Other laws to know — Idaho Permit Test

Headlamps and tail lamps must be lit from sunset to sunrise, and whenever poor visibility makes them necessary for safety.

The lamps are as much about being seen as about seeing, and dusk is when a driver stops noticing they are needed.

Headlamps and tail lamps must be lighted from sunset to sunrise and when poor visibility makes them necessary for safety

Headlamps must be dimmed 500 feet before meeting another vehicle and 200 feet before overtaking one.

You meet an oncoming driver head on and overtake one from behind, and the mirror shows a beam sooner than the eyes do.

Headlamps must be dimmed 500 feet before meeting and 200 feet before overtaking another vehicle

Where lights are needed for driving, use headlamps rather than parking lights.

Parking lights show where a stopped car is. They do not light the road, and at a distance they read as a car that has stopped.

When lights are needed for driving, use headlamps, not parking lights

It is illegal for passengers or freight to obstruct a driver's view or interfere with the operation of a vehicle.

A load piled against the rear window takes away the mirror, and a passenger in the way takes away the gear lever.

It is illegal for passengers or freight to obstruct a driver's view or interfere with the operation of a vehicle

A load extending four feet or more beyond the rear of a vehicle must carry a red flag at least 18 inches square at the end of the load.

A following driver judges where a vehicle ends, and a pole sticking out past the tail lights is not where they think it is.

When vehicle loads extend four feet or more beyond the rear of a vehicle, a red flag at least 18 inches square must be displayed at the end of the load

At night the flag on an overhanging load must be replaced by a red light visible for at least 500 feet.

A flag is invisible after dark, which is exactly when a following driver most needs to know where the load ends.

At night, the flag must be replaced by a red light visible for at least 500 feet

A vehicle's load must not extend outside the fenders on the left side, or more than six inches outside them on the right.

The left side is where oncoming traffic passes, so nothing is allowed to stick out into it at all.

The vehicle's load must not extend outside the fenders on the left side or more than six inches outside the fenders on the right

You must not drive recklessly, with willful disregard for the safety of people or property, on a public road or on private property.

Reckless driving is about the disregard rather than the road, which is why private ground is included.

You must not recklessly drive a vehicle with willful disregard for the safety of people or property either on a public road or private property

While driving you must give your full attention to the safe operation of your vehicle, or you may be cited for inattentive driving.

Inattentive driving is its own citation, so an officer does not have to wait for a crash to act on it.

Failure to do so may cause you to be cited for inattentive driving

Windows and windshields must be kept clean of signs, posters and stickers except those required by law, and cleared of ice, snow or dirt before driving.

A driver who scrapes one patch clear is driving through a letterbox, and everything outside it is a blind spot.

You must also clean windows of ice, snow, or dirt before driving to ensure that you have maximum visibility in all directions.

Equipment requirements for antique vehicles and street rods may differ from those for regular passenger vehicles.

A car built before most of these rules existed is not held to all of them, and the department says which apply.

Equipment requirements for antique vehicles and street rods may vary from the requirements for regular passenger vehicles

When must Idaho headlamps and tail lamps be lit?

From sunset to sunrise, and when visibility is poor. The lamps are as much about being seen as about seeing, and dusk is when a driver stops noticing they are needed. July 2026 Idaho Driver's Handbook, p.43: “Headlamps and tail lamps must be lighted from sunset to sunrise and when poor visibility makes them necessary for safety”