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Is it illegal to drive with the interior lights on?

Driver education Safety Police Is it illegal Urban Hacks
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By illuminating the interior of the car you are making it much harder to see outside.
By illuminating the interior of the car you are making it much harder to see outside.
Iain Kelly
Contributing Journalist
4 Jun 2018
3 min read

No, it's not illegal to drive with your interior lights on as there's no legislation mandating whether people can, or cannot, legally drive with interior lighting. 

However, by illuminating the interior of the car you are making it much harder to see outside. This is where the police will have an issue with you, as this then makes it dangerous for other drivers around you as you’re limiting your vision and increasing the risk of a crash.

To be perfectly clear, using one of the manufacturer’s own map lights is not such a big deal (though it will still cut down on external vision slightly). These lamps have been included in cars since the 1960s to aid passengers looking at printed road maps as they helped navigate, and to fascinate children as to the mysterious origins of these tiny circular lights.

The real issue is with the large cabin lights, which generally automatically operate when a door or tailgate is open. These lights are designed to illuminate the entire cabin to make it easier and safer to enter or exit the vehicle at night, or in low-light conditions.

They are not designed to be used while driving as they reflect off the interior surfaces, cutting exterior vision and causing your eyes to focus on the bright light inside the car (rather than the dark area outside the car, which is where you should be concentrating).

If a police officer sees you driving along lit up like Sydney Harbour on New Year’s Eve, they could potentially fine you a few different ways. The way the Australian road laws are written a policeman (or woman) has the power to fine you if they believe you are not in full control of your vehicle, or are driving in a manner they believe to be dangerous to other road users. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

As they have been trained in road safety, high-performance driving, and more, it is generally accepted by courts in Australia that a police officer holds the experience and knowledge to make judgement calls in these areas. 

They’re also normally the ones who have to respond to horrific crashes involving people who have made mistakes that cost them and other innocent people their lives, so they take this seriously as nobody ever wants the three o’clock knock.

So, unless you have the superhuman power of 20-20 night vision, leave the interior light off while driving at night or low-light situations.

This article is not intended as legal advice. You should check with your local road authority to verify the information written here is suitable to your situation before driving in this manner.

​Are you a serial map light illuminator? Tell us in the comments below.

Iain Kelly
Contributing Journalist
A love of classic American and European cars drove Iain Kelly to motoring journalism straight out of high school, via the ownership of a tired 1975 HJ Holden Monaro.  For nearly 20 years he has worked on magazines and websites catering to modified late model high-performance Japanese and European tuner cars, as well as traditional hot rods, muscle cars and street machines. Some of these titles include Auto Salon, LSX Tuner, MOTOR, Forged, Freestyle Rides, Roadkill, SPEED, and Street Machine. He counts his trip to the USA to help build Mighty Car Mods’ “Subarute” along with co-authoring their recent book, The Cars of Mighty Car Mods, among his career highlights.  Iain lends his expertise to CarsGuide for a variety of advice projects, along with legitimising his automotive obsession with regular OverSteer contributions. Although his practical skills working on cars is nearly all self-taught, he still loves nothing more than spending quality time in the shed working on his project car, a 1964 Pontiac. He also admits to also having an addiction to E30 BMWs and Subaru Liberty RS Turbos, both of which he has had multiple examples of. With car choices like that, at least his mum thinks he is cool.
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