Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

Regulations 21 and 23

SCHEDULE 4

Part I Requirements Relating to Obligatory Dipped-Beam Headlamps and to Optional Dipped-Beam Headlamps to the Extent Specified in Part II

1.  Number—
(a) Any vehicle not covered by sub-paragraph (b), (c), (d) or (e):	Two
(b) A solo motor bicycle and a motor bicycle combination:	One
(c) A motor vehicle with three wheels, other than a motor bicycle combination, first used before 24th January 1996:	One
(d) A motor vehicle with three wheels, other than a motor bicycle combination, first used on or after 24th January 1996 and which has an unladen weight of not more than 400 kg and an overall width of not more than 1300 mm:	One
(e) A bus first used before 1st October 1969:	One
2.  Position—
(a) Longitudinal:	No requirement
(b) Lateral—
(i) Where two dipped-beam headlamps are required to be fitted—
(A) Maximum distance from the side of the vehicle—
(1) Any vehicle not covered by sub-head (2) or (3):	400 mm
(2) A vehicle first used before lst January 1972:	No requirement
(3) An agricultural vehicle, engineering plant and an industrial tractor:	No requirement
(B) Minimum separation distance between a pair of dipped-beam headlamps:	No requirement
(ii) Where one dipped-beam headlamp is required to be fitted—
(A) Any vehicle not covered by sub-head (B):	(i) On the centre-line of the motor vehicle (disregarding any sidecar forming part of a motor bicycle combination), or (ii) At any distance from the side of the motor vehicle (disregarding any sidecar forming part of a motor bicycle combination) provided that a duplicate lamp is fitted on the other side so that together they form a matched pair. In such a case, both lamps shall be regarded as obligatory lamps.
(B) A bus first used before 1st October 1969:	No requirement
(c) Vertical—
(i) Maximum height above the ground—
(A) Any vehicle not covered by sub- head (B):	1200 mm
(B) A vehicle first used before 1st January 1952, an agricultural vehicle, a road clearance vehicle, an aerodrome fire tender, an aerodrome runway sweeper, an industrial tractor, engineering plant and a home forces' vehicle:	No requirement
(ii) Minimum height above the ground—
(A) Any vehicle not covered by sub- head (B):	500 mm
(B) A vehicle first used before 1st January 1956:	No requirement
3.  Angles of visibility:	No requirement
4.  Alignment-— When a vehicle is at its kerbside weight and has a weight of 75 kg on the driver’s seat, and any manual headlamp levelling device control is set to the stop position, the alignment of every dipped-beam headlamp shall, as near as practicable, be set so that it is permanently deflected downwards to such an extent that it is at all times incapable of dazzling any person at a greater distance than 9 m from the lamp whose eye-level is not less than 1300 mm above that plane.
5.  Markings—
(a) Any vehicle not covered by sub-paragraph (b), (c) or (d):	An approval mark or a British Standard mark
(b) A motor vehicle first used before 24th January 1996:	No requirement
(c) A three-wheeled motor vehicle, not being a motor bicycle combination, first used on or after 24th January 1996 and having a maximum speed not exceeding 50 mph:	No requirement
(d) A solo motor bicycle and a motor bicycle combination:	No requirement
6.  Size of illuminated area:	No requirement
7.  Colour:	White or yellow
8.  Wattage—
(a) A motor vehicle with four or more wheels first used on or after 24th January 1996:	No requirement
(b) A three-wheeled motor vehicle, not being a motor bicycle combination, first used on or after 24th January 1996—
(i) having a maximum speed not exceeding	15 watts minimum 50 mph:
(ii) having a maximum speed exceeding	No requirement 50 mph:
(c) A motor vehicle with four or more wheels first used before 24th January 1996:	30 watts minimum
(d) A three-wheeled motor vehicle, not being a motor bicycle combination, first used before 24th January 1996:	No requirement
(e) A solo motor bicycle and a motor bicycle combination, first used on or after 24th January 1996—
(i) having an engine not exceeding 250 cc and a maximum speed not exceeding 25 mph:	10 watts minimum
(ii) having an engine not exceeding 250 cc and a maximum speed exceeding 25 mph:	15 watts minimum
(iii) having an engine exceeding 250 cc:	24 watts minimum
9.  Intensity:	No requirement
10.  Electrical connections— Where a matched pair of dipped-beam headlamps is fitted they shall be capable of being switched on and off simultaneously and not otherwise.
11.  Tell-tale:	No requirement

12.  Other requirements—

(a) every dipped-beam headlamp shall be so constructed that the direction of the beam of light emitted therefrom can be adjusted whilst the vehicle is stationary.

(b) every vehicle which—

(i) is fitted with dipped-beam headlamps bearing an approval mark,

(ii) has a maximum speed exceeding 25 mph, and

(iii) is first used on or after 24th January 1996,

shall be marked with a clearly legible and indelible marking, as illustrated in Schedule 24, close to either the headlamps or the manufacturer’s plate showing the setting recommended by the manufacturer for the downward inclination of the horizontal part of the cut-off of the beam pattern of the dipped-beam headlamps when the vehicle is at its kerbside weight and has a weight of 75 kg on the driver’s seat. That setting shall be a single figure—

(A) between 1 and 1.5 per cent. if the height of the centre of the headlamp is not more than 850 mm above the ground, and

(B) between 1 and 2 per cent. if the height of the centre of the headlamp is more than 850 mm above the ground.

(c) Every dipped-beam headlamp fitted to a vehicle first used on or after 24th January 1996 in accordance with this part of this Schedule shall be designed for a vehicle which is intended to be driven on the left-hand side of the road.

(d) Where two dipped-beam headlamps are required to be fitted they shall form a matched pair.

13.  Definitions—

In this Schedule—

• “approval mark” means either—

  (a)

  a marking designated as an approval mark by regulation 5 of the Designation of Approval Marks Regulations and shown at item 12 or 13 or 14 or 16 or, in the case of a vehicle having a maximum speed not exceeding 25 mph, 27 or 28 of Schedule 4 to those Regulations, or

  (b)

  a marking designated as an approval mark by regulation 4 of the Designation of Approval Marks Regulations and shown at item 1A or 1B or 1C or 1E or 5A or 5B or 5C or 5E or 8C or 8D or 8E or 8F or 8G or 8H or 8K or 8L or 20C or 20D or 20E or 2OF or 2OG or 20H or 20K or 20 L or 31A or 31C or, in the case of a vehicle having a maximum speed not exceeding 25 mph, 1H or 1I or 5H or 5I of Schedule 2 to those Regulations; and

• “British Standard mark” means the specification for sealed beam headlamps published by the British Standards Institution under the reference BS AU 40: Part 4a: 1966 as amended by Amendment AMD 2188 published in December 1976, namely “B.S. AU40.”

Part II Requirements Relating to Optional Dipped-Beam Headlamps

1.  In the case of a vehicle with three or more wheels having a maximum speed exceeding 25 mph first used on or after 24th January 1996, two and not more than two may be fitted and the only requirements prescribed by these Regulations in respect of any which are fitted are—

(a) those specified in paragraphs 2(c), 4, 7, 10 and 12(a) of Part I,

(b) that they are designed for a vehicle which is intended to be driven on the right-hand side of the road,

(c) that they form a matched pair, and

(d) that their electrical connections are such that not more than one pair of dipped-beam headlamps is capable of being illuminated at a time.

2.  In the case of any other vehicle, any number may be fitted and the only requirements prescribed by these Regulations in respect of any which are fitted are those specified in paragraphs 2(c), 4, 7 and 12(a) of Part I.