driving with broken tail light - illegal?

pavlovs_dog

one for the legal eagles...

an idot has gone into the back of the brum brum and buggered up one of the tail lights (bulbs are still working, but glass is all but obliterated :eek: :mad: . replacement is on its way courtesy of ebay, but will obviously take a day or two to arrive.

in the mean time, we still really need to use the car to get around, not just locally, but also a 40 mile motorway journey.

however, we're not sure how legal...or illegal... it is to drive with a broken tail light - obvious its hard for other drivers to know when we're breaking/indicating etc.

can anyone tell me whether it is illegal or not, penalties if caught etc etc.

cheers

in_my_wellies

Yes it is illegal. I was stopped when my light was not working, the bulb had gone. The policeman wrote out a note which I had to get stamped at an MOT centre to show it had been replaced. I bought a bulb and did it myself but they would not accept this. i.e. come outside and LOOK or even look at the reciept. So off I had to go and have the form stamped which can cost anything from £5.


Another time a stone hit outlight, taking a chip out the size ot a penny. As the light cost £60 the replace (car only worth £250) we bought an orange plastic wallet from Wilkco and taped it on. Just kept replacing it every month or so, cost 12p.

Mobicate

Me thinks if you used it and did get pulled you would probably get a VDRS
(Vehicle Defect Rectification Form)

Basically sort the problem in 14 days and get MOT CENTRE to check and stamp and return to Police station...

Thats not for definite and just my opinion!!

Jumanji_2

Yes it is illegal - But what is the main concern is it is dangerous!! Other drivers will not be able to tell when you are indicating, breaking etc. Do you really want to risk causing an accident? Someone could go into the back of you and it would be your fault, and they could claim off your insurance.

Why did you buy it from ebay? Might have been easier to go to the local scrapyard. That way you have it straight away, and it's very cheap.

m00nie

Jumanji wrote:

Yes it is illegal - But what is the main concern is it is dangerous!! Other drivers will not be able to tell when you are indicating, breaking etc. Do you really want to risk causing an accident? Someone could go into the back of you and it would be your fault, and they could claim off your insurance.

Why did you buy it from ebay? Might have been easier to go to the local scrapyard. That way you have it straight away, and it's very cheap.

if someone goes into the back of you its THEIR fault regardless off a broken light, and whos to say they didnt break the light when they hit you in the back

i agree with above, you would most likely get given a form if stopped, how do they know its not happened on your journey. this would give you enough time to get the light from ebay, get it fixed, get the form stamped.

Paul_Varjak

in_my_wellies wrote:

Yes it is illegal. I was stopped when my light was not working, the bulb had gone. The policeman wrote out a note which I had to get stamped at an MOT centre to show it had been replaced. I bought a bulb and did it myself but they would not accept this. i.e. come outside and LOOK or even look at the reciept. So off I had to go and have the form stamped which can cost anything from £5.


Another time a stone hit outlight, taking a chip out the size ot a penny. As the light cost £60 the replace (car only worth £250) we bought an orange plastic wallet from Wilkco and taped it on. Just kept replacing it every month or so, cost 12p.

I have never heard of the Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme but it seems ridiculous that for a light bulb that the Police cannot simply see that it's been fixed. Here is the Policy of one Police Constabulary:

The driver should take the vehicle with the defect put right to an approved MOT testing station to have the form checked and stamped. (Note: This may incur a fee, however this is a matter between the driver and the testing station). Dorset had made an exemption with regard to simple lighting defects in that staff at police enquiry offices may check that a defect has been rectified. This eliminates the need to go to an MOT Centre for these offences but there is no requirement for staff at enquiry offices to perform this task if they are busy or if further action is required in relation to the defect.

Seems like a sensible compromise to me!

Former_MSE_Andrea

Given the topic of this thread, can I just remind everyone not to post illegal suggestions on this chat forum.

in_my_wellies

MSE_Andrea wrote:

Given the topic of this thread, can I just remind everyone not to post illegal suggestions on this chat forum.

D6rset has a 06re sens5b3e /635cy than e5cestersh5re!

in_my_wellies

S6rry, s60eth5n2 has ha//ened t6 0y 2eyb6ard.
HE /

student100

Got home late-ish one evening a few weeks ago, there was a police car parked outside (dunno why but anyway...) with the sidelights left on - but one of the bulbs had gone! I was sooooo tempted to find the policeman/woman and point it out but I decided it was best not to...

frugal_dougal_3

You might think that because the bulb is still working and only the cover is broken that it would be ok, but it isn't. It is an offence to show a light other than a red light to the rear.
In other words the fact that the bulb is glowing white and not red makes it an offence.
It also means the cop can breathalyse you if he suspects you have had a drink after stopping you.