The short answer to this question is no. Due to their brightness,it is illegal to drive on the street with an LED light bar turned on. In fact, simply leaving them off isn't enough in most states. An LED light cover must be used while the vehicle is driven on the highway!
Too much info in Google searches - simple answer is all I am looking for.
Brodie.
-- Edited by Brodie Allen on Monday 3rd of October 2022 09:50:08 AM
On Sydney Northern Beaches due to vast amount of "wildlife" there are plenty of driving lights on roof racks & platforms, & also on top of bull bars.
It doesn't appear any vehicle compliance is done any more.
Another issue is LED headlights with excessive glare, either poorly aligned or the light fitting was never designed for LED in the first place.
Possum3 said
10:30 AM Oct 3, 2022
Single light bar is illegal - there must be a separation in the bar ie two lights.
watsea said
11:29 AM Oct 3, 2022
Here is a link for Queensland, see below. It is government publication. It seemed a pretty easy read to me. Maybe some information from some links go over the top to make out they know stuff and encourage sales of their products. Not sure how about regulations in other states. A websearch would help.
-- Edited by watsea on Monday 3rd of October 2022 11:36:35 AM
Radar said
02:35 PM Oct 3, 2022
watsea wrote:
Here is a link for Queensland, see below. It is government publication. It seemed a pretty easy read to me. Maybe some information from some links go over the top to make out they know stuff and encourage sales of their products. Not sure how about regulations in other states. A websearch would help.
Just bear in mind two issues that may affect the use of driving lights -
1. Animals, in particular kangaroos can be dazzled by bright lights & this may cause damage to the car in a collision. If you see roos on the road, dip your lights & slow down.
2. Airflow may be restricted through the radiator, etc by using the 8-9 inch diameter lights - that is if you can afford them (some are VERY expensive). This may not be an issue in cooler states, but it is in the hotter climates.
I have a single row light bar mounted on the main part of the bar, lower than the headlights but it's used in conjunction with them.
erad said
10:02 PM Oct 3, 2022
Some people mount the driving lights on the roof. This gives excellent throw of the lights, but is potentially dangerous for on-coming traffic, because the on-coming driver will be swamped with ultra-intense lights well before his own headlights become visible to the driver with his lights up on the roof. Sadly, many people wait until they actually see an oncoming vehicle dip his lights before they dip theirs. Meanwhile, the poor bugger coming towards the lights cannot see a thing. It is bad enough with ultra-bright lights anyway, because their output drowns out the oncoming vehicle's lights, so they don't even know there is a vehicle coming towards them, until WHAM - they get melted by these ultra bright flamethrowers. Dazzling an on-coming driver is not only upsetting for him, it is dangerous, because he could stray into your path, taking you out as well as him.
dabbler said
11:56 PM Oct 3, 2022
This is yet another area where changes are ever present. It's no use recalling and repeating a law without doing some research. Motoring media is a good start but official government links are the only places worth referencing as watsea has done. At least one post here is incorrect and it's not the ones with verifiable links.
-- Edited by dabbler on Tuesday 4th of October 2022 12:00:50 AM
Brodie Allen said
10:00 PM Oct 5, 2022
Thanks watsea. Got it now.
Brodie.
Whenarewethere said
09:45 AM Oct 6, 2022
One of the problems with LED lights is than they have extremely poor CRI (colour rendering index), they may appear bright on the "surface" but in reality you have no real depth of quality light.
They have a lot of light in the blue frequencies which our eyes have trouble with. Apart from the fact that LED lights are directional & should not be use as car lights unless designed appropriately.
Just reading an article on driving lights (wow - some are very impressive) and
their legal siting - noted as not higher than top of bullbar - but illustrative
photos further into the article show lights on top of the cabin.
https://unsealed4x4.com.au/essential-guide-led-driving-lights/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=The+Essential+Guide+To+LED+Driving+Lights&utm_campaign=Unsealed+4X4+EDM+-+3rd+October+202
And then there's this:
-- Edited by Brodie Allen on Monday 3rd of October 2022 09:50:08 AM
On Sydney Northern Beaches due to vast amount of "wildlife" there are plenty of driving lights on roof racks & platforms, & also on top of bull bars.
It doesn't appear any vehicle compliance is done any more.
Another issue is LED headlights with excessive glare, either poorly aligned or the light fitting was never designed for LED in the first place.
Here is a link for Queensland, see below. It is government publication. It seemed a pretty easy read to me. Maybe some information from some links go over the top to make out they know stuff and encourage sales of their products. Not sure how about regulations in other states. A websearch would help.
https://www.publications.qld.gov.au/ckan-publications-attachments-prod/resources/446c05fc-1373-4a9d-a5ac-e729598cd334/driving-lamps-including-light-emitting-diode-led-light-bars-on-light-vehicles_sep21-final.pdf?ETag=335c3bd4197187b794d6855e64a8a1a0
-- Edited by watsea on Monday 3rd of October 2022 11:36:35 AM
Thank you Watsea.
A very clear article.
1. Animals, in particular kangaroos can be dazzled by bright lights & this may cause damage to the car in a collision. If you see roos on the road, dip your lights & slow down.
2. Airflow may be restricted through the radiator, etc by using the 8-9 inch diameter lights - that is if you can afford them (some are VERY expensive). This may not be an issue in cooler states, but it is in the hotter climates.
I have a single row light bar mounted on the main part of the bar, lower than the headlights but it's used in conjunction with them.
This is yet another area where changes are ever present. It's no use recalling and repeating a law without doing some research. Motoring media is a good start but official government links are the only places worth referencing as watsea has done. At least one post here is incorrect and it's not the ones with verifiable links.
-- Edited by dabbler on Tuesday 4th of October 2022 12:00:50 AM
Brodie.
One of the problems with LED lights is than they have extremely poor CRI (colour rendering index), they may appear bright on the "surface" but in reality you have no real depth of quality light.
They have a lot of light in the blue frequencies which our eyes have trouble with. Apart from the fact that LED lights are directional & should not be use as car lights unless designed appropriately.