ifit4x4
by Piet van Heerde
iplan4x4
itour4x4
LED light bars and why not.
Credit to Thys de Jager
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LED Lightbars and the South African National Road Traffic Act (RTA)
This topic has been doing the rounds for years now on the internet-forums and on FB and has been discussed to death. But no matter how much it gets debated and what arguments are being put forward, the fact of the matter is that according to the RTA LED Lightbars are illegal for use on vehicles on the public road network.
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This is final. No amount of debating the issue this or that way will change that. I spent some time with the National Road Traffic Act and came up with this information within a matter of 45 minutes. I post the relevant Regulations at the bottom so you can read them yourselves.
Why does the RTA say it is illegal?
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1) IT IS A MATTER OF FITMENT.
Reg 184. Manner in which lamps to be fitted and maintained
(3) When two or more of the same lamps are fitted to a vehicle they shall
(a) be placed symmetrically in relation to the longitudinal centre-line of the
vehicle; and
(b) except in the case of side marker lamps and direction-indicator lamps,
be so placed that any lamp on the side of the vehicle concerned shall
have a corresponding lamp at the same height on the other side of such
vehicle.
An LED lightbar stretches across the centerline of the vehicle. And we cannot only fit one light, they need to come in pairs.
Now, you say, but what about 2 lightbars, one on each side, not traversing the center line? That could be the answer, you might just get away with it!! BUT.. there are other regulations that will trip you up. Like this little gem...
Reg 184. Manner in which lamps to be fitted and maintained
(2) The head lamps and fog lamps of a motor vehicle shall, unless the design of
the lamps incorporates some other means of preventing a dangerous glare to
oncoming traffic, not be fitted with lenses of clear glass or other like material.
All LED Bars come with clear lenses, and although some of them have "diffuser" lenses on some of the LEDs, they also contain a certain amount of "spot" lenses. Tripped up.
2) BUT THE COPS AND AMBULANCES HAVE THEM!!
Whoaaa!! What about the police vans, ambulances, fire engines and breakdown vehicles fitted with these lamps, you say? Even though any emergency services person is also capable of transgressing the law, their vehicles are permitted to operate a "Spot Lamp".
Reg 177. Use of spot lamp
No person shall operate on a public road a motor vehicle if it is fitted with a spot
lamp, which can be so adjusted as to enable a beam of light emitted therefrom to be
deflected in any direction: Provided that a spot lamp which is adjustable—
(a) may be fitted and used for official purposes on any ambulance, rescue-,
fire-fighting-, police-, or traffic-control vehicle;
(b) may be fitted to a vehicle owned by a medical practitioner or
veterinarian, and used in the execution of such person’s professional
duties; or
(c) may be fitted to a breakdown vehicle or a vehicle employed in
connection with the supply of electricity or other public essential
services: Provided that it is used solely at the scene of an accident or
breakdown or for the examination of overhead telephone, telegraph or
power lines.
Responsible use.. That's the key.
3) I'LL JUST DISCONNECT THEM, THEN I'LL BE FINE!
Not that easy, according to this regulation..
Reg 157. Vehicles to be equipped with certain lamps and times when certain
lamps to be lighted
(1) No person shall operate on a public road a motor vehicle unless—
(a) all lamps fitted to a motor vehicle as contemplated in regulations 159 to 184, are undamaged, properly secured, and capable of being lighted at
all times;
Covering them up also doesnt work. They are still fitted and they still fall under Reg 157.
Any lights that do not fall in any part of the RTA is deemed illegal. That is what Reg 185 says.
Reg 185. Lamps not prescribed or authorised, prohibited
No lamp other than a lamp prescribed or authorised in terms of these regulations shall at any time be fitted to any vehicle operated on a public road.
MBOMBELA – LED bars fitted on vehicles and the legality thereof recently started receiving a great deal of public attention.
This is after Wynand Labuschagne, traffic law-enforcement deputy director in the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, issued a stern warning.
Read more: Stern warning issued: No LED lights allowed
He said that LED lights which were not factory fitted were not only illegal, but downright dangerous.
