Did South Carolina's 2003 vehicle-lighting law ban additional neon-colored lights on cars?

Plain-English summary

An Aiken city solicitor asked whether South Carolina's specification of certain vehicle-light colors made other neon-colored lights impermissible. The Attorney General said in February 2003 that it found neither an express authorization nor a direct statutory ban for the neon lights described. It concluded that the code's provision permitting additional parts and accessories appeared to allow them if installed consistently with the vehicle-lighting article.

The opinion pointed to another provision regulating light intensity and beam direction. That provision, in the AG's view, supported the conclusion that an additional illuminating device was not automatically prohibited. The answer was conditional on compliance with the equipment rules; it did not approve every possible color, placement, or installation.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Did the AG find a direct ban on neon lights installed on cars? A: No. It said it could locate no direct statutory prohibition for the lights at issue.

Q: Did that make every neon-light installation permissible? A: No. The opinion's conclusion depended on the additional lights being consistent with the vehicle-lighting article.

Q: Why did the AG discuss beam direction?
A: It cited a provision controlling where the high-intensity portion of certain lamps could strike the road, showing that additional lighting was regulated rather than categorically barred.

Background and statutory framework

Section 56-5-4430 allowed additional vehicle parts and accessories that were not inconsistent with the lighting article. Section 56-5-4830 governed the intensity and direction of certain illuminating devices. The AG applied those provisions to the proposed neon lights and referenced its earlier opinion on under-car lighting.

Citations and references

• Section 56-5-4430: provision permitting consistent additional accessories.
• Section 56-5-4830: cited beam-intensity and direction rule.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/february-13-2003/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/03feb13pearce.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
HENRY MCMASTER
ATTORNEY GENERAL

February 13, 2003

Richard L. Pearce, Esquire
Aiken City Solicitor
Post Office Box 1177
Aiken, South Carolina 29802

Re:

Installation of Neon Colored Lights on Motor Vehicles

Dear Mr. Pearce:

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You have asked for an opinion from this Office concerning the above topic. By way of background, you indicate that "(a]fter reviewing South Carolina Code sections 56-5-4700-4840 et seq., [you] cannot find any code section that authorizes colored lights on automobiles other than clear, amber, or red." You also indicate that you are" ... aware that auto supply stores selling neon colored lights for motor vehicles contain a warning that these other colored lights may not be 'street legal'." Given this background, you ask "(b]y specifying only clear, amber or red lights for motor vehicles, are other colored lights on motor vehicles in South Carolina appropriate?" In researching the Code, I, like you, can find no specific provision authorizing the installation of neon colored lights on motor vehicles. Conversely, I can find no statutory authority prohibiting the lights. This Office has previously opined on the legality of neon or flourescent lights installed under automobiles. In this opinion, we noted that there was no " ... direct statutory prohibition of the lights .... " See Op. S.C. Atty. Gen. Dated December 21, 1994. Section 56-5-4430 is entitled "Additional parts and accessories not prohibited" and provides that"[ n ]othing contained in this article shall be construed to prohibit the use of additional parts and accessories of any vehicle which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this article." Therefore, because there appears to be no statutory prohibition of the installation of the neon lights, Section 565-4430 seems to provide authorization for the use of the lights as long as they are installed in a manner consistent with the provisions of Chapter 5, Article 35 of Title 56 (i.e. 56-5-4410 through 56-5-5150). Further support for this conclusion is found in Section 56-5-4830 which states, in part, that:
[a]ny lighted lamp or illuminating device upon a motor vehicle, other than head lamps, spot lamps, auxiliary lamps, flashing turn signals, emergency-vehicle warning lamps and school-bus warning lamps, which project a beam of light of an intensity

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REMBERT C. DENNIS BUilJ)ING • POST OFFICE Box 11549 • COLUMBIA, s.c. 29211-1549 • TELEPHONE: 803-734-3970 • FACSIMILE: 803-253-6283

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Mr. Pearce
Page2
February 13, 2003

greater than three hundred candle power shall be so directed that no part of the high-intensity portion of the beam will strike the level of the roadway on which the vehicle stands at a distance of more than seventy-five feet from the vehicle. That the Section allows the use of"any lighted lamp or illuminating device upon a motor vehicle" as long as it is either a low intensity light or is directed in a certain manner indicates the use of such additional lighting is not prohibited.

Assistant Attorney 'General
DK.Alan

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