25 replies to this topic

[minikenning]

Hi i wonder if any 1 can help i was thinkin of puttin 2 small led's in the grille of my car on a switch but does any one know if they are legal?? i have 3 points already and dont fancy gettin 3 more for havin blue led's does any 1 know the law for this or the consequences???
any help appreciated

thanks dom =)

[Geehawk]

If they are blue then they are illegal.
As a general rule its white light to front, red to rear.

[minikenning]

If they are blue then they are illegal.
As a general rule its white light to front, red to rear.

so rather than blue i can get white?? will white be legal?? can u get pulled with blue 1s?? if they are removableis that ok and will u get points?

[Ouster]

I can see police getting a big iffy about them.
Why would you want to do this anyway?

[minikenning]

its just summin a bit diff i suppose, i mean they nt gonna be in ya face just subtle

[91neon]

youl be better off not doing it mate 3 points for two lights leds dont conform to eu regs so youl get a fine at least.


dont do it switch for off road not on road

[leaky]

Their not legal mate. My mate had 8 little blue LEDs on his ped and got pulled a few times and he kept getting told to take them off and he didnt and has now been reported for impersonating a police officer. And he now waiting to find out of hes getting points a fine or just a warning. But its a very serious affence. As said their are no problem with having white LEDs on the front. They just may attract a bit of attetion from the police but their nothing they can do.

Edited by Mini-jon, 01 May 2009 - 03:58 PM.

[minikenning]

youl be better off not doing it mate 3 points for two lights leds dont conform to eu regs so youl get a fine at least.


dont do it switch for off road not on road

so u dont recon u can get 3 points??

[leaky]

youl be better off not doing it mate 3 points for two lights leds dont conform to eu regs so youl get a fine at least.


dont do it switch for off road not on road

so u dont recon u can get 3 points??

Well having to blue LEDs it self might not conform to eu regs but you can get done for impersonating a police officer. And you can get points for that.

[andrewstrachan]

I'm pretty sure that impersonating a police officer is not an offence under the road traffic act and as such you couldn't get penalty points on your licence for doing it! It is pretty serious though and could land you in court facing a fine, imprisonment or both!

As far as the whole blue led thing goes....the road traffic act stipulates that blue 'beacons' are reserved for the emergency services, so it comes down to whether these would be considered 'beacons' or not! Probably not if the traffic cop I spoke to is to be believed! They do look stupid though! (but each to their own!)

I would agree with what Geehawk said above though - as a general rule stick with white to the front, red to the rear and (though I can't see why you would) amber to the sides!

andrew

[Dan]

It's nothing to do with the Road Traffic Act, it's the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations that would apply. As far as I can tell from the act displaying blue light to the front isn't directly banned (unlike displaying red light to the front or blue to the rear) however the act is vague enough in its description of a blue beacon to make it apply to these LEDs, it specifically bans anything 'resembling a blue beacon'. I would have to agree that you probably can't be issued points for Impersonating a Police Officer, you can be sent to jail though. However since displaying a light resembling a blue beacon is banned under the relevant act, if it's judged that the LEDs are a beacon you could be issued a fine and points for each lamp installed as well as being arrested for Impersonating a Police Officer.

Please don't write in TXT SPK on this forum.

[jplonie]

As far as the whole blue led thing goes....the road traffic act stipulates that blue 'beacons' are reserved for the emergency services, so it comes down to whether these would be considered 'beacons' or not! Probably not if the traffic cop I spoke to is to be believed! They do look stupid though! (but each to their own!)

Don't quote me on this, but, I believe that they have to be lit inermitently (spelling) to be ilegal, so if they are on constantly, ie not flashing, you should be okay, but depends if you want to take this risk.

J

[Burnard]

just while we are sort of on the subject, what is the law regarding lights on the side of a car?

[Dan]

Don't quote me on this, but, I believe that they have to be lit inermitently (spelling) to be ilegal, so if they are on constantly, ie not flashing, you should be okay, but depends if you want to take this risk.

I don't think it's that simple, 'no vehicle shall be equipped with a lamp that automatically emits a flashing light' is a seperate regulation from this one. The regulation referring to blue warning beacons doesn't mention a flashing beacon and when the regulations do mention a rotating or flashing beacon they are very specific about it. In this case it simply says beacon.

As for the side of a vehicle, the restriction on lamps that resemble a blue warning beacon or any special warning beacon doesn't make any referance to which direction tha lamp faces, they are simply banned outright. Other than that, there are no categories of permitted lamp either mandatory or optional that should be directed to the side of the vehicle except for side repeaters. Once a vehicle is exceptionally long it is required to fit extra side marker lamps but there appears to be nothing that prohibits fitting them to shorter vehicles.

[Burnard]

are there any colour restrictions for the side, or does it have to be non flashing amber?

i was considering fitting some lights under my wheel arches, mainly so they are invisble during the day, but can be seen at night.
(just a tad worried about being crushed on motorways lol)