Kansas Auxiliary Lamps: Two Each, Fixed Mounting Heights, Four Lit at Once

K.S.A. 8-1719 is written as four labelled subsections, one per lamp type, and each begins with the same numeric limit of two. Subsection (a) covers spot lamps and adds an aiming rule rather than a height: a lighted spot lamp emitting white light must be aimed and used so that no part of the high intensity portion of the beam strikes the windshield, any windows, the mirror or an occupant of another vehicle in motion. That limitation does not apply to a police vehicle used as an authorised emergency vehicle.

Subsection (b) is the most exactly drawn. Fog lamps must be mounted on the front at a height of not less than 12 inches and not more than 30 inches above the level surface the vehicle stands on, and aimed so that with the vehicle unloaded none of the high intensity portion of the light to the left of the vehicle's centre projects, at a distance of 25 feet ahead, higher than a level 4 inches below the centre of the lamp it comes from. Fog lamps meeting those requirements may be used together with lower head lamp beams as specified in K.S.A. 8-1724(a)(2).

Subsections (c) and (d) separate two lamp types that are often sold interchangeably. Auxiliary passing lamps must be mounted between 24 and 42 inches above the level surface; auxiliary driving lamps between 16 and 42 inches. Both subsections apply K.S.A. 8-1724, the multiple-beam road-lighting section, to any combination of head lamps with those auxiliary lamps.

The count of lamps actually burning is capped elsewhere. K.S.A. 8-1728(a) requires at least two lighted head lamps, one on each side of the front, at the times specified in K.S.A. 8-1703. Subsection (b) then provides that where a vehicle also carries auxiliary lamps, a spot lamp or any other front lamp projecting a beam of more than 300 candlepower, not more than four such lamps on the front may be lighted at any one time on a highway. Off-road light bars are not exempted from that arithmetic while the vehicle is on a Kansas highway.

Colour and flashing are governed by K.S.A. 8-1729. Subsection (a) requires any lighted lamp other than head lamps, spot lamps, auxiliary lamps, flashing turn signals, hazard warning lamps and school bus warning lamps that projects more than 300 candlepower to be aimed so that no part of the high intensity portion of the beam strikes the roadway more than 75 feet from the vehicle. Subsection (b) prohibits any lamp or device capable of displaying a red light visible from directly in front of the centre of the vehicle, and permits only white, amber or a shade between them to be visible from directly in front of centre. Subsection (c) prohibits flashing lights except as authorised in the listed sections, which are K.S.A. 8-1717, 8-1720, 8-1721, 8-1722, 8-1723, 8-1730, 8-1730a and 8-1731. Subsection (e) requires all lighting devices and reflectors mounted on the rear to display or reflect red, except the stop light or other signal device, which may be red, amber or yellow, the license plate light, which must be white, and the back-up lamp, which must be white or amber. The Revisor's annotation to 8-1729 records State v. Mendez, 319 Kan. 718, 736 (2024), holding that the rear-lighting requirement means the light must display only a red color.

Underglow is treated permissively by Kansas standards but on stated conditions. K.S.A. 8-1723(f) allows any motor vehicle to be equipped with ground effect lighting, which the subsection defines as lights placed underneath the vehicle for the purpose of illuminating the ground below it and creating a halo light effect, except that the lighting must not flash, must not be any shade of red, and no portion of the bulb or lighting fixture may be visible. The same section separately permits up to two side cowl or fender lamps emitting amber or white without glare, one running-board courtesy lamp on each side, back-up lamps that must not be lit while the vehicle moves forward, and head lamps that alternately or simultaneously flash on the lead vehicle of a funeral procession, a role a hearse may fill. The Kansas Attorney General's opinion 2003-6, noted on the Revisor's pages for both 8-1723 and 8-1729, cautions that the bar on colours other than white or amber visible from directly in front of centre may in some cases prohibit ground effect or auto neon lights.

A. A. 8-2118(c) prices them individually. A. 8-1719 is $45. A. A. A. A. 8-1724 is $45. A. 8-1701, is $75. A. A. A. 21-6611(d) a court that does not accept the scheduled payment may fine up to $500 for a traffic infraction. A. 8-1701(b) confirms that nothing in article 17 prohibits additional parts and accessories not inconsistent with the article, so lawful extra lamps are permitted, and 8-1701(d) exempts motorcycles and motor-driven cycles from the article's equipment requirements except where a provision is made applicable to them by law.

A. A. 8-1759a, which allow the trooper to give written notice of the defect and, where further operation would be hazardous, to require that the vehicle not be driven under its own power.