Usage of neon underglow lighting is governed by Kentucky Revised Statutes, Title 16: Motor Vehicles, Chapter 189: Traffic Regulations – Vehicle Equipment an Storage.
Is neon underglow legal in Kentucky?
Kentucky law does not restrict usage of additional vehicle lighting which would include neon underglow. Therefore it’s our conclusion that in Kentucky neon underglow is not illegal, with the following exceptions:
- Displaying any kind of flashing or rotating lights, except in the case of an emergency, is not permitted.
- Displaying blue lights is not permitted.
- Displaying red light visible from front of vehicle is not permitted.
Though not specifically forbidden (unless flashing), we recommend you avoid using red or green neon underglow to avoid being mistaken as a police or emergency vehicle.
Any aftermarket lights visible from front of vehicle should be white or amber. White, amber or red are permitted on back of vehicles. Technically underglow lights are not directly visible but to stay within the law you can consider only using white or amber underglow which should be perfectly legal.
There are no relevant KY laws which specifically restrict or prohibit installing car underglow, meaning we consider it legal to use it while driving.
Kentucky vehicle lighting laws
Below are all relevant excerpts from Kentucky Vehicle Code that limit, restrict or allow certain aftermarket lights to be installed on vehicles.
189.040 Front lights — Flashing lights
(8) Flashing lights are prohibited on all motor vehicles except as a means for indicating a right or left turn or for the purpose of warning the operators of other vehicles of the presence of a vehicular traffic hazard requiring the exercise of unusual care in approaching, overtaking or passing
(14) […] (a) Visible front lights on a motor vehicle or any light that is affixed to the front of a motorcycle or moped, shall only be white or amber, unless installed as original equipment by the manufacturer; and (b) Visible rear lights on a motor vehicle shall only be white, amber, or red, unless installed as original equipment by the manufacturer.
(15) Any violation of this section for the illumination of a solid blue light or solid blue lights shall be deemed to be a violation of KRS 189.950(3).
189.043 Flashing white or amber lights to warn of traffic hazard permitted.
Notwithstanding any other provisions against the use of flashing lights, any vehicle may be equipped with lamps which may be used for the purpose of warning the operators of other vehicles of the presence of a vehicular traffic hazard […]
The lamps used to display such warning to the front shall be mounted at the same level and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, and shall display simultaneously flashing white or amber lights, or any shade of color between white and amber. The lamps used to display such warning to the rear shall be mounted at the same level and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, and shall show simultaneously flashing amber or red lights, or any shade of color between amber and red.
189.045 Flashing lights prohibited near highway.
No person shall install or maintain a red, yellow, green or similarly colored flashing light within one hundred (100) feet of the right-of-way of a state maintained highway for any purposes other than safety, highway construction, or emergency purposes.
189.920 Flashing lights and sirens
(1) All fire department, rescue squad, or publicly owned emergency management agency emergency vehicles and all ambulances shall be equipped with one (1) or more flashing, rotating, or oscillating red lights[…]
(2) All state, county, or municipal police vehicles and all sheriffs’ vehicles used as emergency vehicles shall be equipped with one (1) or more flashing, rotating, or oscillating blue lights[…]
(3) By ordinance, the governing body of any city or county may direct that the police or sheriffs’ vehicles in that jurisdiction be equipped with a combination of red and blue flashing, rotating, or oscillating lights. […]
(9) Vehicles used as command posts at incidents may be equipped with and use when on scene, a green rotating, oscillating, or flashing light.
189.950 Prohibitions — Exceptions.
[…] (2) No motor vehicle, except those designated under KRS 189.910 to 189.950 as emergency vehicles, shall be equipped with, nor shall any person use upon a vehicle any red or blue flashing, revolving, or oscillating light or place a red light on the front thereof. This subsection shall not apply to the use of red flashing lights on school buses or to stop lights or turn signals at the rear of any motor vehicle.
(3) Except as otherwise provided for in this section, a person shall not illuminate a blue light that is affixed to a motor vehicle while operating the motor vehicle on a highway. This subsection shall not apply to: (a) Any light on a motorcycle that is not affixed to the front of the motorcycle; or (b) Nonhalogen headlamps that have a slight blue tint and meet United States Department of Transportation regulations.
(4) No motor vehicle, except those designated under KRS 189.910 to 189.950 as public safety vehicles, shall be equipped with, nor shall any person use upon any vehicle any yellow flashing, revolving, or oscillating light. This subsection shall not apply to the use of yellow lights for turn signals; or to emergency flasher lights
State of Kentucky Info
Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state located in the east south-central region of the United States. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth (the others being Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts). Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States.
Capital: Frankfort
Population: 4,380,415
Area: 40,409 sq mi (104,659 km2)
Cities ▼
Cities in Kentucky: Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Paducah, Frankfort, Owensboro, Elizabethtown, Bardstown, Bearville, Covington, Hopkinsville, Essie, Richmond, Pikeville, Ashland, Florence, Danville, London, Sweeden, Berea, Middlesborough, Somerset, Corbin, Harlan, Erlanger, Murray, Lowes, Maysville, Shelbyville, Glasgow, Nicholasville, Relief, Newport, Georgetown, Fies, Hazard, Madisonville, Shepherdsville, Henderson, Campbellsville, Dingus, Hebron, Benton, Eminence, Winchester, Cave City, Morehead, Versailles, Raceland, Harrodsburg
Counties ▼
Counties in Kentucky: Adair, Allen, Anderson, Ballard, Barren, Bath, Bell, boone, Bourbon, Boyd, Boyle, Bracken, Breathitt, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Campbell, Carlisle, Carroll, Carter, Casey, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Crittenden, Cumberland, Daviess, Edmonson, Eliott, Estill, Fayette, Fleming, Floyd, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Gerrard, Grant, Graves, Grayson, Green, Greenup, Hancock, Hardin, Harlan, Harrison, Hart, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Hopkins, Jackson, Jefferson, Jessamine, Johnson, Kenton, Knott, Knox, LaRue, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Lincoln, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, McCracken, McCreary, McLean, Madison, Magoffin, Marion, Marshall, Martin, Mason, Meade, Menifee, Mercer, Metcalfe, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Muhlenberg, Nelson, Nicholas, Ohio, Oldham, Owen, Owsley, Pendleton, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski, Robertson, Rockcastle, Rowan, Russell, Scott, Shelby, Simpson, Spencer, Taylor, Todd, Trigg, Trimble, Union, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Whitley, Wolfe, Woodford
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