Law help. Aftermarket HIDs, illegal?

tbourner · 21 October 2012 at 2:35PM

So we know the MOT is nothing to do with the law, and most of the threads I read always go down the route of whether cars will pass an MOT.

Now I'm not that fussed about that, I'd just like to know whether it's illegal to use aftermarket HID kits in normal headlamps (whether reflector or projector), and what law exactly you could be pulled up for.

So the DfT give us this thing:
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/dft-information-sheets/aftermarket-hid-headlamps.pdf
Where it says:

The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 regulate the situation in the UK.
Under these Regulations, HID/Gas Discharge/Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.
However new vehicles have HID headlamps. This is because they comply with European type approval regulations. The UK cannot refuse to register a vehicle with a European type approval. These approvals relate to ECE Regulation 98 (for the HID headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (lighting installation on the vehicle).

So aftermarket HIDs and factory fit HIDs are not mentioned in UK law?

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.

And to be legal they need to comply with type approval ECE Regulation 98, and ECE Regulation 48 when fitted. So what does that mean?

The DfT suggest it means type approval must be sought to comply with 98 and 48, which can't be done for aftermarket kits, so they're not legal.
But goes on to point out:

The information in this document is a summary of DfT’s understanding of what the law requires. However, ultimately the interpretation of the law is a matter for the courts based on individual facts of any particular case.

So, is it illegal? Could the Police pull you over and say you're not complying with The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 and therefore......... ?? What's the crime? What's the punishment? What happens if you refuse and tell them to prove it's not factory fit?

OK I also know you're not likely to get pulled, but I don't like breaking the law even the ones nobody cares about.

SCO · 21 October 2012 at 2:50PM

If your HID's are not blinding drivers in the opposite direction then you are unlikley to be pulled.

You see that many aftermarket headlights now that are like old halogen full beam power, i would imagine this is what the new law is trying to stop.

It would be easy for them to get the car tested by VOSA and tell they are aftermarket if it went to court. However a police officer is not going to be able to tell at the side of the road.... but if the officer knows about cars he will know cars of a certain age did not have the option to have HID's fitted when in production.

The same goes for mechanics that will do the MOT's.

tbourner · 21 October 2012 at 2:53PM

Agree, but is it illegal?

I can't stand the people with HIDs in reflector lenses, I have them on my Accord which has projector lenses and headlight washers, I've never been flashed and the pattern is spot on. Just wanted more info on what law I'm actually breaking!

SCO · 21 October 2012 at 2:58PM

The only area i think you could compare it to is if they are brighter than 60 watt halogen bulbs class them as illegal as i am sure its something like 60/55w is the highest wattage allowed in respect of halogen.

Not sure of the actual law, you might find the law is not in force till the MOT change, only thing your could do is write/e-mail to the dept of transport or VOSA.

A lot of aftermarket HID's do state they are not road legal though.

rxbren · 21 October 2012 at 2:59PM

they have to be kite marked/approved for use in this country
have domes in the the lenses (to stop the light scattering)
also must have headlight washers
im sure the last two are now an not fail-although may pass depending on the tester
if the car came equiped with them from the factory there is no problems the main problem is people who retro fit hid kits to there oe headlights the light just scatters from the lense with no control so is a danger of dazzling people/drivers

it is also possible to retro fit the domes into an oe light but will be without approval so still technically illegal but also conforming to the regs

harveybobbles · 21 October 2012 at 3:20PM

I just wish the Police would stop everyone who has badly aligned headlights. Aftermarket HID's or not.

vikingaero · 21 October 2012 at 3:28PM

It's fairly easy to spot legal/illegal HIDs. Legal ones are fitted with headlamp washers and autolevelling motors.

GolfBravo · 21 October 2012 at 3:49PM

To be street legal in both UK and Europe all headlights and headlight bulbs must be E-marked under the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE Western Europe) regulations. The relevant law is ECE Regulation R48, Section 50, and indicates that only complete xenon headlamp systems may be retrofitted. Headlamps are granted E-type approval only together with the light source for which they are intended - halogen headlamp with halogen bulb, and HID lamp with HID bulb only.

