1
2
3
4
5
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill modifies motor vehicle lighting requirements.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 ▸ prohibits illuminating an auxiliary light that exhibits certain characteristics on a
13 public roadway.
14 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
15 None
16 Other Special Clauses:
17 None
18 Utah Code Sections Affected:
19 AMENDS:
20 41-6a-1604, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 83
21
22 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
23 Section 1. Section 41-6a-1604 is amended to read:
24 41-6a-1604. Motor vehicle head lamps, tail lamps, stop lamps, and other lamps --
25 Requirements -- Penalty.
26 (1) A motor vehicle shall be equipped with at least two head lamps with at least one on
27 each side of the front of the motor vehicle.
28 (2) (a) A motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, and any other vehicle which is
29 being drawn at the end of a combination of vehicles, shall be equipped with at least two tail
30 lamps and two or more red reflectors mounted on the rear.
31 (b) (i) Except as provided under Subsections (2)(b)(ii), (2)(c), and Section 41-6a-1612,
32 all stop lamps or other lamps and reflectors mounted on the rear of a vehicle shall display or
33 reflect a red color.
34 (ii) A turn signal or hazard warning light may be red or yellow.
35 (c) Either a tail lamp or a separate lamp shall be so constructed and placed as to
36 illuminate with a white light the rear registration plate.
37 (3) (a) A motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, and pole trailer shall be equipped with two
38 or more stop lamps and flashing turn signals.
39 (b) A supplemental stop lamp may be mounted on the rear of a vehicle, if the
40 supplemental stop lamp:
41 (i) emits a red light;
42 (ii) is mounted:
43 (A) and constructed so that no light emitted from the device, either direct or reflected,
44 is visible to the driver;
45 (B) not lower than 15 inches above the roadway; and
46 (C) on the vertical center line of the vehicle; and
47 (iii) is the size, design, and candle power that conforms to federal standards regulating
48 stop lamps.
49 (4) (a) Each head lamp, tail lamp, supplemental stop lamp, flashing turn lamp, other
50 lamp, or reflector required under this part shall comply with the requirements and limitations
51 established under Section 41-6a-1601.
52 (b) The department, by rules made under Section 41-6a-1601, may require trucks,
53 buses, motor homes, motor vehicles with truck-campers, trailers, semitrailers, and pole trailers
54 to have additional lamps and reflectors.
55 (5) The department, by rules made under Section 41-6a-1601, may allow:
56 (a) one tail lamp on any vehicle equipped with only one when it was made;
57 (b) one stop lamp on any vehicle equipped with only one when it was made; and
58 (c) passenger cars and trucks with a width less than 80 inches and manufactured or
59 assembled prior to January 1, 1953, need not be equipped with electric turn signal lamps.
60 (6) (a) As used in this section, "continuously flashing light system" means a light
61 system for a supplemental stop lamp described in Subsection (3)(b) in which the stop lamp or
62 reflector pulses rapidly for no more than five seconds when the brake is applied and then
63 converts to a continuous light as a normal stop lamp or reflector until the time that the brake is
64 released.
65 (b) A motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, and pole trailer may be equipped with a
66 continuously flashing light system.
67 (7) Except as provided under Subsection (8), an auxiliary light installed on a motor
68 vehicle may only be illuminated on a public roadway if the light:
69 (a) conforms to the color and location of:
70 (i) white or amber, if the light is located on or visible from the front of the vehicle;
71 (ii) amber, if the light is located on or visible from the side of the vehicle; or
72 (iii) amber or red, if the light is located on or visible from the rear of the vehicle;
73 (b) emits a steady beam of light and does not blink, oscillate, rotate, or flash;
74 (c) does not emit a beam that:
75 (i) is brighter than the vehicle's original equipment lighting;
76 (ii) has a greater candlepower than the vehicle's original equipment lighting; or
77 (iii) distracts from the visibility of the vehicle's original equipment lighting; and
78 (d) does not distract or impair the vision of the operator or other drivers on the
79 roadway.
80 (8) Subsection (7) does not apply to lighting:
81 (a) installed by the vehicle's manufacturer in accordance with 49 C.F.R. Sec. 571.108;
82 or
83 (b) devices provided by transportation network companies as defined in Section
84 13-51-102 to identify and indicate the status of a vehicle used to provide transportation
85 network services as defined in Section 13-51-102, when approved by the department as
86 permitted by Section 41-6a-1602.
87 (9) A violation of this section is an infraction.
88 Section 2. Effective date.
89 This bill takes effect on May 1, 2024.