Daylight MOT confusing or what....

Richard Simpson · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:08 pm **Posts:** 4440

Well, the simple rule is:

You don't have to have lights in daylight, but if they are fitted, they must work.

This includes:

Headlamp: Main, dip, and pilot

Rear-lamp: Tail and stop (red), numberplate (white) but must shine down to effectively illuminate the plate (and not back so a white light shows to the rear).

If you have lights, you must also have a red rear reflector.

(In daylight, you have two defences for a faulty light. One is that you checked it before you set out and it was working then,and the other is that you are aware that it has failed and you are on the way to get it repaired/buy a new bulb. Neither of these defences work at night, when you will be prosecuted for the more serious offence of failing to show a light rather than failing to maintain it).

You can mask or paint lights and then the law regards them as not being fitted.

There are a wide range of CE approved lights avail from the likes of Acerbis which can make your bike legal...or you can buy a European bike that comes with legal lights as standard (beats me how 3 Spaniards in a shed - GasGas - can build homologated enduro bikes when the Japanese can't)

Same goes for indicators: Enduro/trials bikes (no pillion rests) don't have to have them, but if they are fitted they must work.

ANDY.T · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 1:25 pm

Missing the point again I'm afraid..

You need the lights fitted to pass the MOT test...

and even the Lighting Regs as quoted have been misquoted...

Quote:

Exemptions—General
4.—(1) Where a provision is applied by these Regulations to a motor vehicle first used on or after a specified date it does not apply to any vehicle manufactured at least six months before that date.
(2) Where an exemption from, or a relaxation of, a provision is applied by these Regulations to a motor vehicle first used before a specified date it shall also apply to a motor vehicle first used on or after that date if it was manufactured at least six months before that date.
(3) Nothing in these Regulations shall require any lamp or reflector to be fitted between sunrise and sunset to–
(a)a vehicle not fitted with any front or rear position lamp,
(b)an incomplete vehicle proceeding to a works for completion,
(c)a pedal cycle,
(d)a pedestrian-controlled vehicle,
(e)a horse-drawn vehicle,
(f)a vehicle drawn or propelled by hand, or
(g)a combat vehicle.
(4) Without prejudice to regulation 16, for the purposes of these Regulations a lamp shall not be treated as being a lamp if it is–
(a)so painted over or masked that it is not capable of being immediately used or readily put to use; or
(b)an electric lamp which is not provided with any system of wiring by means of which that lamp is, or can readily be, connected with a source of electricity.

What this actually says is that if the vehicle does not need to have the lights fitted under the regs then ..well it does not need them..

HOWEVER the regs are specific to what type of Vehicle does not need the lights fitted and these are laid out in the regs.. You CANT take 4/3 a on it's own and it only reffers to those vehicles that dont need lights in the first place...

and a solo motorcycle over 50cc or that can do more than 25mph or was made after a certain date DOES NEED LIGHTS FITTED!!!!!!!!!

The general exceptions in 4-3-a needs to be read WITH the info on what SPECIFIC VEHICLES dont need lights...

However Sch 1 table Obligitory Lamps, Reflectors, Rear Markings and Devices shows in the relevant table that the exceptions apply to specific bikes.. It's NOT a general exception for all bikes!!!:

SCHEDULE 1
OBLIGATORY LAMPS, REFLECTORS, REAR MARKINGS AND DEVICES

The exceptions are specific...

ALL bikes regardles of being a road registered MX bike, import, trials, other competition vehicle ect..
that if it is over 50cc and can do more than 25mph and was first used after 1986 then it NEEDS A REAR STOP LAMP...

Bikes over 50cc and that can do more than 25mph and made (first used=registered) after 1986 are NOT covered by the general excemptions..... :roll:

Unless of course it is a bloody COMBAT VEHICLE....

But in order to clarify I've written to the VOSA asking for written confirmation... :roll:

Red · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:11 pm

There are a few roadbike race rep bike out there too that dont have ights but an mot and advisory.

Confusing to say the least, as long as my MOT tester does not ask me to fit lights I am okay.

Rougharse-Racing · **Joined:** Sun Oct 31, 2010 1:54 pm **Posts:** 97

ANDY.T I do hope that you are not an MOT tester or Plod,

A VOSA reply taken from the Pit Bike forum;

Thank you for your e-mail enquiry dated 4th May 2010, concerning daytime MOT's.

