K53

Module 21 of 26

Lights

Headlamps, tail lamps, brake lamps, indicators, fog lamps and the hazard flashers — each with its own hour and its own distance. This is a numbers module, and numbers are where guessing loses papers.

Being seen is a legal requirement with numbers attached. Every lamp on the vehicle has a rule about when it must be lit and how far it must carry.

Three lamps, not one

Between sunset and sunrise, the headlamps, the rear lamps and the number plate lamp must all be lit. A dark number plate is an offence in its own right, because it makes the vehicle unidentifiable.

The same requirement applies at any other time when people or vehicles are not clearly discernible at 150 metres — rain, fog, dust or smoke. The trigger is the visibility, not the weather.

Where people lose the markWaiting for rain to be heavy before switching on. The test is whether you could see a person at 150 m.

The rest of this lesson

  • A hundred and forty-five
  • When you must dip
  • Lamps that are not headlamps
  • Two exceptions and one always
  • The hooter is a lamp's cousin

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