
Are You Breaking This Little Known Iowa Road Law?
When you get behind a car's wheel, you have many responsibilities. Most of us don't think of driving as an execution of one responsibility after another, but it really is. Oh, and my mom always said, driving is a privilege and not a right.
One of the major responsibilities motorists in Iowa, and everywhere have is driving safely. It's the core of driving. Safe driving is the most basic element of driving.
Wow, that's bright
After that, there are laws. Laws galore centering around driving. From speed limits, when to stop and wait, to turn signal usage to use of headlights, to drive safely and legally is to follow one rule after another.
I wanted to drill down on one of those. The whole headlight thing. If you buy a car in 2024, that vehicle will more than likely handle the headlights for you automatically. In fact, auto headlights have been around for some time. My vehicle has this feature, but to be honest, I like the control and shut it off.
Something that you still have full control over, your brights...
While newer cars do have an auto brights/dim feature, drivers can always toggle their bright lights on and off. We've all been on the road and experienced a driver coming from the opposite direction with their brights still on. Maybe you've done it to a fellow motorist. But have you ever questioned the legality?

Believe it or not, it's actually illegal to keep your brights on when you see oncoming traffic.
Iowa Legislation states that if there's an oncoming vehicle within one thousand feet, you cannot have your bright lights on. The same goes for if you're in front of another vehicle. I mean, no one wants to be blinded from behind...
So what is the penalty if a police officer pops you for leaving your brights on in one of those scenarios? Well, it's never explicitly laid out in that piece of legislation, but you can assume the officer could nail you for some sort of moving violation. And that's an easily avoided ticket. Also, it's annoying and makes you a jerk. Just saying.
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