Restricted equipment — Illinois Permit Test

A load extending 4 feet or more to the rear of a vehicle must be marked with a red flag during the day, and at night or in poor visibility the vehicle must have a red light visible for 500 feet.

A ladder sticking out the back is invisible from behind at night. The flag and the lamp are what give it an outline.

Projecting loads - Loads extending 4 feet or more to the rear of a vehicle must be marked with a red flag during the day. At night or when visibility is poor, the vehicle must have a red light visible for 500 feet.

Backup lights must emit a white or amber light without glare and may not be on while the vehicle is moving forward.

A white light at the back means the car is about to reverse. Leaving them on while driving forward says the opposite.

Back-up lights - Vehicles may have one or more backup lights that must emit a white or amber light without glare; however, they may not be on when the vehicle is moving forward.

Only one spotlight is allowed on a vehicle, it must be aimed neither to the left nor more than 100 feet ahead when approaching another vehicle, and no vehicle may have more than four 300 candlepower lights burning.

A spotlight aimed left or far ahead blinds whoever is coming. The limits are about what other drivers can see, not what you can.

Spotlights - Only one spotlight is allowed on a vehicle. When approaching another vehicle, it must be directed neither to the left nor more than 100 feet ahead. A vehicle may not have more than four 300 candlepower lights burning.

Flashing or moving lights other than turn signals or hazard indicators are prohibited, as are red lights visible from the front, except on police or designated emergency vehicles including fire protection district vehicles.

Flashing lights and red at the front are how an emergency vehicle is recognized. Fitting them to an ordinary car steals that recognition.

Red lights - Red lights visible from the front are prohibited, except for police or designated emergency vehicles.

Pneumatic tires with metal studs are illegal in Illinois except for rural mail carriers and vehicles with Persons with Disabilities or Disabled Veteran plates between November 15 and April 1, agricultural machinery, and road-building machinery driven under 10 mph.

Studs chew up the road surface, so Illinois allows them only where the need outweighs it. Even then the window is a fixed four and a half months.

Studded tires - Pneumatic tires with metal studs are illegal except for vehicles used by mail carriers in rural areas between November 15 and April 1; vehicles displaying Persons with Disabilities or Disabled Veteran plates between November 15 and April 1 (owners must live on a county or township road in an unincorporated area); agricultural tractors or traction engines; agricultural machinery, including wagons, being used for agricultural towing purposes; or road-building machinery operated at a speed of less than 10 mph.

Televisions and video recording monitors that can be seen from the driver’s seat are prohibited while a vehicle is in motion, and watching or streaming live video on a cellphone is a violation of Illinois law.

It is the distracted driving rule stated as an equipment rule. The screen is illegal whether it is built in or held.

Televisions or video - Televisions or video recording monitors that can be seen from the driver’s seat are prohibited while the vehicle is in motion. Watching or streaming a live video on a cellphone is a violation of Illinois law.

Special rules for lamps, brakes, head, tail and stop lights and turn signals apply to vehicles more than 25 years old.

An antique car was built before some of these rules existed. Illinois writes a separate set rather than making it illegal to drive.

Antique vehicles - Special rules for lamps, brakes, lights (head, tail, and stop lights), and turn signals apply to vehicles more than 25 years old.

Possession and use of radar jamming devices is prohibited in all vehicles.

Possession alone is the offense, so having one in the trunk is enough. There is no vehicle it is legal in.

Radar jamming device - Possession and use of radar jamming devices is prohibited in all vehicles.

Running board lights are limited to one on each side and must be non-glare white or amber, and only two cowl or fender lamps are allowed, also non-glare white or amber.

Extra lamps along the side of a car confuse its outline at night. The limits keep a vehicle looking like the size it is.

Running board lights - Limited to one on each side and must be non-glare white or amber lights.

How far must an Illinois load extend beyond the rear before it must be flagged?

4 feet or more. A ladder sticking out the back is invisible from behind at night. The flag and the lamp are what give it an outline. Illinois Rules of the Road 2026, p.93: “Projecting loads - Loads extending 4 feet or more to the rear of a vehicle must be marked with a red flag during the day. At night or when visibility is poor, the vehicle must have a red light visible for 500 feet.”