General requirements – part 4

Lighting requirements

To maintain adequate visibility both inside a car and on the road, passenger cars must be equipped with specific lighting.

Rear light (red, two mandatory)

Seen from the rear, this indicates the vehicle’s presence and width.

Reverse light (white or yellow, one mandatory)

Light intended to illuminate the road behind the vehicle and to warn other road users that the vehicle is reversing.

Dipped headlights (white or yellow, two mandatory)

Light used to illuminate the road ahead of the vehicle without blinding or obstructing other road users.

Full-beam headlights (white or yellow, two mandatory)

Light illuminating the road in front of the vehicle over a long distance.

Rear fog light (red, one mandatory)

Light that makes the vehicle more visible at the rear in dense fog.

Brake light (red, three mandatory)

Light used to indicate to road users behind the vehicle that the vehicle is intentionally decelerating.

Indicator (amber, two on the front and two on the back mandatory)

Light intended to inform other road users that the driver intends to change direction to the left or right.

Sidelights (white or yellow, two mandatory)

Seen from the front, this indicates the presence of the vehicle and is an indication of the width of the vehicle.

Hazard warning light (same colour as indicators)

Simultaneous operation of all indicator lights intended to indicate that the vehicle temporarily presents a particular danger to other road users.

Rear number plate light (white)

Lighting that makes the rear number plate readable in the dark. This lighting may not beam out of the rear.

Retro-reflector rear (red, two mandatory)

A retro-reflector itself does not emit light, but reflects the light beam (from the dipped headlights of another vehicle, for example) that falls on it. This also makes stationary vehicles stand out if they do not have lighting. Most retro-reflectors are now integrated in the lighting fixtures (holder of the lighting).

Please note that the positioning of lights may vary per passenger car.

Lighting colours

Most vehicles are equipped with red, amber and white lighting. Where red is generally on the rear, white on the front and amber on the sides of the vehicle. Some lighting deviates from this. For example, some lights on the front may also be yellow instead of white and some lights on the rear may also be amber instead of red.

As a mnemonic, you can remember: white light comes towards you, red light goes away from you. That is why the reverse light is also white, despite being on the rear of the vehicle.

Side indicators

A car’s indicators must be clearly visible from all directions. On most modern passenger cars, this lighting wraps around the car’s corners, which means the turn signal is also visible from the side. If this is not the case, additional indicators must be equipped on the side of the vehicle.

Permitted lighting

In addition to mandatory lighting, a vehicle may feature other lighting such as cornering lights, daytime running lights, front fog lights, and parking lights. You may not replace a light with a different type of light. The luminaires (lighting mounts) are designed for halogen, xenon, or LED lighting. These are not easily interchangeable.

Cornering lighting (white)

Lighting function on the front for better illumination when turning.

Daytime running light (white)

Forward-facing light used to make the vehicle more visible to oncoming traffic during the day. May only be used if dipped headlights are not mandatory!

Front fog light (white or yellow)

Light that serves to provide better illumination of the road in fog or similar conditions with reduced visibility.

Parking light (front white, rear red)

Light intended to indicate the presence of a parked vehicle. Usually this is the same lighting as the sidelight.

Additional marker lighting and reflectors

Vehicles that are larger than average (extra long or wide) must be clearly marked as such with lighting and additional reflectors to alert other drivers.

• Vehicles wider than 2.10 metres must have two white marker lights at the front and two red marker lights at the rear.
• Vehicles longer than 6 metres must be fitted with amber-coloured side marker lights and amber-coloured retro-reflectors on the side. The rear of these side marker lamps and retro-reflectors may be red instead of amber.

Marker lighting

Lighting on the outermost corners of a vehicle that indicate the size of the vehicle (end-outline marker lights).

Passenger cars may also be equipped with additional marker lights and retro-reflectors, but these must comply with the requirements regarding colour and placement on the vehicle.

Miscellaneous lighting requirements

In addition to its presence and mandatory colour, passenger car lighting must meet other requirements. These are:

• The mandatory lights must work well and the mandatory retro-reflectors must reflect well.
• The light luminaires (light holders) must be undamaged and properly attached to the vehicle.
• The glass of the luminaires must not be broken or removed, and they must allow enough light to shine through properly.
• Lights and retro-reflectors that have the same function must be placed symmetrically and the lights must have the same brightness and size.
• The translucent parts of the mandatory lights may be shielded for a maximum of 25%.
• The level control of the dipped headlights must work properly. This is the manual height adjustment of the dipped beams that you use if the vehicle leans backwards due to heavier loading. You adjust the lighting to avoid blinding oncoming traffic.

Dashboard warning lights

Some lights should never be switched on accidentally. If they are on, drivers must be aware of this. Warning lights for this purpose are present on the dashboard. These lights are:

In addition to an indicator warning light, indicators may also be accompanied by a sound signal when switched on.

Prohibited lighting and retro-reflectors

Passenger cars may not feature any lighting or retro-reflectors other than those previously described.

Present lighting:

• may not be blinding, except for the full-beam headlights;
• may not be blinking, except for the indicators, hazard warning lights and the emergency break signal (the brake lights automatically blink when an emergency stop is made).

When an indicator is switched on, the lights on that side of the vehicle may blink.

All other lighting, such as the blue lights featured on emergency vehicles, is prohibited for passenger cars – regardless of whether it is on or off. The main point is that your vehicle may not at any time or in any way resemble an emergency vehicle.

Interior lighting in passenger cars must not beam light outside the vehicle.

Securing trailers

If a passenger car is equipped with a tow bar, this must be properly secured and must not be damaged, broken, or corroded.

Mandatory and permitted sound signals

Passenger cars must be equipped with a properly functioning horn, with a fixed pitch. Car horns playing a melody are not permitted.

Passenger cars may also be equipped with:

• a beeping reverse signal;
• a sound signal on electric passenger cars that sounds at a speed of up to 25 km/h;
• an alarm system with sound signal.

All other sound-generating devices other than the three described above are prohibited on passenger cars.