British standard on lights

[Ganymede]

Hi

I was looking at Bigonabianchi's thread about a light for night riding, and saw a comment saying most lights in use are not legal... so I looked up the regs for bikes (found a good explanation on CTC at http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/regulations/lighting-regulations) and noted this about front lights:

"If capable of emitting a steady light, it must be marked as conforming to BS6102/3 or an equivalent EC standard."

Well I have a normal bottom-of-range cateye 3 LED which has no BS or EC standard marked on it. Given that they seem to have a fair share of the market, so must be used all over the country, should we be asking Cateye to put the standard mark on?

Or should I just shut up and ignore!?

(My back light also has no standard but also no brand name - bought at Robert Dyas. Both are bright and the Cateye tech spec says it's definitely bright enough for the regulations.)

 

[helston90]

The Law
If you’re riding on public roads in the dark, you’re legally obliged to have lights. However, even with the most powerful or expensive lighting rig, it’s unlikely that you’ll be complying to the strict letter of the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulation (RVLR). The current version was published in 1989 with the most recent amendments made in 2009. The biggest problem is that the vast majority of lights on the market simply don’t conform to it. Without consistent regulations throughout the EU, and the majority of lights manufactured outside of it, manufacturers understandably throw their arms in the air, put a disclaimer on the packaging and don’t even attempt to produce lights that universally conform. In the UK for example, a front light should have 110 degree visibility, which immediately rules out many high powered products that have shielded or recessed lenses.
At it’s simplest level though, what does the RVLR require? You need a white front light that, since 2005, can be flashing and a rear red light that’s also allowed to flash. Tick those boxes and you’ll be unlikely to be bothered by the Police, who’ll probably have less idea of the finer points of UK lighting laws than light manufacturers. However, the RVLR also requires your bike to have a rear reflector and pedal reflectors so, if you’re using clipless pedals, you’re probably not complying.
If the Police aren’t going to bother you, as long as you can be seen and can see, do all the legal intricacies really matter? Well, if you’re involved in an accident, unfortunately yes. Your bike will be examined with a fine toothed comb and, unless it conforms, you could suddenly find yourself blamed for an accident in the eyes of the law. Avoiding accidents is therefore the best policy so, our advice is to make yourself as visible as you can, ride safely and do everything else you can to safeguard yourself against accidents.

 

[helston90]

Excuse the cut and past- that was a recent article from Cyclescheme and was interesting to me and seemed to answer your question!

 

[Ganymede]

Avoiding accidents is therefore the best policy so, our advice is to make yourself as visible as you can, ride safely and do everything else you can to safeguard yourself against accidents.

Thanks helston, and I'm sure the police won't bother - but this insurance thing is the bit that bothers me. I mean, if my bike light standard can be held against me in an accident which is absolutely unavoidable, ie some muppet's fault, and then the muppet's insurer refused to pay out in spite of me having no fault, I would want to know why the Cateye company, who is big in bike products and presumably cares about its clients, has essentially failed me. It would all be my fault in law for not checking the BS standard in advance, I guess, but there are two very clearly stated BS and EU standards quoted there, it's not like there are hundreds. When you buy a bike light, you just go to a bike light retailer, no?

(Part of me really thinks I should just stfu in case any insurers are reading this thread...)

 

[Crankarm]

The Law
If you’re riding on public roads in the dark, you’re legally obliged to have lights. However, even with the most powerful or expensive lighting rig, it’s unlikely that you’ll be complying to the strict letter of the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulation (RVLR). The current version was published in 1989 with the most recent amendments made in 2009. The biggest problem is that the vast majority of lights on the market simply don’t conform to it. Without consistent regulations throughout the EU, and the majority of lights manufactured outside of it, manufacturers understandably throw their arms in the air, put a disclaimer on the packaging and don’t even attempt to produce lights that universally conform. In the UK for example, a front light should have 110 degree visibility, which immediately rules out many high powered products that have shielded or recessed lenses.
At it’s simplest level though, what does the RVLR require? You need a white front light that, since 2005, can be flashing and a rear red light that’s also allowed to flash. Tick those boxes and you’ll be unlikely to be bothered by the Police, who’ll probably have less idea of the finer points of UK lighting laws than light manufacturers. However, the RVLR also requires your bike to have a rear reflector and pedal reflectors so, if you’re using clipless pedals, you’re probably not complying.
If the Police aren’t going to bother you, as long as you can be seen and can see, do all the legal intricacies really matter? Well, if you’re involved in an accident, unfortunately yes. Your bike will be examined with a fine toothed comb and, unless it conforms, you could suddenly find yourself blamed for an accident in the eyes of the law. Avoiding accidents is therefore the best policy so, our advice is to make yourself as visible as you can, ride safely and do everything else you can to safeguard yourself against accidents.

Errr ........ the police don't give a monkeys about bike lights. When I was a victim of a hit and run 6 weeks ago, the police weren't interested in my bike at all. They saw I had lights, very bright lights and that it was damaged rear wheel snapped in two and that was that. Not interested one bit in reflectors on pedals (My bike has SPD M520 pedals) or any other reflector although my Endura jacket has Scotchlite piping and strips on it and my cycling shoes have reflective patches on the heals and my Vaude panniers have large reflective patches on the rear and side faces. I think if a cyclist had no lights at all and was seriously injured or killed, they might note it and the bike retained for further examination, but only if the cyclist had no lights. There is little chance an insurer would succeed in defending an action by a cyclist or a dead cyclist's estate by saying that lights/reflectors did not comply with the finer points of the RVLR as it would not be in the interests of justice.

 

[Ganymede]

Errr ........ the police don't give a monkeys about bike lights. When I was a victim of a hit and run 6 weeks ago, the police weren't interested in my bike at all. They saw I had lights, very bright lights and that it was damaged rear wheel snapped in two and that was that. Not interested one bit in reflectors on pedals (My bike has SPD M520 pedals) or any other reflector although my Endura jacket has Scotchlite piping and strips on it and my cycling shoes have reflective patches on the heals and my Vaude panniers have large reflective patches on the rear and side faces. I think if a cyclist had no lights at all and was seriously injured or killed, they might note it and the bike retained for further examination, but only if the cyclist had no lights. There is little chance an insurer would succeed in defending an action by a cyclist or a dead cyclist's estate by saying that lights/reflectors did not comply with the finer points of the RVLR as it would not be in the interests of justice.

That's reassuring, thanks

 

[ufkacbln]

Cateye brought ouyt a limited range of "BS" lights , but they never really sold so quickly disappered from teh catalogue

 

[Ganymede]

I have also slightly shamefacedly realised that the cateye has a CE number, which is the Euro standard (I think). But the back light hasn't. *Creeps discreetly into undergrowth*

 

[Hardrock93]

Ganymede, I believe the CE mark only indicates that the light meets relevant EC directives on construction and safety i.e. it shouldn't burst into flames. I don't think the mark has much, if anything, to do with the performance parameters of the item.

 

[andrew_s]

If you are fussed about being letter of the law legal, the easiest option is to go for bike light that meet the the German StVZO regulations, and which are marked with a K-number (an approval number unique to the lamp model). Most are dynamo lights, dynamos being mandatory in Germany for any bike heavier than 11kg, but there are battery lights too. These are OK in Britain under the "equivalent EC standard" rule. Unlike Britain, Germany still has a mass-market cycle accessory industry which meets the local standards. Brands include Busch and Muller, Trelock, Axa, Philips.

Shimano now offer a number of SPD pedal models with proper built-in reflectors (PD-T400, PD-T420,PD-T700 and PT-T780). The last is single sided/flat, and the others are double sided "click-r" models.