Required Equipment, Tags and Tint

Key points

1. You need a foot brake that stops you within 30 feet at 20 mph.

   Source: Handbook p. 15

   “The foot brake must be strong enough to stop the vehicle in thirty (30) feet at a speed of twenty (20) miles per hour.”
   Mississippi Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 15

2. The parking brake must stop the vehicle within 55 feet at the same speed.

   Source: Handbook p. 15

   “The parking brake must be strong enough to stop the vehicle in fifty-five (55) feet at the same speed.”
   Mississippi Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 15

3. Your horn must be heard 200 feet away.

   Source: Handbook p. 15

   “Your vehicle must have a horn which can be heard two hundred (200) feet away.”
   Mississippi Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 15

4. Headlights must let you see a person 200 feet ahead in good weather at night.

   Source: Handbook p. 15

   “With your headlights you should be able to see a person two hundred (200) feet ahead under good weather conditions at night.”
   Mississippi Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 15

5. The red taillight must be visible 500 feet behind you.

   Source: Handbook p. 15

   “The taillight on your vehicle must be red and must be visible five hundred (500) feet behind you.”
   Mississippi Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 15

6. Straight, gutted, Hollywood and glass packed mufflers are illegal.

   Source: Handbook p. 15

   “Straight, gutted, Hollywood, glass-packed, or any other types of mufflers which allow excessive noise or smoke are illegal.”
   Mississippi Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 15

7. You must have working windshield wipers.

   Source: Handbook p. 15

   “For safe driving under poor weather conditions, you must have windshield wipers that work.”
   Mississippi Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 15

8. All windows must let 28% or more of the light through.

   Source: Handbook p. 62

   “All windows must have a light transmittance of 28% or greater to be deemed legal.”
   Mississippi Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 62

9. Your tag light must make the plate readable at 50 feet at night.

   Source: Handbook p. 62

   “You must also have a tag light which makes the numbers on your license plate visible at fifty (50) feet at night.”
   Mississippi Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 62

Numbers to know

3 questions from the Mississippi practice test

1. 1. Under Mississippi equipment rules, what braking systems must a vehicle have?

   1. A foot brake and a parking brake
   2. Two parking brakes and no foot brake
   3. Only an electronic anti-lock system
   4. A hand brake used only on hills
   Show answer

   A foot brake and a parking brake. The vehicle must have two separate braking functions: a foot brake and a parking brake. The manual also gives performance distances at twenty miles per hour, but the equipment question first turns on the presence of both systems. An anti-lock system does not replace the required foot and parking brakes, and a hill-only hand brake is not the stated standard. When checking a vehicle, confirm that the service brake and parking brake operate independently and that each can stop the vehicle within its specified distance.

2. 2. What is the required stopping distance for the Mississippi foot brake when traveling 20 miles per hour?

   1. Twenty feet
   2. Seventy feet
   3. Fifty-five feet
   4. Thirty feet
   Show answer

   Thirty feet. At twenty miles per hour, the foot brake must be strong enough to stop the vehicle within thirty feet. The fifty-five foot figure applies to the parking brake at the same speed, so choosing it confuses the two systems. Twenty and seventy feet are not the listed standards. This test point pairs the brake type with the speed and distance, so keep the two figures together: foot brake, thirty feet; parking brake, fifty-five feet. Those are equipment performance requirements, not estimates for every road condition.

3. 3. How far must Mississippi vehicle headlights allow a driver to see a person ahead in good weather at night?

   1. One hundred feet
   2. Two hundred feet
   3. Five hundred feet
   4. One thousand feet
   Show answer

   Two hundred feet. In good weather at night, the manual says headlights should let the driver see a person two hundred feet ahead. Five hundred feet is the visibility distance used elsewhere for low beam requirements near another vehicle and for taillight visibility, so it is a tempting but different figure. One hundred and one thousand feet do not match this equipment standard. Use the condition in the question as the cue: good weather at night points to the headlight illumination distance, not the separate following or taillight rule.

Source: the Mississippi Driver's Manual, Required Equipment and Vehicle Documentation. 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.