Marker lights

[JD406]

Hi folks

Just a quick question. Whats the legality in having orange marker lights on the front of your car, as they stay on with sidelights. I ask this as i think it looks quite nice and wouldnt mind trying to incorporate a set on the front headlights of the 406.

Like these ones on this 5 series (the orange light)

[lozz]

ilegal

[rwb]

Aha, so BMW do fit orange lights visible from the front.
But it's either always on or always off is it?

Anyway, I think this is what you're after: The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, although I can't find anything related to solid amber lights at the front.

[lozz]

Summary of Lighting Rules (icarnt see sense in it all but going off all this,it looks like orange on front of a car is only permited on front of a car if its indicator/hazzards./parking lights

In the regulations, lights, reflectors and reflective material are all classed as lights on cars (this means that the public cannot have blue reflective graphics for example).

Any colour light is OK to be on a vehicle if it is covered up or not connected up (excluding blue).

Only emergency vehicles can be fitted with a blue flashing light, or anything that looks like a blue flashing light, whether working or not.

Some of the rules do not apply if the vehicle has just been imported or is about to be exported, or if it is a visiting foreign vehicle.

You can’t have a red light showing at the front except:

a red and white chequered light on a fire service control vehicle

a side marker

a reflector on the wheel of a cycle, motorbike or invalid carriage

a traffic sign attached to the vehicle

You can only have a steady white light to the front and a steady red light showing to the rear of your vehicle. The exceptions to this are:

BLUE

flashing from an emergency vehicle
flashing or constant from a police vehicle

GREEN

on a doctor’s car

WHITE

reversing lights

work lamps

AMBER

any vehicle’s indicators

amber pedal reflectors or pedal lights

reflected from a registration plate

reflected from a road clearance vehicle

reflected from a vehicle carrying dangerous substances

reflected on some old or heavy vehicles

flashing amber lights on

a road clearance vehicle

a bin lorry

a breakdown vehicle

a vehicle with a 25 mph top speed

a vehicle wider than 2.9 metres

a roadworks vehicle

an escort vehicle

a Revenue and Customs vehicle

a surveying vehicle

a clamping or tow truck vehicle

airport vehicles

any other specially authorised vehicle

ANY COLOUR

for interior lighting

for registration plate lighting

for taxi meter lighting

for bus route sign lighting

from a traffic sign attached to a vehicle

any colour from the reflectors on a wheel of a cycle, motorbike or invalid carriage

ALSO

white and blue chequered light from a police control vehicle

white and red chequered light from a fire control vehicle

white and green chequered light from an ambulance control vehicle


Any flashing warning beacon that rotates must be mounted 1.2 meters above the ground.

You must be able to clearly see one or more flashing warning lights from any 'reasonable' position around the vehicle

There are no restrictions on the size of the beam of light, wattage or intensity.

Each warning light should flash between 1 and 4 times per second and spend an equal amount of time on and off (meaning strobes are not covered).



You can’t have a moving light on a vehicle except for:

headlamp fine adjustment

a light which turns with the steering wheels

pop-up headlights

indicators on old vehicles

work lamps

flashing warning lights

reflectors on the wheels of cycles, motorbikes or invalid carriages

You can’t have a flashing light except for:

indicators

headlights on an emergency vehicle

flashing lights as described above (on emergency vehicles and vehicles permitted to show other coloured flashing lights)

a light or sign on a vehicle used for police purposes

a green light used as an anti-lock braking indicator

lights on a traffic sign attached to a vehicle

flashing white lights on the front of a cycle

flashing red lights on the back of a cycle



All lights should be of British Standard

All lights for normal night driving should be switched on by one switch (including headlights, side markers and rear registration lights).

To use a vehicle that that doesn’t go above 25 mph on a normal dual carriageway you need to fit an amber flashing light. It is OK if you have a very old car or are just crossing the dual carriageway.

[DaiRees]

Hmmm, I think mine may have orange marker lights on the front, I know they're there but I don't know if they're always on, can't really tell from the drivers seat . I'll have a look later.

[Welly]

My car has Orange markers up front and they run constantly. They seem to have lost favour in recent times over these new LED blind-you DRL's

Have you seen the Citroen DS3's LED DRL's? how they got away with that sort of brightness I don't know but they are very distracting and borderline dangerous in my eyes (no pun intended).

[Doggy]

Because so many cars have them fitted, I assume they have to be legal, but that doesn't make them sensible.

I've had at least three occasions when looking both ways at a junction / roundabout, I have mistaken an orange marker light on an E60 5 series for an indicator and nearly pulled out in front of it.

(I know suspecting a BMW of indicating is highly irrational, but you can't suppress all your instincts, particularly when making a quick decision).

Impound them and scrap the lot for crimes against aethestics, I say!

[rwb]

I've had at least three occasions when looking both ways at a junction / roundabout, I have mistaken an orange marker light on an E60 5 series for an indicator and nearly pulled out in front of it.

Ditto.

I really don't like the current fad of driving round with headlights on all the time. It's particularly bad when it's a bit murky because the glare from headlights makes the vehicle invisible.

[trem1]

problem i'm finding with the new cars with Drl's is drivers not putting lights on when its dark/raining etc. They might not realise that just because the front lights are on the rear ones arent