“Twinkling Tinsel Tragedy: Why Festively-Lit Cars Don’t Belong on the Road”

Celebrating the festive season, Cayla Helgeson adorned her pickup truck this year with an abundance of Christmas lights — nearly 5,000 in total.

“It actually originated as a TikTok trend,” she mentioned. “And I thought, ‘I have not witnessed this in Minnesota before. I am going to learn how to do this.’”

A trip to the grocery store transformed the Chaska woman’s truck into a local phenomenon. She recounted being in the parking lot with the lights activated when hundreds of intrigued individuals approached to take a look.

“In a span of 45 minutes, about 500 people came through … it was unbelievable,” she remembered. “Everyone was saying: ‘I have never seen this before. I adore it. You are truly in the holiday spirit.’”

Featured on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, intricate car-light displays have appeared on busy streets, parking lots, and rural highways throughout Minnesota this holiday season. Authorities, however, hope drivers will limit their festivities to private driveways. On public roads, they warn that vehicles adorned with bright Christmas lights can pose a safety risk that may lead to a ticket in addition to the social media attention.

Kyle Everson from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety stated that one can activate those lights on private property or in parking lots. Individuals may also embellish their vehicles with non-lighted decorations if they are securely fastened and do not obstruct license plates, the vehicle’s lights, or impair the driver’s visibility.

Driving around with Christmas lights illuminated is prohibited. Per Minnesota statute, nonemergency vehicles are not permitted to have or operate red, blue, white, or nonstandard colored lights on highways unless sanctioned by the public safety commissioner.

Helgeson mentioned she will head to local store parking lots and switch on the lights to entertain people; two of her friends have done likewise.

Her truck features 12 strands of lights, each measuring 65 feet long with 400 bulbs. “It’s essential to ensure you have adequate power to operate the lights. I connected a power inverter from my cigarette lighter outlet and then linked that to a power strip. From the power strip, I extended the lights out through the door, and then just started taping them on,” she explained to MPR News.

Zebulon “Zeb” Shefa is a freshman at the University of Minnesota and also a TikTok influencer. He embellished his car similarly at the beginning of December, and what began as a playful way to spread the Christmas cheer evolved into one of his cherished projects.

“My primary intention was mainly to uplift everyone’s spirits during finals week, as it’s obviously a challenging time,” he expressed.

After 12 hours of collaborative effort, 4,000 lights, and bundles of painter’s tape, his car was ready. He cruised through the Dinkytown neighborhood near the University campus and captured the enthusiastic responses of people.

Responses from law enforcement can differ across the country. In 2023, YouTuber Jake Schnatter wrapped his BMW 4 with over 2,000 Christmas lights and was stopped by local police officers who instead of issuing a ticket, complimented him.

This year, both Helgeson and Shefa were novice decorators and had to familiarize themselves with the regulations after being pulled over and issued warnings.

“I understand that the lights can distract drivers and that attention may shift, leading to accidents,” Shefa conveyed. “Especially with the current poor road conditions, I don’t want to contribute to further distractions.”

While they no longer drive their vehicles with lights lit up, both decorators vow to continue adorning them with lights each year.

“In today’s world, you never know what someone might be facing, and just witnessing their smiles when they come over to me communicates a lot,” Helgeson remarked.