Fog Lights - Colour and MOT

[FiF]

Dog Star said:

V8forweekends said:

Sure - people with legal vehicles are "bellends" and "looking cool" is MUCH more important than the law.

The OP didn't ask the opinion on the looks from some sad no-marks in beige Farah slacks and nylon bodywarmers. He asked about the MOT.

FYI I think the original pic posted by the OP looks pretty decent - I might have a different opinion when I see one at night. That said I'd rather the boy racer crowd were doing this than having loud exhausts, which are an absolute blight.

On a point of order what he actually asked was as follows.

OP said:

I'm wanting to put an orange acrylic over the front. Is this legal? Whether they're switched on or off. If they're on and it's illegal, but off is legal then that's fine, I simply won't turn them on when on a public road...

Let me know what you think is right here?

He's been told it's not legal switched on or switched off, repeatedly. Remember the "No vehicle shall be fitted...." bit.

When told not legal he's tried to plait fog as in "I'm not saying you're wrong but..."

So he is sort of saying we're wrong when he gets an answer he doesn't like.

What it looks like aesthetically is of zero concern to me, so cut it out with the beige Farah slacks twaddle. Attitude test fail.

[Cfnteabag]

There seems to be a common theme of people thinking it's the MOT that is the mark of road legalness, I might be wrong here but surely its construction and use regs that define wether something is legal or not and is what the police use of they want to pull you over and inspect your vehicle?

[Lonely]

Cfnteabag said:

There seems to be a common theme of people thinking it's the MOT that is the mark of road legalness, I might be wrong here but surely its construction and use regs that define wether something is legal or not and is what the police use of they want to pull you over and inspect your vehicle?

Your assumption of being wrong is correct. In this case it's The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 which tells all but the OP does not wish to read them.

[C350Akra]

OllieJolly said:

Come on, fog lights are hardly a safety requirement.
If they were, they'd be mandatory for all vehicles and not an option.

They are a legal requirement from 2018.

[Puddenchucker]

C350Akra said:

OllieJolly said:

Come on, fog lights are hardly a safety requirement.
If they were, they'd be mandatory for all vehicles and not an option.

They are a legal requirement from 2018.

Link to the legislation for that? For front fogs.

(Rear fog(s) have been manatory since about 1979)

[300bhp/ton]

gr_96 said:

Whilst you're entitled to your own opinion, I'm just looking for the legalities.
I think they look pretty smart on this and I'm interesting in replicating some of the ideas!

You think they look smart... really. WTF is the world coming too

[300bhp/ton]

gr_96 said:

FiF said:

Legal? Nope. White or yellow only.

As for that advert, what bell-ends would fit red filters on the front lights? Is that really a thing now. FFS. What next, white brake lights?

They're orange, not red dude. Apparently it is a thing, yes.
You say they're not legal, whilst I'm not saying you're wrong, can you evidence that for me? As I'm seeing they don't fall under MOT as the car was registered before that date, so it would imply I'm okay? They just can't be blue/green, I believe (Emergency Services)?

Construction & Use. Plus you'd probably look like a tit. Why not just get an orange sticker and stick it next to the foglight. "rofl:

[Lonely]

Puddenchucker said:

C350Akra said:

OllieJolly said:

Come on, fog lights are hardly a safety requirement.
If they were, they'd be mandatory for all vehicles and not an option.

They are a legal requirement from 2018.

Link to the legislation for that? For front fogs.

(Rear fog(s) have been manatory since about 1979)

There is no legislation as front fog lamps are not a legal requirement. However they will be part of an MOT if fitted on a vehicle first used after 1st March 2018.

[FiF]

Lonely said:

Puddenchucker said:

C350Akra said:

OllieJolly said:

Come on, fog lights are hardly a safety requirement.
If they were, they'd be mandatory for all vehicles and not an option.

They are a legal requirement from 2018.

Link to the legislation for that? For front fogs.

(Rear fog(s) have been manatory since about 1979)

There is no legislation as front fog lamps are not a legal requirement. However they will be part of an MOT if fitted on a vehicle first used after 1st March 2018.

Mind you have seen some utter twaddle written about lighting issues on supposed policing forums too, so if that's the case where folks are supposed to know the rules, then it's not surprising what the barry boys etc get up to.

