General requirements – part 3
Lighting requirements
For good visibility of the vehicle and to have good visibility on the road yourself, certain lights are required to be present on the vehicle. Which lights these are, you will read in this section.
- Rear light
Light that makes the vehicle recognisable from the rear. If there are two, they also indicate the width of the vehicle.
- Dipped headlight
Light that illuminates the road in front of the vehicle without blinding or hindering other road users.
- Brake light
Light at the rear of a vehicle that turns bright red as soon as you brake. This allows traffic behind you to see that you are slowing down.
- Indicator
Flashing light showing to other road users that the driver is planning to turn or move left or right.
- Side light
Light that makes the vehicle recognisable from the front. If there are two, they also indicate the width of the vehicle.
- Reflector
A reflector itself does not emit light, but reflects the light beam (from for example the dipped headlight of a different vehicle) that shines upon it. With this, stationary vehicles also stand out when they are not using lights. Nowadays, most reflectors are integrated in the light fixtures.
Colour lighting
On most vehicles, you will only come across the light colours red (rear side), amber yellow (orange, sides) and white (front). Some lighting may have a slightly different colour. For example, some light on the front may be yellow instead of white and some lights at the rear may be amber yellow instead of red.
Required lights for two-wheeled mopeds, snorfietsen and speed pedelecs
| White | Yellow | Orange | Red | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One dipped headlight, front side | X | X | ||
| One rear light | X | |||
| One brake light rear side* | X | |||
| One reflector on each side | X | |||
| One reflector, rear side | X | |||
| Two reflectors on each pedal (if present) | X |
* Brake light on the rear side is only required on mopeds with more than 0.5 kW and a construction speed over 25 km/h.
Required lights for three and four-wheeled mopeds and brommobielen
| White | Yellow | Orange | Red | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One or two dipped headlights, front side* | X | X | ||
| One or two side lights, front side* | X | X | ||
| One or two rear lights* | X | |||
| One or two brake lights, rear side* | X | X | ||
| Two indicators, front and rear** | X | |||
| One or two reflectors, rear side*** | X |
* Two are required for vehicles from 1.30 metres wide.
** Indicators may also be white at the front and red at the rear.
*** Two are required for vehicles from 1 metre wide.
Permitted lighting
In addition to the required lighting, other lights are allowed on the vehicle. These may not be just any lighting. However, you are allowed to have a full-beam headlight on your vehicle, for example.
Allowed lights mopeds, snorfietsen, speed pedelecs and brommobielen
Extra additional lights are:
- one or two full-beam headlights at the front;
- one extra dipped headlight (a maximum of two may be present);
- one or two side lights at the front;
- one extra rear light (a maximum of two may be present);
- one daytime running light at the front (only for two-wheeled vehicles);
- indicators at the front and rear (if these were not yet required);
- hazard lights;
- rear number plate lighting;
- one or two brake lights (only for two-wheeled vehicles);
- one third brake light (only for three or four-wheeled vehicles);
- one or two front fog lights (only for three or four-wheeled vehicles);
- one or two rear fog lights (only for three or four-wheeled vehicles);
- one or two reverse lights (only for three or four-wheeled vehicles);
- extra reflectors at the front;
- extra reflectors at the sides (rear may be red);
- extra reflectors at the rear.
- Number plate lighting at the rear (white)
Light that makes the number plate legible in the dark. This light should not shine backwards, but should only illuminate the number plate.
- Full beam headlight (white or yellow)
Light that illuminates the road in front of the vehicle over a long distance.
- Hazard lights (same colour as the indicators)
Simultaneous operation of all indicators, meant to show that the vehicle temporarily represents a special danger to other road users.
- Daytime running lights (white)
Forward facing light used to make the vehicle more visible to oncoming traffic during daytime driving. May only be run when dipped headlight is not mandatory!
- Front fog light (white or yellow)
Light that serves for better lighting of the road during fog or a similar condition of limited visibility. Not allowed on two-wheeled vehicles!
- Rear fog light (red)
Light that makes the rear of the vehicle more visible during dense fog. Not allowed on two-wheeled vehicles!
- Reverse light (white)
Light that illuminates the road behind the vehicle while reversing. Aside from that, other road users can see by this light that the vehicle is reversing or intends to reverse. This light will only occur on brommobielen.
Other requirements lighting
In addition to the presence and the mandatory colour of the lights on your vehicle, the lighting must also meet other requirements:
- The mandatory lighting must work properly and the mandatory reflectors must reflect properly.
- The light fixtures must be properly attached to the vehicle and not be excessively corroded.
- The glass of the fixtures may not be broken or removed, and must properly let light through.
- Lights and reflectors with the same function must be symmetrically placed and the lights must have the same brightness and size.
- The translucent sections of the required lights may be shielded up to 25%.
- The brake lights must work when using both the front brake and the rear brake.
Non-allowed lighting and reflectors
In addition to the previously mentioned required and allowed lighting and reflectors, no other lighting or reflectors may be fitted to your vehicle.
Additionally, the lighting present may:
- not be blinding, with the exception of the full-beam headlight;
- not blink, with the exception of the indicators and the hazard lights.
All other lighting, such as the special blue lighting present on emergency vehicles, may not be fitted to your vehicle. It does not matter whether these lights are on or off. The main point is that it should not appear that your vehicle is a service vehicle of a particular emergency service when it is not.
Extra sound
A moped, snorfiets, speed pedelec and a brommobiel must be provided with a porperly functioning horn or bell. It must have a fixed pitch. A horn with a melody is therefore not allowed. In addition to this, in terms of additional sound, the vehicle may only be fitted with:
- an antitheft system (alarm);
- a warning system that emits a sound up to the driving speed of 25 km/h if the vehicle is a hybrid or electric.
All other extra sounds are prohibited.