Outline lamps
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I understand that new trucks have to be fitted with end outline marker lamps.
I have noticed that on one make of tractive unit white lights are carried in the front of the cab sun-visor but no red lights are fitted showing to the rear. The dealer says they are not needed because the semitrailer would have them.
What is your opinion?
A The dealer is wrong. Red, rearward-facing end-outline marker lamps are required on trucks over 2.1m wide and first used from 1 April 1991 — whether a trailer is drawn or not.
The purpose of these marker lamps — according to the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 — is to indicate the presence of a wide vehicle. An artic tractor might not always be coupled to a trailer and might often be coupled to a trailer not requiring end-outline markers.