Can I get a fine if the headlight bulb is not working

agrinnall

Almost 40 years ago I was pulled over by a police car because the tail lights on my Mini weren't working. They said that I could drive it home (a couple of miles) but not to the place I was supposed to be going, which was about 10 miles away, and they said it had to be fixed before driving at night again. I would guess that if the same were to happen these days they might well refuse to allow it to be driven, and a fine would be a distinct possibility.

Alt

You can change the bulb if you have small hands. Alternatively do what we did and get the dealer to change it which including the bulb was under £10 if I remember correctly (They change if for free if you buy the bulb from them)

Alt

McKneff

sevenhills wrote: »

You should be thinking will you cause an acidentbefore the weekend.
The Police are useless when it comes to making our roads safe.
I looked at the cars passing me last week, during darkness, 20% of the vehicles had a failed bulb and could be issued with a fixed penalty notice.

If you are stopped and given a Fixed Penalty Notice, it will cost you a minimum of £30 – far more than the price of a car light bulb. It can also ensure that you are driving safely, and that you are not putting other road users in jeopardy.

Exactly this.

Irs downrght dangerous and irresponsible not to get it mended just as soon as youre aware of the problem

nortong

burtons wrote: »

I've noticed the headlight bulb is not working on the passenger side so I'm wondering what will happen if the police stops me. I have bought a new bulb but I cannot replace it until the weekend as I've just found out you've got to remove the bumper and headlight just to replace the bulb.

I's highly unlikely that you will get a fine because it is highly unlikely you'll get caught. George Osborne and subsequent Tory halfwits deemed that Police and all emergency services are a profligate luxury. Mind you he did say that sacking 1,500 front line police officers in the west midland area would not affect front line policing by one jot - so on second thoughts perhaps you better replace that bulb, now.

Navigator123

Try explaining to your insurance company that you were driving a defective vehicle if you are involved in an accident and see what happens.

Is it really worth it when all you need to do is pop in to a Toyota service centre and smile nicely at the receptionist.

15 minutes later you will be on your way, fully legal and only about £30.00 light.

earlsgate

on one hand, I hope you don't get stopped, whilst on the other there are too many people breaking the law knowingly assuming they won't so just can't be bothered till the MOT come up, so I wish they would clamp down on this instead of just looking for easy targets such as parking and speed

personally I would save the fines for the manufacturers who supply products that are difficult to maintain and especially where basic safety is concerned. Also the authorities who have approved these cars as being initially roadworthy whilst ignoring the ease of keeping them so

its OK saying go down to the local service center but that's not easy when it could be miles away or closed when you notice you have a problem

perhaps if someone were to successfully challenge this situation, the manufactures, who perhaps deliberately make these essential items beyond the scope of the majority of motorists, to boost their own work, would have think again

you may have guessed I am not too happy driving amongst other vehicles with defective lighting, which I use to blame on lazy motorists, now realising they are faced with an impossible task due to poor designs

System

Jackmydad wrote: »

Going back a bit, but a mate of mine was a lorry driver, and he said that back then the cops were always on the lookout for trucks with lights out. Is it still so?

They're more interested in nicking you eating a Yorkie bar as you drive down the road.

burtons

earlsgate wrote: »

on one hand, I hope you don't get stopped, whilst on the other there are too many people breaking the law knowingly assuming they won't so just can't be bothered till the MOT come up, so I wish they would clamp down on this instead of just looking for easy targets such as parking and speed

personally I would save the fines for the manufacturers who supply products that are difficult to maintain and especially where basic safety is concerned. Also the authorities who have approved these cars as being initially roadworthy whilst ignoring the ease of keeping them so

its OK saying go down to the local service center but that's not easy when it could be miles away or closed when you notice you have a problem

perhaps if someone were to successfully challenge this situation, the manufactures, who perhaps deliberately make these essential items beyond the scope of the majority of motorists, to boost their own work, would have think again

you may have guessed I am not too happy driving amongst other vehicles with defective lighting, which I use to blame on lazy motorists, now realising they are faced with an impossible task due to poor designs

I changed the headlight bulb this morning and it took 1 hour and 15 minutes so it makes me wonder how the manufacturers gets away with designing cars like this.

GunJack

burtons wrote: »

I changed the headlight bulb this morning and it took 1 hour and 15 minutes so it makes me wonder how the manufacturers gets away with designing cars like this.

Quite.... even worse if it's one of the sealed-unit LED headlights, could cost you many hundreds of ££ for a new one.