Position, crossing, road and fog

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Position, dipped, main beam and fog lights: when each one must be switched on under Belgian lighting regulations.

Coverage, Position, crossing, road and fog

Lesson objectives

Identify situations that require turning on dipped beam, main beam and fog lights Understand the rules for using position lights and visibility conditions Master visibility thresholds and prohibitions on using main beam lights

Dipped beam lights: when to turn them on?

Article 30 opens with the condition that governs everything else: between dusk and dawn , as well as in any circumstance where it is no longer possible to see clearly up to a distance of approximately 200 metres . In these conditions, a motor vehicle uses dipped beam or main beam lights at the front , which can moreover be used simultaneously , and red lights at the rear . The 200-metre threshold does not depend on any particular weather: rain, fog, snow, smoke, dust or simple twilight, it is the visibility distance that decides.

Dipped beam lights

Main lights of a car, normally used to drive at night or when visibility is insufficient. They are always turned on with position lights at the front and red lights at the rear.

What the code requires is a set : dipped beam or main beam lights at the front, red lights at the rear (art. 30.1, 2°). On a car, one triggers the other by design, but the legal obligation covers both, a faulty rear light does not cease to be an offence because the front works. Two rules complete the picture: Article 29 : it is prohibited to use lights other than those prescribed or provided for by the code or by technical regulations. Article 30bis : outside the circumstances of article 30, the dipped beam light and red rear light of two-wheeled mopeds and motorcycles must be used at all times , and the main beam cannot then be used.

Night driving with dipped beam lights

Main beam lights: conditions of use and prohibitions

Main beam lights are not a tolerance: article 30.1, 1° places them on the same level as dipped beam lights for front lighting, and even allows them to be used simultaneously. What the code regulates is the moment when they must be switched off and replaced by dipped beam lights , four cases, listed below. Outside these cases, they are lawful.

Four absolute prohibitions on main beam lights

Main beam lights must be switched off and replaced by dipped beam lights : a) when approaching a user coming in the opposite direction , at the distance necessary for them to continue their journey easily and safely, and in any case as soon as a driver switches their main beam lights on and off successively and rapidly to indicate that they are dazzled; b) when approaching a rail vehicle or a boat whose driver or pilot risks being dazzled; c) when the vehicle follows another vehicle at less than 50 metres , except when overtaking ; d) when the road lighting is continuous and sufficient to allow clear vision up to approximately 100 metres . Case b) is the one courses most often forget, and flashing headlights is an obligation, not a courtesy.

The exact wording of the code: the exception of 50 metres applies " except when overtaking ". It refers to overtaking in progress, not the intention to start one. And it only lifts case c): if you overtake under sufficient public lighting, case d) continues to require you to use dipped beam lights.

Main beam lights

Lights providing more powerful illumination than dipped beam lights, used at night or in poor visibility. Prohibited if public lighting allows visibility up to 100 m or if they risk dazzling other drivers.

Publicly lit road: main beam lights prohibited

Fog lights: front and rear

Front fog lights

The code does not make front fog lights mandatory; it limits their use. Article 30.1, 1°: they can only be used in case of fog, snow or heavy rain . In these three cases, they can replace dipped beam or main beam lights, or be switched on simultaneously with them. Outside these three cases, switching them on is an offence, including on a clear night.

Front fog lights

Optional lights (not mandatory) that can be used in fog, snow or heavy rain. They can replace or supplement dipped beam or main beam lights.

Rear fog lights

The obligation is conditional: when the vehicle is equipped with rear fog lights , these must be used: in case of fog or snowfall reducing visibility to less than approximately 100 metres ; in case of heavy rain , without visibility condition. And the code adds the phrase that is always forgotten: "These lights may not be used in other circumstances." Leaving the rear fog light on after the fog bank is therefore a separate offence, and this is the meaning of half the exam questions on this light. The equipment itself falls under technical regulations, not the highway code.

Rear fog lights

Mandatory red lights at the rear. Must be switched on in fog or snow if visibility < 100 m, and always in heavy rain, regardless of visibility.

Summary: when to switch on rear fog lights

Circumstance Rear fog lights Fog reducing visibility to less than approximately 100 m Mandatory Snowfall reducing visibility to less than approximately 100 m Mandatory Heavy rain Mandatory , without visibility threshold Any other circumstance Prohibited

Driving in dense fog with fog lights

Position lights: stopping and parking

When stopped or parked , between dusk and dawn or when it is no longer possible to see distinctly to approximately 200 metres , a motor vehicle signals itself (art. 31.1.1): at the front, by one or two white or yellow position lights ; at the rear, by one or two red lights . In fog, snowfall or heavy rain , dipped beam lights or front fog lights may be used, as well as rear fog lights.

Position lights

Position lights: low-intensity lights used to signal a stopped or parked vehicle, white or yellow at the front, red at the rear (art. 31.1.1). Not to be confused with the parking light, which is the single light that article 31.1.1, 3° authorizes for use in built-up areas.

In built-up areas , position lights and rear red lights may be replaced by a parking light , subject to two conditions: the vehicle is parked parallel to the road axis and no trailer is coupled to it. The code specifies which one: only the parking light on the side of the road axis may be used, the one on the pavement side remains off. And above all, the general exception in article 31.2 : the use of all these lights when stopped is only mandatory if public lighting does not allow the vehicle to be seen distinctly at a distance of approximately 100 metres . In a well-lit street, you switch nothing on.

Summary table: key visibility thresholds

Light When Basis Dipped or main beam, at the front; red lights at the rear Between dusk and dawn, and as soon as visibility falls below 200 m approximately 30.1 Main beam lights, mandatory extinction User in opposite direction or headlight flash; vehicle on rails or boat; less than 50 m behind a vehicle except when overtaking; sufficient public lighting at 100 m 30.1, 1° Front fog lights Fog, snowfall or heavy rain only; may replace or supplement dipped and main beam 30.1, 1° Rear fog lights Mandatory if fog or snow reduce visibility below 100 m , and in heavy rain. Prohibited in other circumstances 30.1, 2° Position lights, when stopped or parked Night or visibility below 200 m , but only if public lighting does not allow the vehicle to be seen at 100 m 31.1 and 31.2 Two-wheeled mopeds and motorcycles Dipped beam and rear red light at all times , even in daylight; main beam then prohibited 30bis Bicycles One white or yellow light at the front, one red light at the rear 30.3, 1°

Key points to remember

The trigger : dusk, or the inability to see distinctly to approximately 200 m . Front, at the front: dipped or main beam, possibly both; at the rear: red lights. Main beam lights : to be switched off in four cases, opposite direction or headlight flash, vehicle on rails or boat, less than 50 m behind a vehicle except when overtaking, sufficient public lighting at 100 m. Front fog lights : fog, snow or heavy rain only; may replace or supplement other lights. Rear fog lights : mandatory below 100 m visibility in fog or snow, and in heavy rain, and prohibited in any other circumstance . When stopped : white or yellow position lights at the front, red at the rear; in built-up areas, possible replacement by the parking light on the road axis side if the vehicle is parallel and without a trailer; nothing is mandatory if public lighting allows the vehicle to be seen at 100 m . Motorcycles and two-wheeled mopeds : dipped beam + rear red light at all times (art. 30bis). Article 29 : no lights other than those provided for by the code or technical regulations.

What now?

First take the quiz of this lesson to validate your knowledge, then practice with the exam simulator and the MCQs . Next lesson: Hazard lights and mandatory DRL .

BelgianLicenses

Theory without practice is forgotten: move on to the MCQs to durably anchor your knowledge.