Con & use regs

[Eliminator]

Can anyone answer this?

Modifying a motorcycle, wanting to clean up the rear end. It is possible to locate either or both the rear lights and/or the numberplate in the space above the rear wheel and below the under-tray (on which the seat is mounted).

Although this would leave the lights / numberplate clearly visible from behind they would not be on the rear of the vehicle. Are there any rules controlling what I can do here? Overhangs, angles etc? Can you point me in the right direction to check?

Thanks for any replies

[Prof Beard]

I recent bought a copy of the Traffic Officers Companion (you can get it from Jane's - the publishers) there is stuff covering the C&U Regs for lights and plates on bikes in it.

Prof Beard

[7db]

For cars it has to be the first vertical surface - not sure if that applies to bikes too. Tricky if that's the back of your wheel, I guess...

[Dwight VanDriver]

Schedule 10 Part I Road Vehicles Lighting Regs 1989 and not Con and Use apply.

Briefly Motor cycle:

Rear Position lamp.

Position - Longtitudinal - At or near the rear.

One lamp fitted - on the centre line or offside.

Max height - 1500mm of if structure makes imposible
2100mm

Angle of visibility - 80 dgrees to the left and right.


Not to be fitted to a koveable part of the vehicle.

dvd

[IaHa]

After checking the same schedule last night and Sch 7 and 12 for the indicator and brake lights, and finding them a little difficult to precis for a post, I had a look regarding the number plate. The significant factor seems to be that it is easily distinguishable.

Section 43(1) of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 states.
43(1) It is an offence to obscure a registration mark in any way or make it not easily distinguish.
Number size must conform to the legislation.

Bikes numbers must have 64mm height, 44mm width, 10mm spacing and stroke, 10mm border spacing.

Bikes first registered or fitted with new plates after 9/2001 are not allowed horizontal plates.

No requirement to be positioned at the rear. I've been scouring the book to see if there is any legislation regarding the positioning of the plate on a vertical plane, but I couldn't find any. DVD?

[Dwight VanDriver]

Try Reg 5 (5),(6) R.V (Display of Reg Marks) Regs 2001

rear plate to be fixed -

(a) vertically or, where that is not reasonably practicable, in a position as close to the vertical as is reasonably practicable, and

(b) in such a position that in normal daylight the characters of the registration mark are easily distinguishable from every part of a relevant area having the diagonal length specified in paragraph (6).


(6) The diagonal length of the relevant area is -

("diagonal length", in relation to a relevant area, means the length of a line drawn diagonally across the square enclosing the area (so that the extent of the relevant area is thereby delimited)




(a) in the case of a mark having characters the width of which is at least 57 millimetres, 22 metres,

(b) in the case of a mark having characters the width of which is 50 millimetres, 21.5 metres,

(c) in the case of a mark having characters the width of which is 44 millimetres, 18 metres.

dvd




>> Edited by Dwight VanDriver on Friday 2nd September 10:15

[Eliminator]

Thanks for the posts. Seems to me that:

(a) I can't put the lights under the tray but I can put the numberplate there - not obscured at all from the rear. In fact, it's more visible than a plate mounted "beside" the rear wheel - as some Harleys and Custom Choppers adopt.

On with the build....