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It may come to pass that I may be asked to use my towbar mounted bike carrier for 2 x daytime motorway journeys but without the electrics working. It will display a valid registration plate, but the indicator and brake lights on the carrier will be non-functioning. Not ideal.
But just about every tail-mounted bike carrier that I see fails to have lights on it, and few enough bother to have a registration plate attached where the registration is obscured.
Am I being too puritanical / fearful of "the rozzers" by thinking that I shouldn't risk it? Or is this something to which broadly a blind eye is turned, and what I really risk is a problem with insurance if someone rear-ends me? Vehicle has relatively high rear lights (Hyundai i800).
I got stopped just outside Birmingham, I had checked before I left Scotland all good, all working. Everything seemed ok, turns out the cable must of got loose and I dragged it 150 miles down the motorway, police understanding as they could see my indicators on the car and brake lights so just told to sort it ASAP. After seeing some accidents on the m6 recently I wouldn’t risk it.
1/10. Awful troll.
Sorry, but it was / is a genuine question, not a troll!
I have the chance to rectify the issue at a cost of £100 and personal inconvenience and trying to work out whether it is £100 I'd rather have in the bank for 2x journeys, or if the risk is simply not worth it.
Every summer at holiday time I seem to see at least on car laden with bikes and no light board/plate pulled over on the hard shoulder. I think the old bill look for it in the summer particularly, I wouldn't risk it
If you need a lighting board then I have just seen them in aldi. No idea of price but can't be that expensive.
The law is clear....you need one. Some people don't bother and get away with it, some don't get away with it. It's upto you to take the gamble. Someone might pop up on here and tell you they've never bothered in 20 years and never got caught, but that wont reduce your changes of getting stopped.
Not really an issue you can canvass advice or opinions on....ultimately you need to make the call yourself and no amount of varied opinions on here is going to help you. Break the law, or don't break the law....you decide. What happens if you get stopped? a telling off by the roadside? points and fine? car impounded and a big recovery charge? I don't know.
Lighting board and plate are peanuts, it's the socket for the electrics that costs. The parents with all the screaming kids in the back getting the third degree from the cops always look really stressed for what it's worth.
If you simply avoid braking and indicating at all times, where's the problem?
(Seriously, though, just get it sorted. £100 for something on the car is peanuts these days, it's not just for these 2 journeys really is it?)
I had this one before I got a proper bike rack with integrated lights. £20, and another £15 or so for a number plate.
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-racks/bike-rack-accessories/halfords-cycle-carrier-lighting-board
just get an auto electrician out. They often visit your home and are not that expensive.
You need the number plate.
You don’t need the lights during daytime hours, however you must use hand signals if you don’t have them.
Personally, id get a lighting board, it’s safer.
If you have a tow bar fitted, why would you not have the socket.
Peace of mind if someone rear ends you, insurance would be first to bail and deny payout as you had not fulfilled the LAW.
I've been fined £60 for having my rear lights (brake/indicator) obstructed by a bike carrier. Was day time.
Get it sorted.
The law is clear….you need one.
Got a link to that law?
why has it got a towbar and no electrics to start with? What idiot bodged that on?
anyway, dedicated (plug in) fitting kit is <£120, just put that on
I’ve been fined £60 for having my rear lights (brake/indicator) obstructed by a bike carrier. Was day time.
I had this as well. The copper explained the reasons about lights being visible from the rear but also admitted it was so they could catch your plate on camera as well.
I got the electrics done the next week...
You don’t need the lights during daytime hours
Pretty sure that's untrue. To get a daylight MOT you must have a brake light (unless it's VERY old, pre ww2).
And you also have to have no lights, not just not working.
'The lights' are also the brake lights and indicator. Yep, stood 5m back you can see them fine but a car coming from an angle at speed may miss your signal etc.
I paid my £60 and like most things, learnt the hard way.
Got a link to that law?
Road vehicles construction and use regulations 1986
I asked a police officer friend about this a few weeks ago as I had fitted my towbar but not sorted the electrics. She's pretty new to the job so asked some colleagues and showed them a picture. I did state it would only be used in daylight, had added a number plate and as it was attached to a van all lights were clearly visible. Both her and her colleagues said it looked fine.
Just don't do what I just did, and assemble your new Thule rack but with the light board attached upside down. Took me a while to work out why the indicators were reversed..😁
I got stopped while in a truck that was towing a bus, the officer contended that a lighting board was needed, he agreed to speak to the drivers boss, who quoted the exact chapter and verse regarding the requirement for lights during daylight hours, and the copper then agreed that they were not required.
And he was a traffic officer, so I’d wager his knowledge was greater than most.
However, it may be worth repeating this bit ‘hand signals must be used’
Think the proper wiring kit for my Golf was around £120 for a 7 pin cable and around £90 for a tow bar place to fit and connect to the towbar I'd fitted.
When someone ploughs into the back of you and crushes 4 bikes and claims it’s because your brake lights were obstructed - you’ll be glad you saved £100
Nothing is needed if nothing is obstructed. Bear that in mind. Take the wheels off for example. Number plates are the tricky one though as tow bars usually obstruct the view. I bet a number plate bungied on and tail and indicator lights visible would be ok as long as it was day light and the number plate light wasn't missed by the law. I would.
Thanks for all the posts.
A) I am aware of the law and know I do need (and in fact own!) a light board and registration plate
B) This is genuinely a two journey use - the current electrics are out of action, I’m not planning on keeping the car much longer so to get them up and running I would need to spend money on car that I won’t own in a few weeks time
C) £60 vs £100 repair (I’ve been quoted) seems decent VFM or risk vs reward.
C) for me makes it worth the risk in this particular circumstance I think, but I appreciate the words of caution, and they are duly noted!!
We have just travelled down from Canazei to Les Orres and was held up for over an hour. When we managed to get to the accident a four wheel drive had rear ended a van. The bikes and the tow bar rack were crushed into the back of the van and the front of the four wheel drive was hardly damaged. What was noticeable was that there were no lights or number plate on the bikes or rack.
If none of the towbar electrics are working, have you checked the fuse isn't gone? 50p fix and easy to do
As Petri says, its the risk of an accident/insurance liability/unroadworthiness that would put me off more than the chances of being fined by the rozzers.
After having someone rear end me with bikes on the back I would always use a lightboard.
Was a nightmare trying to prove the lights were visible on a car with the back end smashed in and a broken bike rack...... managed it and got the car and bikes paid for....