Car Accessories and Mods That Are Actually Illegal

There is no denying that modified vehicles are popular. While they may look cool to gearheads, many of these alterations are actually illegal - even though so many people get away with them. Let’s take a closer look at some car accessories and mods that are technically not allowed on the roads.

In several states, adding any sort of light to your vehicle is considered illegal - including underglow lights. This is mostly due to the fact that additional lighting could detract from emergency service vehicles. If you are seen driving around in a car with underglow lights, just know that you could potentially be pulled over and served a fine.

While window tint regulations vary between states, front windscreen tinting is never allowed. Additionally, side windows usually have to be transparent from the outside, even if you do choose to tint them slightly. In other words, tinting isn’t illegal in itself, as long as your windows aren’t too dark.

This one may sound a bit over-the-top, but any rear view mirror accessories are technically illegal. This is because any objects hanging from the mirror are deemed ‘distractions’ to the driver, making them an unnecessary safety risk.

In many states, there are laws stating just how low a car can be in relation to the road. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Car lights have to be in a certain height range to be deemed safe and effective. However, if the car is too low, the lights could become insignificant, causing a safety risk on the road.

While license plate accessories may seem like an insignificant mod, they are technically illegal. This even includes theft protection covers. In short, this law was implemented to prevent anything from blocking or obscuring the plate number.

This modification seems to be one of the most popular amongst gear heads - no matter how annoying it may seem to others. However, altering a vehicle's exhaust in order to make it louder is actually illegal. While it isn’t dangerous, this law was implemented in order to prevent any unnecessary disturbances to the community.

Driving with headlights that are too bright is a safety hazard to anybody on the road. Not only could your lights distract other drivers or pedestrians, but they could also obscure their view, making it difficult to see oncoming traffic. For this reason, regulations permit drivers to use bulbs of between 1,000 and 1,500 lumens. This rules out LED lights, which shine between 3,000 and 4,000 lumens.

Technically speaking, window stickers and decals are illegal. In some states, this law has more to do with preventing regular road users from coming across as any sort of official vehicle, such as a police car. More so, rear window decals can be distracting to both the driver and other cars.