For generations now, many drivers have believed that driving with your car’s inside lights on is illegal, but it’s actually a myth.
It’s common for vehicles to have some kind of interior light, which is often called dome or courtesy light.
These are typically found on the ceiling of your vehicle, and they tend to come on when people get in and out of the car.
The inside light is useful for allowing passengers to safely fasten their seatbelts as well as read maps and locate any items.
Can you leave the inside car light on?
However, for a very long time, many drivers have been brought up to think that it was against the law to drive while using the interior white lights.
This issue is a simple misunderstanding of the law by motorists.
According to the AA, many drivers were warned as children (often by their parents) not to turn on the interior lights of their cars while they were driving and that doing so was against the law.
The automobile company added: “It’s something which lots of people think is a fact but there’s no law against driving with your interior lights on”.
On the other hand, the motoring experts did mention that sorting the lights can cause a distraction or can interfere with the driver’s vision, especially at night since the lights can reflect off of the inside of the windscreen.
The AA added: “If you’re pulled over and it’s decided that your light was a probable cause in any bad driving, you can expect to get a careless driving charge though”.
The AA also reminded motorists that “there might not be specific laws forbidding certain actions and behaviours” but they should “avoid doing anything that could slow your reaction times and cause an otherwise avoidable accident”.
Rule 148 of the Highway Code, which specifies that safe driving and riding require concentration, shall always be followed by drivers.
It is best to avoid any and all distractions, such as paying too much attention to other passengers’ conversations, reading maps, eating and drinking, smoking, and listening to loud music, among other things.
