Headlights, special lights and required equipment

Key points

1. All cars and trucks must have at least two separate brake systems.

   Source: Handbook p. 22

   “All cars and trucks must have at least two separate brake systems, like the foot brake and the parking/ emergency brake.”
   Minnesota Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 22

2. High beams must make objects visible at least 350 feet ahead.

   Source: Handbook p. 23

   “High beam headlights must make objects visible on the road at least 350 feet ahead.”
   Minnesota Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 23

3. Dirty headlights can cut light output by up to 75 percent.

   Source: Handbook p. 23

   “dirty headlights can reduce light output by up to 75 percent.”
   Minnesota Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 23

4. Turn on headlights at sunset until sunrise, and in rain, snow, hail, sleet or fog or when you cannot see 500 feet ahead.

   Source: Handbook p. 23

   “Turn on your headlights at sunset and keep them on until sunrise. Use them during rain, snow, hail, sleet, fog or any time you cannot see the road ahead for at least 500 feet.”
   Minnesota Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 23

5. Blue lights are only for snowplows, road maintenance equipment and authorized emergency vehicles.

   Source: Handbook p. 23

   “Snowplows, road maintenance equipment and authorized emergency vehicles can use blue lights.”
   Minnesota Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 23

6. Strobe lamps are only for school buses, snow removal equipment and rural mail carriers.

   Source: Handbook p. 23

   “School buses, snow removal equipment and rural mail carrier vehicles can use strobe lamps.”
   Minnesota Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 23

7. A tire is illegal if the tread is less than one sixteenth inch deep.

   Source: Handbook p. 24

   “A tire is illegal if the tread is less than one-sixteenth inch deep.”
   Minnesota Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 24

8. Do not hang objects between you and the windshield.

   Source: Handbook p. 24

   “Do not hang objects between the driver and the windshield.”
   Minnesota Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 24

Numbers to know

3 questions from the Minnesota practice test

1. 1. Which vehicles does the Minnesota manual identify as permitted to use blue lights?

   1. Any passenger car traveling after sunset
   2. Snowplows, road maintenance equipment, and authorized emergency vehicles
   3. Taxi vehicles waiting at a curb
   4. Every vehicle with its hazard flashers operating
   Show answer

   Snowplows, road maintenance equipment, and authorized emergency vehicles. Blue lights are limited to snowplows, road maintenance equipment, and authorized emergency vehicles under the manual's prohibited-lights section. The choice “Any passenger car traveling after sunset” confuses nighttime visibility with legal authorization. A taxi does not gain blue-light authority by stopping, and hazard flashers do not transform an ordinary vehicle into one of the listed categories. The rule is about the vehicle's authorized function, not the driver's desire to be more visible. When you see blue lights, give the vehicle room and expect road work or an emergency response rather than treating the light as a normal accessory.

2. 2. Which group may use strobe lamps under the Minnesota vehicle-equipment rules?

   1. Any truck weighing more than 10,000 pounds
   2. All delivery vans making a daytime stop
   3. Passenger vehicles with a roof-mounted warning sticker
   4. School buses, snow removal equipment, and rural mail carrier vehicles
   Show answer

   School buses, snow removal equipment, and rural mail carrier vehicles. The manual names school buses, snow removal equipment, and rural mail carrier vehicles as vehicles that can use strobe lamps. The other options replace that specific list with broad categories based on delivery work, a sticker, or vehicle weight. None of those conditions creates the authorization described in the text. Strobe lamps therefore signal a limited group of road users and work activities, not a general visibility option for heavy or commercial vehicles. Use the vehicle type and its operating role as your recognition cue when reviewing this equipment rule.

3. 3. When must Minnesota drivers use their headlights according to the vehicle-equipment section?

   1. Only between midnight and dawn on rural roads
   2. From sunset until sunrise and whenever the road ahead cannot be seen for at least 500 feet
   3. Only during rain, never during snow or fog
   4. Whenever another driver flashes headlights
   Show answer

   From sunset until sunrise and whenever the road ahead cannot be seen for at least 500 feet. The manual says to turn headlights on at sunset and keep them on until sunrise. It also requires them during rain, snow, hail, sleet, fog, or any time the road ahead cannot be seen for at least 500 feet. The choice “Only between midnight and dawn on rural roads” narrows the clock and location without support. The third excludes weather conditions expressly listed, and the fourth makes another driver's signal the trigger. Turn the lights on before visibility becomes marginal, then keep them operating through the entire period when darkness or weather limits what you can see.

Source: the Minnesota Driver's Manual, Chapter 2: Your vehicle. This lesson is a plain English summary, not the law itself; where it differs, the manual and the statute govern. Last checked 2026-09-27.