[Lonely]

FiF said:

Mind you have seen some utter twaddle written about lighting issues on supposed policing forums too, so if that's the case where folks are supposed to know the rules, then it's not surprising what the barry boys etc get up to.

That's because some officers never look at the law again after leaving training school.

[sherman]

This is as tacky as a set of neon strips iluminating the underbody of your car.

[Puddenchucker]

Lonely said:

Puddenchucker said:

C350Akra said:

OllieJolly said:

Come on, fog lights are hardly a safety requirement.
If they were, they'd be mandatory for all vehicles and not an option.

They are a legal requirement from 2018.

Link to the legislation for that? For front fogs.

(Rear fog(s) have been manatory since about 1979)

There is no legislation as front fog lamps are not a legal requirement. However they will be part of an MOT if fitted on a vehicle first used after 1st March 2018.

I didn't believe that there was any legislation making them mandatory, instead of the current optional fitment, hence my inquiring.
However, I wasn't aware they were now an MOT testable item for 2018 vehicles onwards. So thanks for that.

[EW109]

Tester handbook:

4.5.4. Compliance with requirements
You must inspect:

all front fog lamps fitted to vehicles first used on or after 1 March 2018
the 1 rear fog lamp which must be fitted to the centre or offside of vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1980
Fog lamps must produce a steady light which is:

white - for front fog lamps
red - for rear fog lamps

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-...

[Cfnteabag]

Lonely said:

Your assumption of being wrong is correct. In this case it's The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 which tells all but the OP does not wish to read them.

Fair enough, I haven't looked into them fully but I thought construction and use regs were the overall regulations covering all the minor ones so thank you

[Lonely]

Cfnteabag said:

Lonely said:

Your assumption of being wrong is correct. In this case it's The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 which tells all but the OP does not wish to read them.

Fair enough, I haven't looked into them fully but I thought construction and use regs were the overall regulations covering all the minor ones so thank you

That's absolutely fine - no problem. You're not the only one on here who thinks Con & Use covers it all

[littlebasher]

It's like the people who put a dark tint on their headlights, then complain how st they are on that model

[Hol]

Will these spangley colour lights only be used in the fog then?

[MrBig]

I can't find it now, but there was a thread on here a couple of years back that debunked the 'only white/amber lights on the front of a vehicle concept'.

Presumably there are certain criteria that make a fog lamp as opposed a running light?

[anonymous-user]

MrBig said:

I can't find it now, but there was a thread on here a couple of years back that debunked the 'only white/amber lights on the front of a vehicle concept'.

Presumably there are certain criteria that make a fog lamp as opposed a running light?

There are two separate issues here.

1) You can have additional lamps/lights on the front of a vehicle that can be any colour except red, and they cannot be flashing. Hence why you see the front of trucks covered in lights that are blue, green, purple, white, amber etc. This is perfectly legal as they are additional lights and the colours of the factory fitted lamps have been left standard.

2) You cannot change the colour of any of the standard/factory white lamps/bulbs that are fitted to the front of a car to anything other than yellow. So you cannot change sidelight bulbs to blue or green for example, but you could have yellow or white bulbs in the front.

To sum up:

The OP can have white or yellow fog lamps, or white or yellow headlights, provided that whatever he does to create the yellow effect does not dim the light output of the lamps.

If he wants other colours of lights on the front of his car, he would have to attach other additional lights to accommodate those colours, but even so, he cannot have red.

(Just to be clear - I am not an expert on vehicle lighting rules - This is just what I have read elsewhere on the internet and on PH previously)

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 24th February 11:09

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 24th February 20:13

[LunarOne]

If I were a traffic officer, I imagine I would be looking very closely and potentially stopping anyone with obvious modifications on their cars, be it exhausts more accommodating than a Japanese apartment, number plates with mis-spaced lettering or the wrong typeface, colourful lighting on, in or under the car, too loud ICE, wrong sized tyres, ridiculous camber, and anyone with Nurburgring/Neverbeen stickers. Not because I'm nasty (although I may well be), but because anyone who is happy to flout the law in comparatively trivial ways is much more likely to do the same in more serious matters.