Lights on in a lay-by?
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On a recent trip to Scotland I parked overnight in a lay-by near Carlisle. It wasn't a lay-by at the road edge but was a pull-in with some land between my truck and the road.
When I woke up next morning I found a fixed penalty ticket on the windscreen for parking without lights. No trucks ever park there overnight with lights on and there is no ban on overnight parking there.
What is the law on parking without lights in a lay-by off the road.
A If a heavy goods vehicle is parked on a road between sunset and sunrise its front and rear lamps, number plate lamp, side marker lamps and end-outline marker lamps must be kept lit. This requirement is contained in Regulation 24 of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989.
The term "road" includes the carriageway, footpath, verges, central reservation and everything between the fences or walls bordering the road.
A lay-by adjacent to a carriageway is certainly part of the road and vehicles should display lights when parked there at night.
The lay-by in question appears to be a loop road which is used for parking but as it is open for use by the public, it would count as a road.
Only roads to which the public do not have access are outside the lighting regulations.