Lights and Bikes

Lez

OK Help!
So what is the LAW on lights when it comes to cycling on roads at night?????????

gtitim

I don't think there is a law. But as a general rule - try not to get run over or crash. It's pretty difficult to avoid either without lights

keef66

There is a law. Google for road vehicle lighting regulationsor something similar. Our local plod have started lurking outside pubs waiting for unfortunate, unilluminated cyclists in order to prosecute them.

keef66

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4071

Try this. the RVLR are impenetrably dull and uninformative.

cougie

You really dont need to know the exact laws - I doubt the average bobby knows what standard you need.

BUT its your life we're talking about - so have very good visible lights at the front and back and you're legally sorted. Then top it up with anything else you need short of blue flashing lights.

Anonymous

cougie wrote:

You really dont need to know the exact laws - I doubt the average bobby knows what standard you need.

BUT its your life we're talking about - so have very good visible lights at the front and back and you're legally sorted. Then top it up with anything else you need short of blue flashing lights.

As far as cops are concerned, as long as you have working lights that make you seen that'll do... Far more things to do than stop a cyclist to check if their lights comply with the regulations...

That said if there was an accident and the driver had some deep delving lawyer then the type of lights might be brought into question...

Dazzza

Saying that i've just thrown on my troutlight and im sure a copper stopped and did a double take as they are just a bit bright.

Good job i was on low mode them.

Though i can see in the future there being a clampdown on such extreme lights, drivers and people will start fussing eventually, mine's like a headlight. :oops: :twisted:

ademort

keef66 wrote:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4071

Try this. the RVLR are impenetrably dull and uninformative.

Having just read the above regulations i,m afraid my lights P7, Fenix T1 and Fenix TK 20 all fail when it comes to BS conformity. Also my 2 rear lights fail for the same reason. As i dont have any pedal reflectors or wheel reflectors just wondered how would it stand up in court if i were involved in an accident?
Ademort

keef66

I think you'd be OK, sounds like you're lit up like a christmas tree.

I can't imagine the defence lawyer saying "my client was perfectly within his rights to drive over the cyclist because his lighting and reflectors, although painfully bright, simply were not BS compliant"

Hang on, you're in the Netherlands, where even nudging a cyclist is a hanging offence!

ademort

keef66 wrote:

I think you'd be OK, sounds like you're lit up like a christmas tree.

I can't imagine the defence lawyer saying "my client was perfectly within his rights to drive over the cyclist because his lighting and reflectors, although painfully bright, simply were not BS compliant"

Hang on, you're in the Netherlands, where even nudging a cyclist is a hanging offence!

In the Netherlands the law is simple, you must have a White or Yellow light on the front and a Red light on the back. During daylight hours where visibility is under 50Metres due to fog/mist then you must have your lights on.There is no legal requirement to have wheel or pedal reflectors. Oh, and by the way cyclists in the Netherlands are not as protected as you may think as far as the law is concerned.Should you ever be killed on the roads punishments handed out to killer drivers are a joke, with no custodial sentences, well worth thinking about if ever you come here?
Ademort

andrew_s

The law is that you have to have white front and red rear lights that either conform to BS6102/3 or an equivalent European standard, or they are flashing ONLY at a rate of 1-4Hz and brighter than 4cd. If your flashing lights have a steady mode, they aren't legal.
You also need a red rear reflector and orange pedal reflectors.
You can have as many other lights as you want.
Anything that looks OK will do as far as the police are concerned.

Excessively bright isn't really a good idea on the road. If car drivers retaliate with full beam, you are likely to lose, and there is a law about dazzling other road users - the same as a motorist on full beam may be prosecuted under.
I've also a vague memory of reading about someone in Scotland who was killed by a dazzled motorist. It would have been with one of the early HID lights. He was on a pavement or roadside cycle track, facing the oncoming traffic, and the driver tried to pass to the left of him and was diverted when crossing the kerb at a shallow angle.

Dazzza

andrew_s wrote:

If car drivers retaliate with full beam, you are likely to lose.

I beg to differ.

But i most certainly point them down when on the roads, im sure they wouldn't like my dazzling them.

chris payne

I'm a cop, a cycle cop at that, i ride every day for a living, and have a team of seven cyclists, tough life I know. We use Visionstick lights front and back. There is legislation about lights and reflectors, but it is so complicated it is unenforcable, so just have some decent lights, and the cops will leave you alone. They will not know the law about brightness and flashing front or rear.

ademort

chris payne wrote:

I'm a cop, a cycle cop at that, i ride every day for a living, and have a team of seven cyclists, tough life I know. We use Visionstick lights front and back. There is legislation about lights and reflectors, but it is so complicated it is unenforcable, so just have some decent lights, and the cops will leave you alone. They will not know the law about brightness and flashing front or rear.