“The National Traffic Act does not allow the display of non-factory-fitted LED lights whatsoever, and this is a stern warning that the department will clamp down on motorists who have them fitted. It is strictly against the law,” Labuschagne emphasised.
According to Arrive Alive, all the lights on your vehicle have to be fitted at equal distances from an imaginary central line. To understand where this line sits, picture your vehicle from the front and draw a vertical line through the manufacturer’s badge on the grille. This line, running from the ground vertically through the roof of your vehicle, is the central line.
All your lights have to be fitted at equal distances from this line.
To remain in the clear, LED lights are to be installed at equal distances from the central line and have to be SABS approved.
If your vehicle has been fitted with LED headlights in the factory they would already comply with SABS requirements.
Arrive Alive stated that it is important to keep in mind that there is a set of SABS specifications to comply with when adding additional lights to a vehicle. The best advice would be to check with your local licensing/traffic authority to ensure that your vehicle and its lights are regarded and cleared as being roadworthy.
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Spotlamps or spotlights
Spotlamps can be adjusted to enable a beam of light emitted from them to be deflected in any direction. In other words:
• It may only be used for official purposes on any ambulance, rescue, firefighting, police, or traffic-control vehicles; may be fitted to a vehicle owned by a medical practitioner or veterinarian, and used in the execution of such person’s professional duties;
• may be fitted to a breakdown vehicle or a vehicle employed in connection with the supply of electricity or other public essential services; provided that it is used solely at the scene of an accident or breakdown or for the examination of overhead telephone, telegraph or power lines.
Extra headlights (sometimes incorrectly referred to as spotlights)
As a general guide – where there are an extra set of head lamps, they are legal. If they can be adjusted, they are illegal.
These lamps are a set of fixed lamps and as long as they comply with the headlamp requirements, they should be legal. They are not spotlights. Make sure you don’t have more than six “headlights” on the front of your vehicle (including the factory-fitted ones) and don’t fit them higher than 1,4 metres off the ground. So no matter what, a set of extra head lamps on your roof rack or roll bar can get you into trouble. “It’s not good enough to simply disconnect the lights,” said Arrive Alive. If you don’t connect your light to a separate switch, it can get you into trouble.
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MBOMBELA – “LED lights are not only illegal, it’s downright dangerous.”
This is according to traffic law enforcement deputy director in the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Wynand Labuschagne.
He explained that in terms of the National Road Traffic Act, LED lights are not permitted – not when it’s covered, and even when it’s not connected.
“The traffic act does not allow the display of LED lights whatsoever and this is a stern warning that the department will clamp down on motorists who have it fitted. It is strictly against the law,” Labuschagne emphasised.
“The utilisation of LED lights has become dangerous and the use thereof could lead to accidents which could lead to fatalities,” he said and warned users of such lights that their behaviour constitutes inconsiderate driving – which in terms of the law, is punishable.
Numerous offenders were caught during the recent Easter weekend and culprits were fined heftily while also being ordered to remove them.
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Labuschagne also strongly condemned the abuse of mounted lights that are supposed to only be used by emergency personnel and law enforcement officials. These include green, blue and yellow lights. He explained that persons allowed to have such lights include security practitioners, traffic law enforcers, police, military, towing services, disaster management officials, emergency health practitioners and professional hunters as well as those who transport visitors around national parks and game reserves.
“In terms of the law, blue lights should only be displayed by law enforcement officers who include the police and traffic officers. Any other persons displaying such lights shall be charged with impersonation of law enforcers,” Labuschagne stated.
He also elaborated that green lights are reserved for use by disaster management employees or any other people who may have been activated in terms of Disaster Management Act.
“Towing service vehicles should mount orange lights on top of their vehicle’s roofs which should be used when attending accident scenes,” he said.
Even with lights that are legal, motorists should consider other road users when on the road. “Drivers have developed a tendency to switch headlights on unnecessarily, which impacts other road users negatively,” he explained.
He has thus called for an end to the fitting of lights other than factory-fitted lights on individual vehicles as various categories of lights are only reserved for those who have permits and such permits are usually granted to individuals based on their occupation.