There are no aftermarket ECE compliant HID kits. Retrofitting some cheap Chinese fake "upgrade" HID kits invalidates your car's certification (all car manufacturers must certify their cars before they can sell them in Europe) and consequently your insurance. So I guess your average police officer/MOT tester wouldn't care, but I bet your insurer would.

Joe_Horner · 21 October 2012 at 4:03PM

The technical lighting requirements for all vehicles on Uk roads are laid down in the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 (RVLR) which are "UK only" regulations created (nominally) by the Secretary of State for Transport using powers granted to him by Section 41(h) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (RTA).

Section 42 of he RTA makes it an offence to contravene any regulations made under section 41, so using a vehicle with lighting that doesn't meet the RVLR requirements is an offence under UK law.

HID lamps do NOT meet the requirements of RVLR in several respects, so using them on UK roads is an offence under S42 of the RTA. The penalty for the offence is contained in Scedule 2 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 as "Breach of other construction and use requirements" and has a maximum penalty of level 3 on the standard scale (currently £1000)

So far so clear, but we're also part of Europe.

Europe use a system of "type approval" which is similar to the above, but carried out under EU regulations rather than UK law. As part of Europe, we (along with all othe member States) have to accept vehicles that meet European type approval, even if they don't meet the requirements of our own laws.

So, cars here can be legal by meeting either the rules laid down under the RTA (and any regulations made under it) or by holding type approval from Europe.

But European Type Approval is made on a "whole vehicle" basis - components are only "approved" in relation to the approved fitment to the approved model of car.

Which means that, say, you can't fit a towbar approved for use on a BMW Mini to your Citroen C5 and claim it's "approved" - it's only approved when fitted (in the approved manner) to the car it was approved for.

That applies to all components. So if you fit an HID burner, which is approved for fitting to the correct reflectors on a high-spec version of your car, to the poverty spec halogen lamp units on your own, you've broken the type approval for the burner.

The DfT stance is that, once you break that approval with an HID lamp, there are no UK regulations which allows you to use it (because the RVLR don't) so your car is now in breach of the RTA by failing to meet either the RTLR or European Type Approval.

I wouldn't like to speculate on the chances of actually getting pulled for it, but i suspect that if you drive towards a Traffic car and blind them with your badly adjusted HID burners they might just decide to give you a tug.

Certainly, if you seriously dazzle someone and an accident results, you'll be on very dodgy ground for both insurance and more serious offences!

gilbert_and_sullivan · 21 October 2012 at 4:14PM

High time VOSA were given stop and inspect/enforce powers for cars as well as commercial vehicles, a few cars impounded and serious fines and no further road use till put right would soon see the end to this lark.

The old bill have too many other fish to fry to be bothered with vehicle specifications.

Ironic this fitting of illegal lights of dubious use, its mainly younger drivers who do, who in theory should be able to see so much better, why do they need them...don't the spot/fog/driving lights provide enough?

rev_henry · 21 October 2012 at 4:40PM

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

High time VOSA were given stop and inspect/enforce powers for cars as well as commercial vehicles, a few cars impounded and serious fines and no further road use till put right would soon see the end to this lark.

The old bill have too many other fish to fry to be bothered with vehicle specifications.

Ironic this fitting of illegal lights of dubious use, its mainly younger drivers who do, who in theory should be able to see so much better, why do they need them...don't the spot/fog/driving lights provide enough?

They look cool innit.

In conclusion, retrofit HIDs cannot be road legal. When factory fitted they must be accompanied with headlamp washers and self levelling. On many cars the self levelling device is covered by the car's auto levelling air suspension (X5, Range Rover etc).
However if your aftermarket HIDs are aligned properly its unlikely anything would happen to you about it.

Law help. Aftermarket HIDs, illegal?

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