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Law on sidelights

13K views 109 replies 30 participants last post by  aufo8mycow 
#1 ·
Hi People

Got pulled over yesterday and got told by the policeman that my blue led front sidelights were illegal. I told him i was not aware that i was breaking the law and he proceded to fine be £30.

Does anyone know what my rights were as i have been told by anumber of people that they should have given me 7 days to change them without a fine. Were they being b ellend s or were they right to fine me there and then.

Cheers
Lewis
 
#5 ·
Police vehicles in the UK and for that matter those used by the fire & ambulance services have blue flashing lights. Many emergency vehicles however are capable of showing flashing red lights to the rear - hopefully stops you getting rear ended! Flashing amber lights are used by break down trucks, council vehicles and the like; and doctors can use flashing green lights on their vehicles if being used in an emergency.
 
#12 ·
Bazza Dont forget the Coastguard as well. We are the 4th emergency service (unlike the AA who had to add to their advert the line "to our members")

The letter of the law is that you should show red lights to the rear, amber to the side and either white or yellow to the front. However when it comes to other colours which cannot be confused with any of the above (ie green blue etc) it is a grey area as technically unless the blue lights flash it IS NOT illegal. Of course there is also nothing in writing under the MOT regulations to say that blue is illegal but it has become generally accepted that it is.
 
#63 ·
nope, im surprised you werent given a horti and forced to have your car checked at an MOT station within 28 days. To make sure ou had changed the lights to legal sidelights.

I was fined £30 and forced to attend an MOT station as my car no reflective red strips at the back of the car. :errx2: Just got a couple stick on ones.
 
#15 ·
Blue lights as a whole I'm not sure about, however if your sidelights were defective (i.e. not white or amber) then they can issue you with a fine. If you had normal sidelights AND different blue lights then the police probably wouldn't have stopped you (or would have found a different reason to fine you).
 
#17 ·
Blue lights are a funny subject, some say they are illegal, some say they are not. As far as I know if the bulb itself is visible or they flash then they are illegal, this would therefore make 90+% of them illegal. Not only that if that have not passed the required standards they are illegal. This also would mean almost all are illegal, forget about the bulls..t 'E' marks.

Not only that, but those who have blue sidelights tend be pillocks who drive around in the dark with just the sidelights on because they are under the misconception they are cool.

As far as I'm concerned whether it's illegal or not, in my eyes blue lights are for ******s.
 
#20 ·
its mad how you come out with that! how much does someone with fog lights on or blue sidelights actuly affect your driving? its just one big scam 2 make money! if someone was doing credit card fraud on your account u would class that as a scam lol but not modifing your car because *they* say not too
 
#19 ·
you was vvv.unlucky to get a fine for sidelights! i had limo tints all round, blue sidelights, 100w blue headlight bulbs and no tread on 3 of 4 tyres and still only got a slap on the rist.. its only pety *crimes* to make da goverment more money 2 pay for bull**** like the 2012 olimpics!!
 
#22 ·
They should have thrown the book at you for being so irresponsible.

Limo tints so you can't see out at night - very clever
Blue sidelights so you think you look cool but infact look like a t*t.
100w blue headlight bulbs - so you can dazzle all the other road users
3 out of 4 tyres bald - and you stop in an emergency in the wet how exactly?

If I'd have stopped you I'd have thrown the book at you, and confiscated the car. Its drivers like you that give all car modifiers a bad name.
 
#29 ·
point taken! in the day the answer to that question would be yes! at night when i look out of the side windows no! BUT when im looking left and right i wil see the headlights just as easy as if i had legal tinited windows for a fact! they do not make a difference.. i don't know anyone who has crashed due to tints!!!
 
#35 ·
pokerville >
There are so many holes and innaccuracies in your arguements its simply not worth bothering to correct them all. I'm not going to argue as I don't think you'll even bother to listen. Almost everyone who reads this will be thinking the same thing. "What a prat" or something to that effect and I'm pretty sure who'll they'll be thinking that about.
 
#39 ·
You are talking tripe. I've not had L plates for years, but even if I did it wouldn't matter.
Limo tints SEVERELY restrict side vision at night. So much so that they are banned by UK law.
Bald tyres SEVERELY restrict the ability of a car to stop in wet conditions. So much so that they are illegal under UK law.
High power blue headlamps cause undue glare to other drivers and road users. So much so that they are illegal under UK law for use as dipped beam headlamps.
 
#42 ·
in that case why do top end cars have limo tints at the back and rear windshield... surely you need to see out of them at night just as much as the front side..

and also legal HID kits are brighter then 100w *halfords or ebay* blue xzeon look bulbs! so why arnt these illegal! infact i only get blinded from bmw or Porsche jeep headlights!
 
#61 ·
I'm not even sure what Bold tyres are. Are they painted flourescent green or something? ;) :D

Bald tyres on the other hand do grip better in the dry, however in the wet they are lethal.

Most modders don't realise that also when you increase the width of the tyres your cars also has an increased risk of aquaplaning.

Also as an interesting fact for the day did you realise that although cars have a minimum tread depth or 1.6mm, lorries and motorcycles have a limit of only 1mm. Infact mopeds have a limit of "visable tread"!! There are good reasons of course for this but I'd not expect the poker person to understand.
 
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