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148 
NIGHT PARKING
Page 38
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II My driver stopped for a break at an all-night cafe in a city centre and parked his 38-tonne artic in the road without lights. The road had street lights which were lit and, at 03:1:10hrs in the morning, there was
hardly any traffic about.
But a car driver collided with the back of the trailer and is now blaming the driver—and this company—for the damage to his car on the grounds that the vehicle should have been displaying lights.
It has been common practice for years for vehicles parked in the road near the cafe not to display lights.
What is the law on parking at night without lights?
• Regulation 24(1)(b) of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 states: No person shall allow to remain at rest, or cause or permit to be allowed to remain at rest, on a road any vehicle between sunset and sunrise unless every front position lamp, rear position lamp, rear registration plate lamp, side marker lamp and end-outline marker lamp with which the vehicle is required by these Regulations to be fitted is kept IA and unobscured."
Some exemptions from the requirement are provided in Regulation 24(5)-(9) in the case of vehicles parked in areas subject of a local authority parking order, in properly identified lay-bys or in specified circumstances, but none of these exemptions applies to a goods vehicle with an unladen weight exceeding 1,525kg.
Consequently, as long as the road in question was open the public your articulated ve cle should have been displayl these lights, if they are requIr to be fitted to the vehicle.
Front and rear positi lamps and a rear number Or' lamp would be required. But t fitting of side marker and er outline marker lamps depen on the vehicle's age and leng The absence of lets on yc vehicle may be a contribute factor to the collision but I wot suggest the main cause is car less driving by the car driver.