In California, is it always legal to drive with your car headlight on?
Obviously, in certain cases, California law requires you turn your car headlights on. But when it isn't required, is it nevertheless legal to keep them on, or are there situations when it is illegal to drive with your headlights on? And if so, what are those cases?
Best Answer
I can't speak to California code, but I've driven my own Canadian car to California twice since daytime running lights became mandatory here (in 1989 and in 2015). Both times we spent a week or more in California; in 2015 we were about twelve days in the state (nine days in San Diego, three in the Twentynine Palms area). Nobody said a thing about my car having headlights on in the day.
On rural roads, particularly undivided highways, it's wise to have low beam headlights on, if your car lacks specific daytime running lights, because it's easier to see you at a distance.
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Is it illegal to drive with a light on in California?
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- An ABC30 viewer wanted to know: is it illegal to have my inside lights on while driving at night? "The answer your question is no, it's not illegal to drive with interior lights on," said Sgt. Brian Pennings with the California Highway Patrol.Should you drive with headlights on all the time?
Headlights are required 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise, during fog, smoke, or rain and when visibility is less than 200 feet. In some states, headlights are required anytime the vehicle's windshield wipers are on in continuous use. This indicates the presence of rain, sleet, snow.Can you drive with a headlight?
It is still possible to see and drive a vehicle even if one headlight is burned out, just like driving with one eye. However, driving with a broken headlight where there's only one functioning headlight on a car is not advisable to be used. In fact, it is illegal to drive with one headlight only.Are headlights required during the day in California?
In California, drivers are legally required on certain stretches of highway to run headlights during the day to reduce the number of crashes.Legal Action Against Driving Without Headlights In Los Angeles, California | (800) 970-0384
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Answer 2
When entering a guarded military base gate you may be required to turn off your headlights at night, so as to not "blind" the guards.
I did not find a specific law or regulation, but it is often posted on signs and customary.
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