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As the festive season gets underway, some car owners are sharing their holiday spirit by adorning their vehicles with Christmas lights and posting the results online.
In one video uploaded to the social media platform TikTok, an Australian user named Charlie shared his experience decorating his 1996 BMW 3 Series sedan in festive lights.
Charlie’s TikTok videos have been viewed close to four million times collectively – with most commenters in favour of the Christmas decorations.
“This actually looks amazing, and would totally put me in the holiday spirit,” one TikTok user said.
Another added: “Incredible, this car needs its own social media page so people can go see it and it can be booked for appearances.”
“Too fast, too festive,” another said.
However, other commenters pointed out the legality of the situation.
“Is this actually legal here in Australia?” one user questioned, while another commented: “Whereabouts [are] you doing this? And how’s the legality of it, wanna try in [Victoria].”
“Meanwhile my mum put her Christmas lights in her back window and got pulled over by the cops and told to take them down as only emergency services can have flashing lights,” another commenter revealed.
While the act is seemingly harmless, it is illegal to decorate your cars with Christmas lights in Australia and any drivers caught breaking the road rules can face penalties depending on which Australian state and territory they reside in.
“The most apparent danger of decorating your vehicles with [Christmas] lights is the risk of dazzling other road users,” Avinash Singh, the Principal lawyer at Sydney-based Criminal Lawyer firm Astor Legal, said in a media statement.
“There are no decorative lights that are legal. Even the lights that can be added to your vehicle must be in accordance with the standards each state’s road authority prescribes.
“If the lights are affixed to the rear of your vehicle and they are red, then there is also a risk they could confuse drivers about when you are braking.
“If the lights you add to your vehicle are red and blue, then there is also a risk people could see you as a police vehicle. This would be an offence under Section 546D of the Crimes Act 1900, which carries a maximum jail term of two years,” Mr Singh added.
For reference, New South Wales Road rules state it is an offence for car owners to use “any light fitted to or in the driver’s vehicle to dazzle or in a way that is likely to dazzle, another road user” and doing so can earn you up to 20 penalty points carrying a maximum $2305 fine.
In Queensland, fitting Christmas lights to a vehicle can render a car non-compliant with the state’s modification laws, which state drivers cannot fit a light or reflector on the vehicle unless it complies with state road rules and/or the Australian Design Rules.
Those found flouting the rules in Queensland also face a maximum of 20 points, costing up to $3226 in fines.
For South Australian drivers, the state's road rules stipulate it is an offence “to use lights to dazzle other road users” and drivers caught disobeying can face a $393 fine and one demerit point.
In Western Australia, drivers can equip their car with an additional four driving lights, provided the lights are white in colour, are front-facing and "must not obstruct or interfere with the light emitted by any of the headlights, indicators or parking lights fitted to the vehicle".
WA drivers can face a maximum penalty of $100 for breaching this road rule.
Similarly, the Department of Transport Tasmania states: “Aftermarket lights such as... multi-coloured/colour changing LED headlights... are not permitted”.
While there's no specific road penalty for utilising Christmas lights in Tasmania, its Road Rules 2019 state drivers are not allowed to use “any light fitted to or in the driver's vehicle” that can dazzle another road user. Drivers found violating this can face a maximum penalty of $1010.
According to Australian Capital Territory legislation, drivers cannot use additional lights attached to their vehicle if they are driving “on a length of road in a built-up area”, 200m behind another car, or 200m from an oncoming vehicle.
Drivers found guilty in the ACT can be slugged with a maximum penalty of $3200.
It's a similar story in the Northern Territory, where the state government allows drivers to add four additional lights to their vehicles, provided the lights don't block a driver's view of the road and “stick out in a way that could injure a person.”
In the NT, drivers can be fined $50 for breaking this law.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
