There are super-bright auxiliary lights for motorbikes out there. But are auxiliary lights legal?
Everyone, who rides a bike, knows the feeling of “do they see me?”. With “they” we mean the normal madness of trucks, drivers, bicycle, just anyone else out there on that road together with you.
It is therefore a pretty understandable wish of us bikers to be seen (and heard) as early as possible and also to see further down the road when it gets dark. And this leads us to the question of adding auxiliary lights on our bikes. There are numerous offers for aftermarket aux lights for motorcycles on the market. Some of them more powerful than others and some offer a rather interesting set of ontop functions like strobing and flashing.
But are auxiliary lights really legal?
Andrew Dalton from White Dalton solicitors mentions “Auxiliary lights make you appear bigger and wider which is legal, but a light which causes ‘undue dazzle’ is illegal.” His article goes on with “As many adventure riders will tell you, auxiliary lights seem to make riders more visible to car drivers. I certainly notice I seem less visible on my enduro bike than I do on my BMW GS with the semi obligatory auxiliary light.”
At moto-mate the question whether auxiliary lights are legal is an important one. We cannot stress enough how much more visible we think we are with aux lights on our bikes! We run DENALI auxiliary lights on all our bikes. We can only second, what Andrew Dalton, Senior Partner at White Dalton solicitors, wrote in his pretty insightful blog post “Illumination for the nation…”. Use them, make them work for your safety, but be decent and considerate towards other road users. And all will be good.
Andrew also gives his legal view on whether or not to have auxiliary lights on your motorcycle on his blog post here: Auxiliary lights for motorcycles
About Andrew Dalton
Andrew Dalton is an ex-despatch rider turned solicitor and barrister. He has now over 25 years of experience in motorcycle law. He rides a KTM 1290 Super Adventure, a Husqvarna 701, and a Husqvarna 350. Andrew is a well-recognised expert in both British and European motorcycle law.
About White Dalton solicitors
White Dalton is Britain’s most specialised solicitors when it comes to motorcycle accident claims. All their staff are motorcyclists themselves, so they know about the everyday risk of bikers and have heard the top excuse “haven’t seen the bike” probably a few thousand times. You can meet some of the White Dalton people on the motorcycle shows around the country. They usually have a stand at ABR Adventure Bike Rider Festival and at MCN. They pride themselves on giving you clear and frank advice, and that’s what we all want in the case of an incident. Find more about White Dalton on their website: www.whitedalton.co.uk
