Truth behind theory it's 'illegal' to drive with light on inside your car has been solved

In your younger days, there was probably a moment where you were in the car with your parents and they told you to switch the inside light off.

"It's illegal," they'd tell you, and warn you that they could get in very serious trouble with the police if you were caught.

You might get told that keeping the lights on inside the car would stop them from being able to look through the rear-view mirror, which would inevitably result in a crash like you were the people in one of those Think! road safety adverts where they all die horribly.

However, we're here to tell you the truth behind this idea that it's 'illegal' to be driving around with the lights on inside your car.

"We can't have that switched on, it's illegal." (Getty Stock Photo)

The simple fact of the matter is that no matter what your parents told you in an attempt to get you to switch that light off, it's not actually illegal.

Loads of Brits think it's not allowed, but there's actually no law against driving around with the dome light on.

Either your parents were lying to you in an effort to get you to calm down, or they also heard this theory and have been labouring under the same delusion all this time.

All right, that's the payback on your parents sorted, now it's time to explain why they were actually dead right to tell you to turn out the light.

While it's not illegal to drive with the dome light on, you could genuinely get in some trouble with the police if they pull you over and decide that having your lights on is a probable cause for bad driving, the AA says.

Let's be fair, having the lights on inside the car could actually disrupt or distract the driver to the point that it could actually lead to disaster, especially since the light can reflect off the inside of the windscreen and mess up vision.

It was specifically the lights in the back of the car my parents said it was illegal to have on while driving. (Getty Stock Photo)

If you've got the lights on inside the car and get pulled over for bad driving, and it's decided that the light was the probable cause, then you could end up with a careless driving charge.

Depending on how carelessly you were driving, it could land you with between three and nine points on your licence, a fine and potentially disqualification from being able to drive.

In that case it may not be illegal but it's definitely better if you just switch off those lights inside your car, and when your kids ask you why it's going to be easier to tell them it's illegal.

Thus the cycle continues.

Topics: Cars, UK News, Driving, Crime, Parenting

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker