Could your lights be illegal?

downfader

An interesting debate has come up on a recent local paper website. I posted about the crack down on pavement cyclists here in Southampton a day or two ago and someone has posted a comment saying that they were stopped by an officer for their lights being too bright and a distraction to motorists.

I'm not aware of any cycle light, or even the 3w cree LED based torches being brighter than a cars headlights. I have also never heard of the 10w lamps that some off roaders use being illegal or brighter than a cars lights.

My own worry would be that the policeman had actually got it wrong or was even (shudders) having a bad day and decided to take it out on someone. Is there road legisliation in the road traffic act towards maximum brightness of cycle lights in line with cars? I know theres minimum (4 candle power is it, LOL). Said cyclist was also told to switch off their mini mag light (0.5w I think)

Another thought also struck me regarding cycle lights. It would be nice if manufacturers put a symbol or logo on the box of lights so you know they conform to the RTAct, or made it clearer on the box. I have seen a few boxes that looked a little confusing (cateye)

anyway, discuss.

alfablue

As far as I know there is no max, PC ill-informed/having a bad day/dislikes cyclists.

As for symbol on conformity, there would be no need for this symbol because there are virtually none available. Even the one Cateye light available that has BS Approval (thus complying with RVLR), I gather the approval only applies to the reflector.

Lights that comply with equivalent EU standards DO comply with RVLR so there is some hope.

Unfortunately there are several lights on the market that claim to comply with the BS but this does not mean they have paid for approval by the BSI, and to be legal they have to carry that marking on the light. My Smart 1/2 Watt rear being an example of this.

Getting this approval probably costs loads of money, so manufacturers don't bother, and lets face it mostly no one else is bothered. The important thing is to have good reliable lights that are correct (white front, red rear) and bright enough. The law is an ass, in this instance, really. If we all complied we would be running the puniest lights available on the market!

downfader

I had thought this person was winding me up, lol, but their knowledge of cycle lights seems to check out., so I dont see what advantage there'd be in fibbing, lol

The other thing that makes me laugh about this story, and shows how silly this PC may have been, is that the area in question where they were stopped is famed for motorists with dodgy lights and their fog lights on all the time.

visual-hybrid

'tis better to be seen and not HURT'

some lights are pretty bright, I tend to angle my p7 light right down on the roads and tilt it back up for cycle path sections..

visual-hybrid

'tis better to be seen and not HURT'

some lights are pretty bright, I tend to angle my p7 light right down on the roads and tilt it back up for cycle path sections..

camerone

I am running 4 bright LEDs on the rear of my bike and a helmet mounted 300 lumens light for front visibility - you need to be seen commuting in big cities. I would be happy to argue with anyone who told me i was too bright/breaking the law - on the basis that not being seen is potentially life threatening on a bike.

nwallace

It's not a case of maximum brightness but lights must not dazzle other road users.

If you set up a pencil beam light to point directly into the eyes of passing drivers, even if it is a Type Approved lamp (don't think pencil beams can be type approved) it will fall foul of the same rule.

Incorrectly aligned car head lamps or the use of lamps set for the wrong side of the road do too.
Beams are set to bend to the left on RHD cars, when you go across to Europe you have to "adjust" them to stop the light bending towards the oncoming traffic.

Type approval means cars usually come with lights in the correct place and incorrect use, occurs through failure to maintain.

On a bike we are left to fit the light in the correct place and at the correct angle. (right of centre and angled slightly to the left)

Edit: Police stopping drivers with fog lights does happen. Know a few people who have been stopped and fined and one who got away with it because he had just come over a mountain pass which was foggy. If your worried about being BS compliant just get a set on your bike to cover the position lamp requirement. Then any other lights are Auxilluary lamps and only need to comply with the not dazzle other road users requirement.

cougie

Seems a bit OTT to be honest. When was the last time you saw a car pulled over for driving with fogs on, or with wonky headlights.

I shall carry on with my bright lights - rather that than adhere to the rules and use crappy dim ones and get squished eh ?

mrchrispy

i noticed this evening that my front dinotte is mental on uber flash (4 rapid full power flashes folloed be a samll pause), i parked it up in the drive and took a look from across the road. all i could honestly see was the alien spaceship like flashing. i was always confident in the fact i'd get noticed but on reflection maybe its a bit ott. Ive decided that maybe its best saved for special occasions.

i'm going to start using the middle flash setting that is 2 ever second of so. seem to be less of a distraction.

dirk_van_gently

Just my 2p on this.

Past few days I have been relegated to commuting by motorized transport. Part of the route for the cycle is alongside a main road on a cycle track. When cycling I frequently meet another cyclist going tother way, he always has his front light on Flash mode, now when cycling this hasn't really bothered me at all, however yesterday I was on the moto, and the bright flashing light coming towards me was most distracting. So maybe the copper saw something similar.
Still seems a bit small minded to me.