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Are full width rear lights legal?
Is there legislation which governs the positioning of tail lights (markers) on UK cars? I am seeing more and more new vehicles with a mass of tail lights covering the whole width of the vehicle. I really find these these to be hazardous as they dominate the road ahead so much that other vehicles and especially cyclists become marginalised. I thought rear lights had a specific marker function towards the edges of the vehicle. These new lights seem to be just trendy, selfish and excessive.
Asked on 18 January 2024 by John
Answered by
David Ross
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 goes into great detail regarding the regulations for all road vehicles. You can read in more detail here: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/schedule/10/...e but in summary the main requirement in regard of rear position lamps is that there must be a separation of 500mm between them. As a standard UK numberplate is 520mm in width we would expect any car in use on the road would be compliant with this regulation.
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