Modern car lights.

knightstyle

Yes i know the headlights on new Chelsea tractors are always too high and bright but this is about indicator lights being almost impossible to see.
Just followed a 22 reg Puma with its fog lights on, braking at the bottom of a hill and indicating, the indicator is tiny and not easy to see.  Is there a rule about how visible it should be?   

Mark_d

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/contents/made

There are regulations in relation to indicators however I suspect the issue here is due to use of the fog lamps when they should have been off

knightstyle

Thanks, that says 15 to 35 watts. But cars nowadays have LED lights so do they not comply?

sevenhills

knightstyle said:

Thanks, that says 15 to 35 watts. But cars nowadays have LED lights so do they not comply?

We no doubt just follow EU rules, there will be some more up to date rules, I guess the rules should say the recommended brightness, lumen.

35har1old

Mark_d said:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/contents/made

There are regulations in relation to indicators however I suspect the issue here is due to use of the fog lamps when they should have been off

Electric vehicles tend to have a full width display of red lights and I agree the indicator light does appear to be less noticeable even when the fog lights on not illuminated 

facade

sevenhills said:

knightstyle said:

Thanks, that says 15 to 35 watts. But cars nowadays have LED lights so do they not comply?

We no doubt just follow EU rules, there will be some more up to date rules, I guess the rules should say the recommended brightness, lumen.

ECE R6

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/main/wp29/wp29regs/R006r5e.pdf

In RVLR 1989 it says that E marked lamps have no requirement on wattage or intensity, this is because to get the approval mark they had to conform to the required intensity in the first place, they only conform when fitted with the specified bulb or LED module- which is why retrofitted LED "bulbs" are illegal (but no-one cares, except for headlights)

Goudy

I was just stopped at the traffic lights behind one of those Japanese import mini vans this morning.
It had some daft name like Nissan Elgrand Honeyrider S Highway XL VG something or other.

There were lights in the rear quarter panels about waist height, lights right across the rear door, more lights under the ones in the rear quarter panels and lights in the bumper.

Then there was the copious amounts of "chrome" (plastic) splattered across the back, which I must admit was no mean feat getting it all on there when it had so many name badges.

When I approached it there appeared to around 6 different red lights on the back all with different intensities (no the fogs in the bumper weren't on either) and the dazzle from all the cheap "chrome" reflected off it like a distorted disco ball.

Then after all that, the traffic lights change and the driver pulls forward a few feet to turn right without even indicating.

I thought he might have done me a favour though, with the indicators flashing and all the other lights I might have had a seizure!

400ixl

This isn't a modern car problem. There have been bad designs for years where it has been hard to see the indicators in use with other lights on.

born_again

400ixl said:

This isn't a modern car problem. There have been bad designs for years where it has been hard to see the indicators in use with other lights on.

Seem to remember one manufacture placing indicator in the middle of a circlular light cluster with the brake light round the outside of the indicator.
Same with some now that have LED indicators that are a couple of inches long & single led width...

EssexExile

It's seems to be more important that cars look good than whether they work well.