Legalities on bike lighting

[Craftylilalien]

Hi guys. I have what I hope is a simple question for someone with more knowledge than me! I've called vicroads, and chatted to a local copper , but neither could give me definitive answers either way! I've also had a look through the threads here, but it doesn't seem to mentioned (I've probably bloody missed it!).

Basically, I'm wondering what the law says about Led/lighting on bikes. I want to put some led strips in the fairings on both sides of the engine, and probably some near the back as well. They will be pointing inwards, so shouldn't be able to dazzle anybody! The copper I chatted to said it was illegal on cars, which didn't help me at all. I want them for mainly three reasons: To make me a bit more visible to the blind drivers that apparently can't see a ~280kg bike/rider/60w headlight, to give my bike a bit of individuality, and because I like the way they look!

Anybody got any idea? I'm tempted to just go for it, but as an L plater/uni student, I'd prefer to avoid the points/fines if it's illegal. Cheers guys!

[Banzai]

Do not use blue or red light. You might get away with white but Vic Police make things up as they go along.

Don't know if you've seen the RHOK industries wheel illumination. It looks pretty neat and has been police tested in NSW and ACT with no problems.

[Janx101]

280 kg? .. Or lbs? ...

But... Mood lighting is a very tricky area...

The most basic light rules are... You must show no red light forward and no white light backwards from the vehicle... (Excepting reverse list but that's a special situation) ...

Other basic rules are .. Any side marker lamps are to have a complete coloured lens over them , be red on the rear half and orange on the front half OR be completely orange. (Like on semi trailers) .

A lot of the LED strips on the cars get ticketed because of the non standard colours... Green, purple, blue, yellow etc... They conform to none of the approved colours for vehicles ...they can also (according to the standards) cause confusion and or misidentification of the vehicle by other road users ... Up to and including mistaking multicolour lit vehicles as buildings and or signs.

Any of the special lights used on any emergency or govt vehicle still have to comply with the standards set for the particular type of emergency or govt vehicle ... (In NSW the RTA heavy vehicle inspectors are only allowed to use those weird coloured pink/purple flashing lights on their official inspectors vehicles and orange flash led or rotating units on other RTA vehicles) ...

There are other more technical rulings for lights on vehicles but if you are going to have a chance of arguing with the law about it then I would stick to the most basic rules as points of order.... That way you can claim you ARE following the basics..

NOW... Working within the constraints of the basics... If you can position possibly a white led strip inside the forward area of the fairing, with a baffle/blocking plate to 'prevent' white shining backwards and a red led strip inside the rear facing openings of the fairing with the same baffle/plate to prevent red shining forwards ..... OR an 'acceptable' orange strip under the fairing to illuminate the engine .. (side marker lamp rules) ..AND any of the strips are also enclosed in a weatherproof 'tube' (nylon clear rigid tube maybe or even clear hose?) to prevent any water 'damage' (or at least so you can argue that point) ... Because they feel if water was to short out part of Electrical system then it might be at risk overall of failing and you then have an illegal vehicle for night time use..

All cabling and tubing/lighting must be securely fixed to the fairings/mounting points... Personally I would also mount a totally weatherproof and low profile switch in a discreet location so they can't argue it presents a danger to the rider through a non standard projection.. (This may be overkill .. However if they are looking you want the minimum of objections possible) ... Plus it's a good idea to have it weatherproof anyway...

You may still get pulled up for the lighting ... But I think if you can stick to 'approved for use' colours and positions/directions rules it might be possible to talk your way through it..

You cannot... CANNOT .. Use blue ... That's like peeling a burnout beside the cops... Any other non standard colours are usually also just painting a target on yourself..

Another thought occurs.... Orange led strips... Under the fairings as above ..Patched into the blinker circuit.... Then it is most likely to be classed as indicator/warning light-additional unit........ Only works when you indicate but provides more noticeability .. But if you have not got them linked into an approved indicator circuit then they must not flash!

If you wanted to go all out you could approach a licensed vehicle engineer inspector and get their opinion and or paperwork to say they do approve the installation... Tricky and can be expensive but you can take that paperwork to court!!

All this is just my thinking on the best way to get what you want to do whilst 'conforming' and having the best chance of getting away with it..

The actual 'basic rules' are worded differently and much more official sounding.... But the meaning is what I said in a non official way.

You may see coloured driving light covers on some semi trailers ... Blue/red/yellow/green/purple etc etc.... This is also a tricky area .... The driving lights are 'intermittent use' and not meant to be used in urban areas either.... I have seen trucks being pulled up after using the lights with coloured lenses in both urban/city and regional/remote areas ... Mostly they were given warnings and or had to remove the covers to leave just white light or if they had orange lenses they could put those in.... Really depends on the type of day the officer is having... The coloured lenses in those applications though do provide a range of visibility benefits and issues which also get argued over often.

So 'young chap' .. How do you feel about testing the waters for the rest of us then eh?? 

[Craftylilalien]

Do not use blue or red light.

Bummer, was thinking blue and greens up the front (on at different times) and red up the back. Wouldn't red be fine up the back, because its the same as the tail light...? Thanks for the answer though =).

Don't know if you've seen the RHOK industries wheel illumination. It looks pretty neat and has been police tested in NSW and ACT with no problems.

I've seen them on the net yeah, didn't know they were approved though! Pretty tempted now!

[Craftylilalien]

Wow, thanks for the mammoth reply/info Janx! Much appreciated!!

280 kg? .. Or lbs? ...

Kg. Bike's 200 (full tank) I'm ~80.

The most basic light rules are... You must show no red light forward and no white light backwards from the vehicle...

