Hazard lights and DRL mandatory

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Hazard lights and daytime running lights: when they are compulsory in Belgium and the most common mistakes drivers make.

Cover, Hazard lights and DRL mandatory

Lesson objectives

Understand the legal conditions for using hazard lights Know the situations where hazard lights are mandatory Master the specific rules for DRL (daytime running lights) and four-way flashers

Hazard lights: definition and role

The code never speaks of « hazard lights » or « warnings ». It speaks of the device allowing all direction indicators to operate simultaneously , and article 32bis lists its uses exhaustively: the cases provided for in articles 39bis.2 and 51 , or to warn other road users of the risk of an imminent accident . Everything else, thanking, apologizing, parking for two minutes in a no-parking zone, is outside the text.

Hazard lights

All four direction indicators (turn signals) lit at the same time to signal an emergency situation, a breakdown, an accident or an imminent danger on the road.

When to turn on hazard lights?

Mandatory situations

Vehicle breakdown (art. 51.1) : the driver may use other signaling means, in particular by operating all direction indicators simultaneously, or by placing a yellow-orange flashing portable light. This is a faculty that adds to the triangle, not a substitute. Accident (art. 52.1) : the person involved must take the necessary measures to ensure the safety and fluidity of traffic, and the driver must in particular comply with article 51. Risk of imminent accident (art. 32bis) : the only case where the device is used while driving, a queue that stops abruptly in front of you, an obstacle on the roadway. School transport (art. 39bis.2) : the driver of the signaled vehicle operates all direction indicators to indicate that children are about to board or disembark.

The date of « June 2027 » that appeared here does not exist in any text: it has been removed. What the code says today is simpler, and more demanding than a recommendation. What is mandatory for a broken-down vehicle parked where stopping and parking are prohibited is the warning triangle (art. 51.1). The four flashers are a means that the driver « may also » use. Reversing the two, turning on the hazard lights and dispensing with the triangle, is precisely the error that the exam sanctions.

Concrete example: breakdown on motorway

Broken down on motorway, the code order (art. 51): park the vehicle as a parked vehicle, if still possible; wear the retroreflective safety vest as soon as you exit the vehicle , as soon as the vehicle is parked where stopping and parking are prohibited (art. 51.4); place the warning triangle below the vehicle, in a substantially vertical position, at at least 100 m on motorway , 30 m on ordinary roads, and so that it is visible at approximately 50 m for those approaching (art. 51.2); the four direction indicators may be used in addition . And if the vehicle's lighting or signalling devices do not work, the same signalling is required as soon as the vehicle cannot be clearly seen at approximately 100 metres .

Misuse of hazard lights

Some drivers turn on hazard lights in unauthorised situations. This constitutes an infraction :

Prohibited uses

signal obstructive or double-line parking; announce reversing or parallel parking; drive with warnings on outside any imminent accident risk; substitute them for direction indicators to change direction or lane; thank or apologise to another driver. In each of these cases, the use falls outside the three hypotheses of article 32bis.

In the exam, the expected answer relates to article 32bis : the device may only be used in the cases of articles 39bis.2 (school transport) and 51 (broken-down vehicle, load fallen), or to signal an imminent accident risk . And remember that, for breakdown, the obligation concerns the triangle : the indicators are added to it.

Hazard lights and school bus

Article 39bis first describes the panel : at least 0.40 m per side, retroreflective background, placed clearly visible on the left side, front and rear of the vehicle, and removed or masked when the vehicle is no longer used for school transport. Then the obligation on you (39bis.2): exercise extra caution when approaching such a vehicle, and, when its driver activates all direction indicators, reduce speed sharply and stop if necessary . The code does not say "overtake with caution": it asks you to reduce speed sharply and stop if necessary.

School bus with hazard lights activated

Hazard lights and road safety

Hazard lights play a crucial role in accident prevention . They give other road users time to react to an abnormal situation. On motorways in particular, they can prevent chain collisions .

Broken-down vehicle with hazard lights and warning triangle

Sidelights and dipped beam: reminder

The title of this lesson mentions DRL , daytime running lights. A clarification is needed: the highway code does not govern them . Their presence on new cars and their characteristics fall under technical regulations and European type-approval regulations, not the Royal Decree of 1 st December 1975. What the code does say, on the other hand, directly concerns you: article 29 prohibits the use of lights other than those prescribed or provided for by regulation, and article 30 requires, from dusk or under 200 m visibility, dipped or main beam lights at the front and red lights at the rear . Now DRL do not light the rear lights: driving by day in a downpour relying only on them leaves the vehicle invisible from the rear . This is the most common infraction in this entire course.

Position lights

Daytime running lights (DRL): white front lights that automatically switch on at start-up on recent vehicles. They fall under technical regulations, not the highway code, and do not control rear lights, they therefore never dispense with switching on dipped beam when article 30 requires it.

Key points to remember for the exam

The code refers to the device that simultaneously activates all direction indicators , and article 32bis limits its use to the cases of articles 39bis.2 and 51 , and to imminent accident risk . For a broken-down vehicle, the obligation is the warning triangle ; the four indicators are a means that the driver "may additionally" use. Triangle : at 30 m at least on ordinary road, 100 m on motorway, visible at approximately 50 m . In built-up areas, it may be placed closer, or even on the vehicle. Retroreflective vest as soon as you exit the vehicle on motorway and motorway-type roads (art. 51.4). School transport : exercise extra caution, and when all direction indicators are operating, reduce speed sharply and stop if necessary . The four indicators never replace the lighting required by article 30. DRL do not fall under the highway code and do not light rear lights.

Congratulations!

First do the quiz for this lesson to validate your learning, then practise on the exam simulator and MCQs . You have completed this entire course. Congratulations, on to practice!

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