Minnesota · Handbook chapter 2 · 3 min read

Equipment every Minnesota vehicle needs: brakes, bumpers, horn, headlights and taillights, mirrors, seat belts, tires and tread depth, windows and tint, wipers and defrosters, plus fuel-saving tips.

Why this chapter matters

A car that cannot stop, be seen or let you see is a danger to everyone. Minnesota law sets minimum equipment, and the written test can ask what is required or allowed.

Required equipment

• Brakes: at least two separate brake systems, such as the foot brake and the parking brake.
• Bumpers: front and rear on passenger cars; pickups and vans need a front bumper and a rear bumper or reflectors.
• Horn: must work. Bells, sirens and whistles are for emergency vehicles. Use the horn to avoid a crash, not to announce yourself.
• Lights: two white headlights with high and low beams, red taillights that light when you brake, a white license plate light and working turn signals.
• Muffler: required. Check it for carbon monoxide leaks.
• Mirrors: a rearview mirror, plus an extra side mirror on vehicles like moving trucks and on pickups.
• Seat belts for everyone, and fenders or wheel guards.
• Wipers on any glass windshield, and defrosters to keep glass clear.

Headlights

• High beams must light the road at least 350 feet ahead.
• Dirty headlights can cut light output by up to 75 percent; replace cracked lenses.
• Have the aim checked at least once a year.
• Turn headlights on from sunset to sunrise, in rain, snow, hail, sleet or fog, and whenever you cannot see 500 feet ahead. Daytime running lights do not turn on taillights.

Restricted lights

Tires

• Tires can lose about 1 PSI a month. Check pressure before driving or at least three hours after.
• Use the pressure on the door sticker or owner's manual, not the number on the tire sidewall.
• A tire is illegal with less than one-sixteenth inch of tread. Penny test: put a penny head-first into the shallowest groove; if part of the head is covered, the tread is legal.
• Tires grip less on gravel and dirt than on concrete or asphalt.

Windshield and windows

• Your view must not be blocked by cracks, frost, ice or snow, or by objects hanging between you and the windshield.
• GPS units may be mounted near the bottom of the windshield.
• Side and rear window tint must transmit at least 50 percent of light and reflect no more than 20 percent, except on the rear of pickups and the back windows of vans, limousines and funeral vehicles.

Saving fuel

Keep the engine tuned and tires inflated, combine errands, avoid speeding, hard starts and sudden stops, remove heavy items, and use cruise control and overdrive on the highway.