§ 4303. General lighting requirements.
(a) Head lamps.--Every vehicle, except trailers, operated on a highway shall be equipped with a head
lamp system in conformance with regulations of the department. The regulations shall
not prohibit a bus from being equipped with devices used to carry pedalcycles on the
front of the bus.
(b) Rear lighting.--Every vehicle operated on a highway shall be equipped with a rear lighting system
including, but not limited to, rear lamps, rear reflectors, stop lamps and license
plate light, in conformance with regulations of the department. If a vehicle is equipped
with a centrally mounted rear stop light, a decal or overlay may be affixed to the
centrally mounted rear stop light if the decal or overlay meets all applicable State
and Federal regulations.
(c) Turn signals and hazard warning lights.--Every motor vehicle, except motorcycles and pedalcycles, and every trailer operated
on a highway shall be equipped with a system of turn signal lights and hazard warning
lights in conformance with regulations of the department.
(d) Identification, clearance and side marker lights.--Every motor vehicle, trailer and combination operated on a highway shall be equipped
with a system of lights which may include retroreflective reflectors, identification,
clearance and side marker lights in conformance with regulations of the department.
(e) Equipment exempted by regulation.--Antique motor vehicles, animal-drawn vehicles, implements of husbandry, commercial
implements of husbandry and special mobile equipment, if operated exclusively between
the hours of sunrise and sunset and not during periods of reduced visibility or insufficient
illumination, may be exempted from certain lighting equipment requirements of this
part by regulations of the department.
(f) Off-road lighting.--Off-road lighting lamps may be mounted on the roof or roll bar of a vehicle and shall
be covered with an opaque covering that prohibits any light from being emitted when
the vehicle is being operated on a highway or trafficway. Any person who illuminates
an off-road lighting lamp while the vehicle is being operated on a highway or a trafficway
commits a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of
$100.
(g) Snow plow lamps.--Snow plow lamps shall be installed as follows:
(1) Snow plow lamps shall be wired through a double throw switch so that both sets of
lights will not operate at the same time.
(2) Snow plow lamps shall be aimed so that the high intensity beam does not project to
left of extreme left side of vehicle nor higher than center of lamp at a distance
of 25 feet in front of vehicle. In no case shall the high intensity portion of the
beam be higher than 42 inches above level surface at a distance of 75 feet ahead.
The lamps shall be spaced at a distance not less than 20 inches apart and shall be
symmetrically located on each side of the vehicle centerline.
(3) Fog lamps, if installed on a vehicle equipped with snow plow lamps, may be substituted
for snow plow lamps anytime when, due to unfavorable atmospheric conditions, including
rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog, smoke or smog, persons or vehicles on the highway are
not clearly discernible to the operator for a distance of 1,000 feet ahead. Fog lamps
that are used in lieu of snow plow lamps shall meet the same aiming requirements as
snow plow lamps.
(Nov. 23, 1987, P.L.399, No.82, eff. 60 days; Nov. 24, 1992, P.L.725, No.109, eff.
60 days; Dec. 18, 1992, P.L.1411, No.174, eff. 60 days; Dec. 10, 1996, P.L.925, No.149,
eff. 60 days; Dec. 21, 1998, P.L.1126, No.151, eff. 60 days)
1998 Amendment. Act 151 amended subsec. (a).
1996 Amendment. Act 149 added subsec. (g).
1992 Amendments. Act 109 added subsec. (f) and Act 174 amended subsec. (e).
1987 Amendment. Act 82 amended subsec. (b).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
41
cases (
8 in the last 5 years), 1978–2025 · leading case:
Commonwealth v. Palm, 903 A.2d 1244 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2006).
Commonwealth v. Palm, 903 A.2d 1244 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2006).
“§ 3802(a)(1), one count of General Lighting Requirements, 75 Pa.C.S. § 4303, and one count of Operation of Vehicle Without Official Certificate of Inspection, 75 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Sojourner, 408 A.2d 1100 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1978).
· cites it 2× “81, § 1, 75 Pa.C.S. § 4303.) Under these circumstances the police were clearly authorized to stop the appellant's car.”
Commonwealth v. Eliason, 509 A.2d 1296 (Pa. 1986).
· cites it 2× “[4] See 75 Pa.C.S. §§ 4303(b), 4535(a), to name but a few.”
Commonwealth v. Haines, 166 A.3d 449 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2017).
“3d at 993-94 (holding that violation of 75 Pa.C.S. § 4303, lighting requirements, required probable cause for stop, as “[n]othing more needed to be determined by [the o]fficer .”
Commonwealth v. Thurman, 872 A.2d 838 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005).
“¶ 5 Officer Lawless stopped Thurman, also noticing that one of the vehicle’s brake lights was not functioning, thereby violating 75 Pa.C.S. § 4303(b). During the traffic stop, Officer Lawless determined, through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) computer…”
United States v. Irving Richardson, 504 F. App'x 176 (3rd Cir. 2012).
· cites it 2× “Traffic Stop Richardson argues that the initial traffic stop of the Chevrolet was illegal because the officers did not, under 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 4303(b), have a valid basis to stop the car for a nonfunctioning center-rear brake light, and, therefore, any evidence…”
United States v. Gooch, 915 F. Supp. 2d 690 (W.D. Pa. 2012).
“) Despite the Government’s assertion that Corporal Johnson observed that the Defendants’ vehicle’s rear deck brake light was only half operable prior to stopping Defendants’ vehicle and that this vehicle code violation provided a justification for the stop (see Doc.”
Commonwealth v. Mebane, 58 A.3d 1243 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2012).
“§ 1543(a); and violation of general lighting requirements, 75 Pa.C.S. § 4303(b). . 18 Pa.C.S. § 7508.”
United States v. Lin Jones, 506 F. App'x 128 (3rd Cir. 2012).
· cites it 3× “” 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4303 (b). This statute subjected the Acura’s lights to 67 Pa.”
United States v. Burks, 290 F. App'x 488 (3rd Cir. 2008).
· cites it 2× “75 Pa.C.S. § 4303(b). This section lists “stop lamps,” which implies a minimum requirement of two stop lamps “[o]n the rear — 1 on each side of the vertical center-line, at the same height, and as far apart as possible.”
— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4303(6) — 1 case
— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4303(A) — 1 case
— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4303(a) — 6 cases
— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4303(b) — 23 cases
Commonwealth v. Thurman, 872 A.2d 838 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005).
“¶ 5 Officer Lawless stopped Thurman, also noticing that one of the vehicle’s brake lights was not functioning, thereby violating 75 Pa.C.S. § 4303(b). During the traffic stop, Officer Lawless determined, through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) computer…”
United States v. Irving Richardson, 504 F. App'x 176 (3rd Cir. 2012).
“Traffic Stop Richardson argues that the initial traffic stop of the Chevrolet was illegal because the officers did not, under 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 4303(b), have a valid basis to stop the car for a nonfunctioning center-rear brake light, and, therefore, any evidence…”
United States v. Gooch, 915 F. Supp. 2d 690 (W.D. Pa. 2012).
“) Despite the Government’s assertion that Corporal Johnson observed that the Defendants’ vehicle’s rear deck brake light was only half operable prior to stopping Defendants’ vehicle and that this vehicle code violation provided a justification for the stop (see Doc.”
Commonwealth v. Mebane, 58 A.3d 1243 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2012).
“§ 1543(a); and violation of general lighting requirements, 75 Pa.C.S. § 4303(b). . 18 Pa.C.S. § 7508.”
— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4303(b)(d) — 1 case
— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4303(d) — 1 case
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.