driving lights- the Law

[slomax]

hello all,
I am fitting a pair of driving lights to my car and wondered what the laws around these thing are. I have read that they have to be a certain hight and have to be mounted in pairs, but what about wiring them up?
do they get wired up to the beam, sidelight, dip or on a separate switch?

Many thanks

[roverspeed]

from memory they have to be in pairs, and evenly spaced from the sides of the car.

Don't think height matters, ideally around headlight level.

Should be wired via a relay to the main beam circuit...

[Glosphil]

Same height restrictions as for headlamps (centres at least 60cm from road surface?) and must only be on with main beam?

[Ferg]

Glosphil said:

Same height restrictions as for headlamps (centres at least 60cm from road surface?) and must only be on with main beam?

I don't think that's right. Mine are much lower, but they only come on with the main beam.

[vonhosen]

Must comply with paragraphs 7,10 & 12(a)of Schedule 5, Part I of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 and, in the case of a motor vehicle first used on or after 1st April 1991, paragraph 5.

[Pcot]

vonhosen said:

Must comply with paragraphs 7,10 & 12(a)of Schedule 5, Part I of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 and, in the case of a motor vehicle first used on or after 1st April 1991, paragraph 5.

This is what i thought aswell!

[slomax]

what about 1981? This is the date on the V5 of registration

ETA- thanks for all the replies so far, at least i'm getting somewhere, i have been doing research on this and had nothing concrete

Edited by slomax on Sunday 22 August 19:08

[slomax]

bump....

[Ozzie Osmond]

Put simply, you are fitting additional main beam headlamps and the same regulations apply.

[Ferg]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Put simply, you are fitting additional main beam headlamps and the same regulations apply.

Are you sure?? Because headlights DO have a minimum height, but my cars driving lamps are about 300mm centre from the ground, I reckon.

[tvrgit]

Under the current Regs, dip beam headlights have to be a minimum 500 mm from the ground. Anything that can work with "dip", below that height, can only be used in reduced visibility.

There is no minimum height for main beam lamps, as long as they are in pairs, so lower driving lamps (that come on with main beam) are ok.

Under the previous regs, NO lamp below 600 mm could be used except in fog or falling snow.

[vonhosen]

7. Colour.

White or yellow.



10. Electrical Connections.

10(a) Every main-beam headlamp shall be so constructed that the light emitted there from:

(i) can be deflected at the will of the driver to become a dipped beam, or
(ii) can be extinguished by the operation of a device which at the same time either

(A) causes the lamp to emit a dipped beam, or
(B) causes another lamp to emit a dipped beam.

10(b) Where a matched pair of main-beam headlamps is fitted they shall be capable of being switched on and off simultaneously and not otherwise.



12. Other Requirements.

12(a) Every main-beam headlamp shall be so constructed that the direction of the beam of light emitted there from can be adjusted whilst the vehicle is stationary.

Edited by vonhosen on Sunday 22 August 22:24

[Pints]

vonhosen said:

Must comply with paragraphs 7,10 & 12(a)of Schedule 5, Part I of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 and, in the case of a motor vehicle first used on or after 1st April 1991, paragraph 5.

Put in the style which only VonH can muster.

[slomax]

Thanks a lot vonh, really apreciate it.

[slomax]

Thanks a lot vonh, really apreciate it.

[bobfather]

Ferg said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

Put simply, you are fitting additional main beam headlamps and the same regulations apply.

Are you sure?? Because headlights DO have a minimum height, but my cars driving lamps are about 300mm centre from the ground, I reckon.

Are these fog lamps and therefore not driving lamps

[Ferg]

bobfather said:

Ferg said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

Put simply, you are fitting additional main beam headlamps and the same regulations apply.

Are you sure?? Because headlights DO have a minimum height, but my cars driving lamps are about 300mm centre from the ground, I reckon.

Are these fog lamps and therefore not driving lamps

Nope, because they extinguish when dipping the lights.

[Google [bot]]

Ferg said:

bobfather said:

Ferg said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

Put simply, you are fitting additional main beam headlamps and the same regulations apply.

Are you sure?? Because headlights DO have a minimum height, but my cars driving lamps are about 300mm centre from the ground, I reckon.

Are these fog lamps and therefore not driving lamps

Nope, because they extinguish when dipping the lights.

Are these supposed to be fog lamps but whoever put it together wired it up that way?

[heebeegeetee]

Ferg said:

bobfather said:

Ferg said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

Put simply, you are fitting additional main beam headlamps and the same regulations apply.

Are you sure?? Because headlights DO have a minimum height, but my cars driving lamps are about 300mm centre from the ground, I reckon.

Are these fog lamps and therefore not driving lamps

Nope, because they extinguish when dipping the lights.

What do? He doesn't seem to have fitted them yet.

So are these 'driving lamps' going to supplement the main beam, or are they wa***er lights?

[RobM77]

My Elise has got driving lights that supplement the main beam, and they're jolly useful. I don't really see the point of supplementing dipped beam though; the distance you can see on dip is so limited that illuminating what's within that distance seems a bit pointless to me, unless of course it's extremely foggy, you're doing 10mph and you need to see the edges of the road (that's what front fogs are for).