What You Need to Know Before Selecting Driving Lights for Your 4x4

If you do a lot of driving in your 4x4, then you will know how challenging road conditions can be across Australia, especially in inclement conditions. Consequently, you want to see and be seen at all times and may be considering the addition of some special driving lights to help you achieve this. However, you may be confused due to the proliferation of posts on social media forums and not be sure what's allowable in the regulations. What do you need to think about before you make your choice?

Federal regulations do dictate what type of aftermarket vehicle lighting you can fit and the rules go into great detail with the various technical specifications. This is where some of the confusion comes from, as the law used to say that you had to fit driving lights "in pairs" only and could only fit a maximum of four lights on your vehicle. However, these laws were made some time ago and before the advent of LED technology, which has created a considerable amount of confusion in relation to just how many lights were in play.

What the Law Says Now

As you may know, an LED light has several different bulbs within it and it can be difficult to determine how that fits in with the old regulation. Therefore, the government revised the rules fairly recently and have determined that one light can be "a lamp with multiple light sources that operate simultaneously from within a single and enclosed assembly." The rule has also been revised to say that you can fit a maximum of four, rather than having to fit them in pairs, as before.

What You Should Do

You need to mount lights symmetrically on the centreline of the vehicle, so as not to create confusion for vehicles approaching at a distance, in the dark. They have to be placed in such a way that they don't reflect any light back at the driver of the vehicle, as well. In essence, make sure that you cannot see them, once fitted, when you are sitting in the driver's seat of your vehicle and if they are symmetrically seated across the front, then you will probably be fine.

If you're thinking about fitting some driving lights to the roof of your vehicle, you should know that rules do vary considerably from state to state. It is best if you have a word with your lighting supplier first, to ensure that you don't contravene any regulations without knowing it.