Other basic rules are .. Any side marker lamps are to have a complete coloured lens over them , be red on the rear half and orange on the front half OR be completely orange. (Like on semi trailers) .

A lot of the LED strips on the cars get ticketed because of the non standard colours... Green, purple, blue, yellow etc... They conform to none of the approved colours for vehicles ...they can also (according to the standards) cause confusion and or misidentification of the vehicle by other road users ... Up to and including mistaking multicolour lit vehicles as buildings and or signs.

Well that pretty much entirely rules out the two colours I like the most, Blue and green . But I guess I'll suck it up and think about getting white and reds, possible adding in yellows later on. The strips I was looking at getting are completely waterproof as they are, and cheap as chips (~$1-2 a strip).

NOW... Working within the constraints of the basics... If you can position possibly a white led strip inside the forward area of the fairing, with a baffle/blocking plate to 'prevent' white shining backwards and a red led strip inside the rear facing openings of the fairing with the same baffle/plate to prevent red shining forwards ..... OR an 'acceptable' orange strip under the fairing to illuminate the engine .. (side marker lamp rules) ..AND any of the strips are also enclosed in a weatherproof 'tube' (nylon clear rigid tube maybe or even clear hose?) to prevent any water 'damage' (or at least so you can argue that point) ... Because they feel if water was to short out part of Electrical system then it might be at risk overall of failing and you then have an illegal vehicle for night time use..

All cabling and tubing/lighting must be securely fixed to the fairings/mounting points... Personally I would also mount a totally weatherproof and low profile switch in a discreet location so they can't argue it presents a danger to the rider through a non standard projection.. (This may be overkill .. However if they are looking you want the minimum of objections possible) ... Plus it's a good idea to have it weatherproof anyway...

Mounting would be done properly of course, don't want them coming undone!  . I was thinking about mounting my "waterproof"  switch into the spare spot on the right handlebar. You know where the indicators are on the left? Theres an empty spot there, just begging to be filled! (I'm guessing it would house a headlight switch in America? In Aus it's just a hole with plastic cover over it.)

So 'young chap' .. How do you feel about testing the waters for the rest of us then eh?? 

Although I'm less excited about these 'drab'  colours, I'm still pretty keen on the idea, so I'll probably be ebaying some cheap parts soon. Will also see if I can get a FREE opinion from an auto installer somewhere around here one day! haha. Guess its my turn to play test monkey!

[ohgood]

I have 36watts of led power pouring out of where the headlight normally is....

today I passed two speed traps, didn't get a second look, other than frustration because I don't register on radar.

pulled up behind three motors officers that were escorting cyclists, they gave me a thumbs up and "damn that's bright!"

36 watts of led is like a small sliver of the sun.



when it comes to lights, white is right for forward facing.
red is right, for rear facing.
amber is signals.

put as much on as you want, so long as they can be considered operating lights.

any reasonable leo will not care.

[Janx101]

headlights is different..

and yeah .. operating lights .. was trying to think of that term...

but the Victoria , Australia leos .. they are a 'funny lot' .. not ha ha either! 

[ThatOtherGuy]

Light yourself up with lights, its not part of the bike and ergo not illegal.

Some nice blue flashing LEDs on your shoulders will get plenty of attention and slow down people around you.

[Janx101]

Light yourself up with lights, its not part of the bike and ergo not illegal.

Some nice blue flashing LEDs on your shoulders will get plenty of attention and slow down people around you.

.... That is sheer brilliance!! ... Pun intended 

[yamahonkawazuki]

Do not use blue or red light.

Bummer, was thinking blue and greens up the front (on at different times) and red up the back. Wouldn't red be fine up the back, because its the same as the tail light...? Thanks for the answer though =).

Don't know if you've seen the RHOK industries wheel illumination. It looks pretty neat and has been police tested in NSW and ACT with no problems.

I've seen them on the net yeah, didn't know they were approved though! Pretty tempted now!

this CAN be done, however it cannot be visible directly. hidden and NOT flashing. BUT you wlil attract LEO attention.

[jdoorn14]

Generally cops could care less what color lights you use as long as only standard color lights (reds, ambers, oranges, whites) are on while moving. That may not help for your purposes though if you were looking for colored lights while riding.

[Craftylilalien]

Thanks for all the replies and advice guys, very much appreciated!

Unfortunately, uni got away from me, so I haven't managed to do anything as of yet. It'll have to wait for holidays. **first world problems**

On a side note, my clutch switch seems to have given up on life. It looks like the PO knew it was going, because one of the screws holding it in has had it's head threaded  . Anybody got some suggestions on how to get that sucker out, as well as a replacement part number?

[Craftylilalien]

So I had a major urge to procrastinate (only one exam left, HOORAAAAH!) and installed some lighting on the bike. It was already sexy as hell, but now it has pretty lights too! Pictures aren't the best quality (sorry!) as they're taken with an iphone in low light (night).
What do you guys think?:

Green:



Blue:



Ps couldn't resist the 'naughty' colours that are likely to get me in trouble! =P

[Gs500fmrex]

I love the blue!!!


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[beerwahboy]

 If you want to be SEEN at night I placed a self adhesive reflector on both sides.....see pic 

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[jolt77]

Any thoughts on whether these "Tron" glow in the dark rim tape with UV light setups would be legal in NSW?

http://www.rhok.com.au/wheel%20lights.htm

[codajastal]

Any thoughts on whether these "Tron" glow in the dark rim tape with UV light setups would be legal in NSW?

http://www.rhok.com.au/wheel%20lights.htm

Very doubtful

[peteGS]

If you want to be SEEN at night I placed a self adhesive reflector on both sides.....see pic

Simple solutions are good