. It,s good to know that the police would use common sense and not try to enforce the law to the letter.However, it,s about time the law was changed to make it much easier for both the police and the cyclist. There are people who spend hundreds of pounds on lighting for their bikes and it would be a sad situation to find that because a person did not have the correct lighting on thier bikes that they could be partly blamed for am accident.
Ademort

zedders

gtitim wrote:

I don't think there is a law. But as a general rule - try not to get run over or crash. It's pretty difficult to avoid either without lights

+1
I really wouldn't worry about it. The main point above applies.
You get knocked off. Driver says "I didn't see you mate."
"Oh you got no lights!"
or "Your lights are rubbish."

You have just given the driver the perfect get out of jail card? End of story.

PS - The law must be an ass when even cops don't understand it? :?

careful

Sounds like not many cyclists have read the Highway Code - we are all road users!!
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/index.htm?cids=Google_PPC&cre=Highway_Code

Paragraph 60 is relevant, also worth reading the introduction which explains the legal significance of the Code.

John C.

Don't know what the law says but common sense says the more the better. Lights also range in price from a tenner to five hundred quid, my view is rear lights are fairly cheap so get bright ones, two on the bike and one on my helmet should be enough, as for the front either get 2 or 3 cheapies or a good one and a cheapie back up, oh and one on your helmet as well, lights high up can be seen over the tops of cars. Most head ( worn on the head) lights now have white and red light so are ideal back up lights.

BrianTrousers

careful wrote:

Paragraph 60 is relevant, also worth reading the introduction which explains the legal significance of the Code.

I like para 59 which tells you not to wear baggy clothing, then shows a photograph of a chap in hilariously baggy jeans all rucked up around his ankles

John C.

Tesco are selling a head light for seven pounds 50p it has red and white light. Very compact and well worth the money as a back up light.

Monty Dog

IME a bright front light makes drivers consciously dip their main beam - as long as you point the light at the road and not at the driver, it shouldn't be a problem. IMO the British Standard is an archaic irrelevence - devised by the likes of EverReady and Duracell to sell crap lights and batteries - that's why they never agreed to flashing LEDs for years. Get yourself the most powerful lights you can afford and look forward to safe cycling.

geoff_ss

IMO the introduction of LED rear lights is one of the biggest contributions to after dark safety for cyclist in recent years. Not so many years ago reliable lighting was just about impossible to buy. LED front lights have made things even better.

Tyre driven dynamos (alternators actually) that fed both front and rear lights were OK until it snowed or rained or the front lamp failed momentarily due to a wiring fault and blew the rear bulb. Hub dynamos were better but pitifully weak and had the same potential for blowing rear bulbs.

Then there were the notorious 'Never Ready' lamps that needed to be stuffed with cardboard to keep the batteries in contact. Who hasn't spent half a night ride anxiously looking back to check the light was still on?

When I commuted I made my own lighting system. 3 x 2v Cyclon Pb batteries in a bidon powering a halogen dynamo front lamp and eventually a couple of LED rear lights replaced the dynamo tungsten filament bulb back light. I was lucky to be able to commandeer a bench power supply at work to recharge my battery each day over the Winter. I did think of marketing a system but thought no-one would be prepared to pay the cost - how wrong I was

Our new tandem was supplied with a hub dynamo (minimal drag) powering a fantastic Lumotec front lamp and very bright LED rear light. It's great having no worries about being caught out after dark and not needing to carry spare bulbs/batteries.

You youngsters don't know you're born And neither do we.

Geoff

ademort

Geoff_SS wrote:

IMO the introduction of LED rear lights is one of the biggest contributions to after dark safety for cyclist in recent years. Not so many years ago reliable lighting was just about impossible to buy. LED front lights have made things even better.

Tyre driven dynamos (alternators actually) that fed both front and rear lights were OK until it snowed or rained or the front lamp failed momentarily due to a wiring fault and blew the rear bulb. Hub dynamos were better but pitifully weak and had the same potential for blowing rear bulbs.

Then there were the notorious 'Never Ready' lamps that needed to be stuffed with cardboard to keep the batteries in contact. Who hasn't spent half a night ride anxiously looking back to check the light was still on?

When I commuted I made my own lighting system. 3 x 2v Cyclon Pb batteries in a bidon powering a halogen dynamo front lamp and eventually a couple of LED rear lights replaced the dynamo tungsten filament bulb back light. I was lucky to be able to commandeer a bench power supply at work to recharge my battery each day over the Winter. I did think of marketing a system but thought no-one would be prepared to pay the cost - how wrong I was

Our new tandem was supplied with a hub dynamo (minimal drag) powering a fantastic Lumotec front lamp and very bright LED rear light. It's great having no worries about being caught out after dark and not needing to carry spare bulbs/batteries.

You youngsters don't know you're born And neither do we.

Geoff

The hub dynamos are fantastic, i have one on my city bike. They have been using hub dynamos for about 3 years now, here in the Netherlands and they are a massive improvement on the old system. No worries in the rain or snow now Geoff?
Ademort