Deputies warn: Keep your Christmas lights on your tree, not your car

Don't put Christmas lights on your car, deputies warn

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office in Colorado explains why you shouldn't deck your vehicle with Christmas lights. (KDVR)

Police have a message for drivers this Christmas season: Please keep your lights on your Christmas tree and homes – and away from your vehicle.

Shane Belsey, a sheriff’s deputy in Douglas County, Colorado, told KDVR that decking out vehicles with Christmas lights may look cool, but "it adds a level of danger for drivers."

"We want you to be festive, but save it for your tree," Belsey said.

Belsey said in Douglas County, they’ve pulled over at least two vehicles in the past week to educate them about Christmas lights covering their vehicles.

(Douglas County Sheriffs Office via KDVR)

"We're running the risk of blocking out our blinkers. We're blocking out other vehicles on the roadway … we might not see headlights anymore," Belsey said. "If we just run with the lights we're supposed to have on our cars, we're, we're limiting the roadway hazard."

Philip Trujillo Jr., a car enthusiast and owner of a hydraulics shop, said you can buy Christmas lights for the undercarriage of your vehicle so "the light goes to the ground and it’s not in the driver’s face."

"I feel if you want to decorate your car full of Christmas lights, at least leave them off when you're driving," Trujillo told KDVR.

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