A daylight MOT would require a motorbike to have a horn and a rear registration plate.

The testing guidelines state that motorbikes can be exempt from having lamps tested if they meet the following criteria:-

machines which have neither front nor rear position lamps, or have such lamps permanently disconnected, painted over or masked that are:-
only used in daylight hours
not used in times of serious reduced visibility

The following items/lamps are not required to be tested in order for a MOT to pass a daylight MOT test as long as they meet the criteria above.
Front and Rear position lamps
Headlamps
Stop Lamps
Rear Reflectors
Direction Indicators

VOSA can only advise on MOT standards queries. For information on the legal requirements you will need to address your enquiry to the Department for Transport, as they deal with the Construction and Use Regulations and Road Law.

The Department for Transport can be telephoned on 0300 330 3000, or you can visit their website at http://www.dft.gov.uk for further contact information.

I hope this information has assisted you with your enquiry, but if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Kind Regards,

Robert Evans
VOSA Contact Centre
Operations Directorate
Tel: 0300 123 9000

or an extract from an email reply sent to me from the Police;

....having looked through the regulations and spoken with PC XXXX the officer who stopped you, we both now agree that you are quite right and your trials motorcycle does NOT require a brake light. The exemption for your vehicle is given by Reg 4(3) Road Vehicle Lighting regs 1989.

NOTHING IN THE REGS SHALL REQUIRE ANY LAMP TO BE FITTED BETWEEN SUNRISE AND SUNSET TO;

1, A VEHICLE NOT FITTED WITH ANY FRONT OR REAR POSITION LAMP. (EG; A TRIALS BIKE OR MORE COMMONLY A TRAILER)

ETC, ETC.

Please accept our apologies for the misunderstanding, we live and learn!

Many thanks, ******.

Richard Simpson · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:08 pm **Posts:** 4440

I think Andy's point is that you do not need lights for an MoT, but they are a legal requirement to use a post-86 bike on the road...which was news to me.

C & U regs are different to MoT test rules for sure.

However, I think we can agree that the OP is not within the law running a bike with a tail lamp but no stop light.

Rougharse-Racing · **Joined:** Sun Oct 31, 2010 1:54 pm **Posts:** 97

[quote="Richard Simpson"]I think Andy's point is that you do not need lights for an MoT, but they are a legal requirement to use a post-86 bike on the road...which was news to me.

I don't know about it being news to you Richard, I think it will also be news to Parliament! :lol:

Try searching the internet for ANY reports of people being CONVICTED in the UK for having no lights fitted during daylight hours, you'd think that there would be plenty with all those trials bikes running about with no lights.

Richard Simpson · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:08 pm **Posts:** 4440

Yes, it would seem the 1986 date applies to direction indicators, which you don't have to have on a trials or enduro bike of any age.

ANDY.T · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:02 pm

I have the reply from VOSA...

Make of it what you will.. at least it's official...

Quote:

----- Original Message -----
From: Enquiries@vosa.gov.uk
To: ANDY.T
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 3:23 PM
Subject: Re: Motorcycle rear brake light, stop lamp.

Dear Mr T,

Thank you for your e-mail enquiry dated 9th January 2012, concerning MOT regulations.

In respect of lights, the MOT Inspection Manual states the following:

'This inspection applies to: all machines, except those which have neither front nor rear position lamps, or have such lamps permanently disconnected, painted over or masked that are · only used during daylight hours, and · not used at times of seriously reduced visibility If this situation occurs the machine presenter should be issued with a VT32 (advisory notice) recording the above'.

There is not actually such a thing as a 'daytime only MOT'. Either a vehicle (or motorcycle) passes an MOT test or it does not. The important issue is that vehicles / motorcycles are able to pass an MOT test without lights, or with the lights not working, providing certain conditions are met.

All MOT testers should be aware of the criteria as it is detailed in the MOT Inspection Manuals for all Classes of vehicle that fall under the MOT scheme. In fact, the information is repeated several times in the Manuals as it is covered in the sections covering: Front and rear postion lamps, head lamps, stop lamps, rear reflectors and direction indicators.

The standards applied in the MOT test are taken from the Regulations appropriate to the item in question. In respect of lights, these regulations are The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, as amended (SI 1976). Regulation 4 (3) (a) states:

"Nothing in these Regulations shall require any lamp or reflector to be fitted between sunrise and sunset to (a) a vehicle not fitted with any front or rear position lamp,"

Regulation 4 (4) states:

"Without predjudice to regulation 16, for the purpose of these Regulations a lamp shall not be treated as being a lamp if it is:

(a) so painted over or masked that it is not capable of being immediately used or readily put to use; or
(b) an electric lamp which is not provided with any system if wiring by means of which that lamp is, or can readily be, connected with a source of electricity."

