Is it Really Illegal to Drive with Dome Lights on in Texas?

I feel like I was lied to a lot as a child. I may have continued some of those lies when I became a parent. It wasn't that I was trying to intentionally lie to my child. It was just stuff I was told when I was a kid. Yes, I believed my parents.

I believe most kids do. I didn't know they were winging stuff just like I was. It wasn't until the day of being able to fact-check anything that I learned I was lied to. Then in turn I learned I was lying to my daughter as well. I apologize for continuing the lie. I really didn't know I was.

We would take long weekend trips to visit my grandfather. This meant many road trips. When I was growing up we didn't have these smartphones and iPads to entertain us on the roads. We had to make due. This is where reading and playing car games tried to step in and make the trips not so long.

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Everything was all good during the day. You know when there was sunlight. The trip home was always the worst. I didn't take advantage of napping as much as I should have. Now what I wouldn't give to take a nap.

So I would turn on the dome light in the car so that I could open a book and read. That is when my mom would tell me that we would get pulled over for driving like that. It made sense to me at the time. I was a young kid. I thought maybe that could interfere with everyone else. Maybe.

So I would quickly turn it off. I think that lead me to as a grown-up freaking out when my own daughter would turn on the inside car light. I was afraid of getting pulled over and having to pay a huge ticket. So I told my daughter that same story. I didn't know I was wrong.

Oh, now I do. I looked it up. There is no state law about having your dome lights on. None. You can read it HERE like I did.  There are all kinds of stuff about your tail lights and your turn signals but nothing about your dome lights.

Why were we told this growing up? Was it because they just didn't know. Did it cause a distraction for my parents driving? It really could be a distraction. I will give them that. I feel like I still have PTSD and jump to turn off the light to this day.

Even though I know there are no police officers waiting to pull me over for this offense. I feel that cringe will never leave me. Ever.