If you have a car or truck that is often used for off-roading, there is a high chance that light bars have been installed on it. These lighting modifications are meant to boost visibility in the off-road trails, which tend to be unpredictable and poorly lit.
In the end, your safety as you drive in these areas will be better.
However, these units tend to be too bright when used on regular highways and may blind on-coming drivers, leading to severe accidents. This has led to some states regulating their use or banning them altogether.
What about the state of New York? Read on to find out the legality of these lighting units there.
The Legality of Light Bars in New York
Lightbar units are prohibit on the state’s highways. Here, the law states that auxiliary lights exceeding 32 candlepower are not permitted.
Just for clarity, auxiliary lights refer to units installed to boost visibility, such as fog lights, driving lights and off-road lights.
Next, candlepower is a measure of brightness, although you have to convert it from lumens, which is the unit of measurement you are probably familiar with. So, to convert candlepower to lumens, you have to multiply the figure by 12.57.
In the context of light bars, it is impossible to find units with a candlepower of less than 32, as required by New York laws.
So, we can conclude that light bars are illegal in the state of New York.
Also read: How to Install LED Light Bar on Roof & How to Wire a Shop Light in 7 Easy Steps
Final Word
We hope that this tiny bit of information is useful to help you avoid getting into trouble with the law.
Do not install these illegal bar on your car or you will get annoying speeding tickets. If worse comes to worst, you may be banned from the road.
If you have to go for off-road trips, find alternative lighting to boost visibility or only drive when you can clearly see ahead of you without extra lighting.
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