I hope this information has assisted you with your enquiry, but if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Kind Regards,

Robert Evans
Customer Service Centre
VOSA Operations Directorate
Tel: 0300 123 9000

The staff at the VOSA Contact Centre are keen to hear your feedback on the service that they provide for you,to enable them to further understand customer requirements and make improvements where possible. Please take a few moments to complete our Contact Centre Customer Feedback form by clicking here

ANDY.T
09/01/2012 11:46
To <enquiries@vosa.gov.uk>
cc
Subject Motorcycle rear brake light, stop lamp.

Dear VOSA,

Could you please confirm a question.

In the current MOT guide it states that on a motorcycle that :

-----------------------------------

VOSA MOT Guide doc Motorcycles 2012

Stop Lamp

For this test if a stop lamp is fitted, it must meet the requirements of this inspection, but need not be fitted to a machine which:

a. cannot exceed 25mph, or
b. was first used before 1 January I936.or
c. was first used before 1 April 1986 and which has an engine capacity of less than 50cc.
Machines first used before 1 April 1986 must have a stop lamp that operates from at least one brake control.

Machines first used on or after 1 April 1986 must have a stop lamp that operates from both brake controls.
However, a small number of machines first used from this date were approved with the stop lamp operated by only one control. A machine should only be failed if you are certain that it was originally manufactured to operate from both controls
-----------------------------------

Does this mean that if the motorcycle does not meet one of the exceptions listed ( a, b, c.) that it then needs to be fitted with a rear stop lamp?

The confusion is that the general exemptions are listed in the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 separately from those in the MOT guide.

-------------------
R.V.L.R. 1989
Exemptions—General
4.—(1) N/A

(2) N/a
(3) NOTHING in these Regulations shall require ANY LAMP or REFLECTOR to be fitted between sunrise and sunset to–

(a)a vehicle not fitted with any front or rear position lamp,.
(b)an incomplete vehicle proceeding to a works for completion,.
(c)a pedal cycle,.
(d)a pedestrian-controlled vehicle,.
(e)a horse-drawn vehicle,.
(f)a vehicle drawn or propelled by hand, or.
(g)a combat vehicle..
(4) Without prejudice to regulation 16, for the purposes of these Regulations a lamp shall not be treated as being a lamp if it is–

(a)so painted over or masked that it is not capable of being immediately used or readily put to use; or.
(b)an electric lamp which is not provided with any system of wiring by means of which that lamp is, or can readily be, connected with a source of electricity.
------------------

Is it that in order to pass an MOT the bike might need a rear stop light fitted, but it might not need one for use on the road under the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989?

I understand that you need an MOT to ride the bike on a public road.

Can you please confirm if the bike needs a stop lamp in order to pass an MOT examination if it does not meet one of the exceptions in the MOT test guide?

Thanks,

ANDY.T.

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Mag · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:17 am

"There is not actually such a thing as a 'daytime only MOT'"

That's what I was going to say!

PJT · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 5:45 pm

Mag wrote:

"There is not actually such a thing as a 'daytime only MOT'"

That's what I was going to say!

You and all the others you state this are correct but over 90% of user understand what is meant by the term "Daylight MOT" or "Daylight only MOT" and it is far easier to say than "An MOT with an advisory notice that restricts the use of the vehicle to between the hours of sun-rise and sun-set and not when there is seriously reduced visibility".

What I don't think people understand is that once the bike's lighting or reflectors have been modified from the state they were in when the MOT test was carried, then other regulations such as "Construction and Uses" can override the situation and the bike may be being used illegally and leave the owner open to prosecution.

It should also be remembered that an MOT certificate is only confirmation that the bike met the requirements of the MOT Test at the time it was tested. It is not a permit confirming that the bike is legal to use on the highway.

If Mr/Mrs/Ms Plod is wanting to prosecute then he/she will rely on Construction and Use Regulations, if however you can show that the bike meets the requirements of the MOT Test, it may be possible to persuade them that the prosecution would be thrown out by a court, but don’t rely on that for a number plate violation.

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Daylight MOT confusing or what....

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