover holiday lights, according to the Wichita Police Department, any driver “with additional lighting that violates Kansas law, or the City of Wichita ordinances is considered illegal.”
In fact, Garden City’s police department posted on social media last year warning residents to refrain from participating in the trend.
“Not to mention, excessive lighting or non-standard lights on vehicles may distract other drivers, impair visibility, or confuse roadway signals,” the December 2024 social media post reads.
