Joint Plan to Improve Vehicle Lighting
Page 51
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A REPORT on vehicle lighting has
been submitted to the Ministry of Transport, vehicle manufacturers and other interested bodies by the standing joint committee of the Royal Automobile Club, the Automobile Association and the Royal Scottish Automobile Club. It was compiled after intensive investigation and outlines many improvements. Some of its proposals are depicted in diagrammatic form on this page.
The report says that on vehicles having rear doors or tailboards, there should be an independently wired rear light in such a position as not to be obscured when the doors or tailboard are open. The permissible overhang of the vehicle to the rear of the rear light should be reduced to 1 ft., and the permissible overhang of the load beyond the rearmost rear light to 3 ft.
Direction indicators should be a compulsory fitting, and it might be necessary for clignoteur-type iticlicators to be fitted at the rear of commercial vehicles. In lighted streets, a single parking light showing white to the front and red to the rear should be permissible, instead of the present obligatory front and rear lights.
A tractor should bear some device on the front near side to indicate that a trailer is being towed. This sign should be illuminated at night. All trailers should carry white lights on each side at the front, to be visible from the front and from the side. Rear lighting arrangements should be similar to those of the tractor.
On trailers over 22 ft. long, if the front and rear lights be not visible to the side, additional lights, white at the front and red at the rear and showing to the side, should, says the report, be carried. In addition, white reflectors at the front and red reflectors at the rear should be placed on each side.
The committee also recommends that a white band be painted across the rear of all commercial vehicles.