Road Transport Lighting Act 1927
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1927 c. 37 |
| Year | 1927 |
Road Transport Lighting Act, 1927
(17 & 18 Geo. 5.) 37.
An Act to regulate further the lighting of vehicles.
[22nd December 1927]
B E it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Obligatory lights to be carried by vehicles at night.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations made thereunder by the Minister of Transport (in this Act referred to as ‘the Minister’), every vehicle on any road shall during the hours of darkness carry—
(a ) two lamps, each showing to the front a white light visible from a reasonable distance;
(b ) one lamp showing to the rear a red light visible from a reasonable distance;
and every such lamp shall, while the vehicle is on any road during such hours as aforesaid, be kept properly trimmed, lighted, and in efficient condition, and shall be attached to the vehicle in such position and manner as the Minister may by regulations prescribe.
It shall be the duty of any person who causes or permits a vehicle to be on any road during the hours of darkness to provide the vehicle with lamps in accordance with the requirements of this Act and of any regulations made thereunder.
(2) The Minister shall have power by regulation to exempt either wholly or partially, and subject to such conditions as may be specified in the regulation, from any of the requirements of this Act—
(a ) any vehicles or vehicles of any class or description whilst carrying inflammable or explosive goods of a nature specified in the regulation, or being in a place where inflammable or explosive material of a nature so specified is handled or stored, if an application is made for the purpose by any body which in the opinion of the Minister is a body proper to make such an application;
(b ) vehicles when standing or parked in places specially set aside for the purpose;
(c ) vehicles drawn or propelled by hand, save as hereinafter provided.
(3) The Minister shall have power by regulations to add to, or vary, the requirements of this Act, and to require or permit distinctive lamps to be carried displaying lights of such colour and used under such conditions as may be prescribed, in the case of—
(a ) vehicles used as public service vehicles within the meaning of this Act or any class or description thereof or hackney carriages;
(b ) vehicles used for naval, military, air force or police purposes, or as ambulances, or for any other special purposes mentioned in the regulation or in the case of vehicles used for naval, military or air force purposes to grant exemption (whole or partial) from the requirements of this Act;
and, where distinctive lamps are so required or permitted, to prohibit similar lamps being carried by any other vehicles.
(4) In this section ‘the hours of darkness’ means—
(a ) as respects the period of summer time, the time between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise;
(b ) as respects the remainder of the year, the time between half-an-hour after sunset and half-an-hour before sunrise.
2 Restriction on the number and nature of lamps to be carried.
(1) No vehicle shall show a red light to the front.
(2) No vehicle shall show any light other than a red light to the rear, but this subsection shall not apply to lamps carried by vehicles for the purposes of the internal illumination thereof or of illuminating a number plate, taximeter or any device for giving signals to overtaking traffic, or, in the case of public service vehicles within the meaning of this Act for the purpose of illuminating boards, plates or devices indicating the route or destination of the vehicle.
3 Conditions regulating the use of lamps on vehicles.
3. The Minister may by regulations prescribe the conditions subject to which lamps, showing a light to the front, may be used, and such conditions may include conditions as to the angles at which beams of light may be projected, the height, width and the range of illumination (to be ascertained in accordance with the regulations) of such beams of light, the extent and method of obscuration to be employed, and the position on the vehicle of any lamps.
4 Restriction on movement of lamps.
4. Unless otherwise provided by the Minister by regulations, no light shown by a vehicle, other than a dipping head light, shall be moved by swivelling, deflecting or otherwise while the vehicle is in motion.
5 Special provisions as to bicycles and tricycles.
(1) The foregoing provisions of this Act shall apply to bicycles, tricycles and invalid carriages subject to the following modifications:—
(a ) in the case of bicycles not having a sidecar attached thereto, whether propelled by mechanical power or not, and in the case of tricycles not propelled by mechanical power, and in the case of invalid carriages, only a single lamp showing a white light to the front instead of two such lamps need be carried;
(b ) in the case of bicycles and tricycles not propelled by mechanical power, it shall not be necessary to carry a lamp showing a red light to the rear if the bicycle or tricycle has attached thereto an unobscured and efficient red reflector;
(c ) in the case of bicycles not having a sidecar attached thereto, whether propelled by mechanical power or not, and in the case of tricycles not propelled by mechanical power, no lamp need be carried if the bicycle or tricycle is being wheeled by a person on foot as near as possible to the near or left-hand edge of the carriage-way.
6 Horse-drawn vehicles.
6. The foregoing provisions of this Act shall apply to vehicles drawn by horses or other animals, subject to the following modifications:—
(i) A separate lamp showing a red light to the rear shall not be required to be carried if the lamps showing a light to the front required by section one of this Act to be carried show also a red light to the rear visible from a reasonable distance, and no part of the vehicle or of any load carried thereby extends more than six feet behind such lamps;
(ii) Vehicles engaged for the time being in carrying agricultural produce of an inflammable nature in the course of the internal operations of the farm, shall be exempted from carrying lamps;
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