Is It Legal To Put Christmas Lights On Your Car In Florida? It's Complicated

Each holiday season, many people festively decorate their humble abodes. From hanging the requisite stockings by the chimney with care to hiding elves on shelves, there's absolutely no limit to what we can bedazzle. If you're going the extra mile and wrapping your ride or its grille with Christmas decorations, it's a good idea to know the legality of doing so.

Florida is home to some zany headlines. For instance, one of its denizens was spotted driving a "Booty Patrol" trucks to impersonate police, while another drove a stolen excavator into a Walmart store. Putting Xmas lights on a vehicle is far from the weirdest thing to come out of the Sunshine State, but is it legal? In general, yes, but Floridians need to know about two very specific state statutes that may complicate things.

First, other than turn signals and emergency hazard lights, flashing lights aren't permitted, so those reusable smart blinking Christmas lights won't work. Furthermore, red, white, and blue lights are strictly prohibited because they might mislead other drivers into thinking they're law enforcement vehicles. Violating this statute can result in a noncriminal traffic infraction. Therefore, it's technically legal as long as these requirements are met and it doesn't interfere with the vehicle's existing lights or hinder the driver's view.

Officer DJ Hall with the Boynton Beach police told The Palm Beach Post that these sorts of flashing lights can distract drivers. This theme is echoed by other departments, including the West Palm Beach Police, who pointed out via NBC Miami that drivers are already overly preoccupied with their cellphones and don't need anything else to divert their attention from driving. Miami Police Captain Freddie Cruz also told CBS News, "If someone driving with Christmas lights causes a distraction that leads to an accident, they could be held responsible and face citations or civil penalties."

Again, decking out your auto with cute Christmas decorations — say, a wreath, fun reindeer antlers, or elf legs hanging from the trunk — is technically doable but with caveats. For one, the same rules for lights apply to decorations. Florida also has some laws on the books about a vehicle's load length and width. The outside width of a vehicle must be under 102 inches (or 8.5 feet). Since decorations can be considered a "load" under Florida law, they can't extend more than 3 feet beyond the front bumper of the vehicle. Yet another law prohibits blocking a vehicle's license plate. 

As spokesperson for the West Palm Beach Police Mike Jachles told The Palm Beach Post, law enforcement isn't trying to be the "Grinch" and ruin the holidays. Still, people need to use good judgment. Keeping your vehicle's decorations within legal limits will allow everyone to have a happy holiday.