Question, can I drive legally on the roads with no lights (other than brake lights) and no cycle wings (IE with open wheels)?

I am just about ready for a test run in my Ulster special but I have not yet fitted the cycle wings and headlights. Wondering if I can give the car a blast on the open road prior to fitting these?

Any advice welcomed :-). I've tried searching the gov't sites but cant find anything definitive..

cheers
R

Location: Horsham

yes; used to have to get a daytime mot
but not required now

i regularly ran my full racer on the road-just pay huge attention as other people are not used to such vehicles
cheers

Location: herts

Jeremy - does that apply to the completely open wheels too, though?

I'm wondering the same thing presently.

Hi, I did run my ulster special for a long time
with just brake lights No lights and no mudguards
And been stop by the police just so thy could look
at the car, Not saying it legal But i have had no problems
Good luck Take care out there
John

Location: lancashire

Thanks Jeremy

I thought that was the answer, especially after seeing a bunch of open wheeled vintage stuff driving to/from the Goodwood Festival of Speed at the weekend but was unsure if they had a special permission...

Looks like it might be a blast this weekend then :-)

cheers
R

Location: Horsham

yes, i run open wheel, no lights, no brake lights

Location: herts

By law they are required, but many get around it (a bit like the daytime MOT) saying that they are there to catch spray, therefore if it's not raining you don't need them. However a policeman can issue you with a Prohibition Notice and a Fixed Penalty if you cannot produce a set of mudguards out of the tail and fit them.

I see Type 35 Bugs and such flying around here without lights or mudguards quite regularly and if you are not being a twit you should be okay...unless you meet that one awkward traffic cop who wants to make life difficult for you...

I was once stopped by an awkward policeman for towing a camping trailer with no mudguards...Got a £5 fine in the 1960s (UK) Construction and use regs., 1986 under "WINGS" section 63 do require them and none of the types of cars referred to appear to meet the stated exemptions...

If you have them, keep them in the boot in case it rains, whereupon you will be obliged to run on dipped headlights and have guards to stop the spray and you can claim you are looking for somewhere to stop and fit them.
Doubt that it would cut much ice with an awkward officer but at least you're showing willing!

Location: Ripon

The Bugatti fraternity run without wings on the basis that when the cars were built they did not have wings. How this applies to those made in Argentina five years ago is anyones guess. Personally I would not risk it, but if you do make sure it is insured and taxed, and at least has number plates.
You are clearly making good progress!

Con & Use regs.
1. daytime use of vehicle only. Legal if no lights are fitted or masked over so they can't be readily put to use.
2. Wings/mudguards are a legal requirement for motor cars & motor cycles irrespective of age of vehicle.

Location: Gard, France 30960

Correct. The legal term is "poor visibility".

You still need wings though.

Location: Gard, France 30960

I was looking into this recently for much the same reason.

See Construction and Use regulations http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/contents/made

Specifically para. K63 for wings.

Also Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/contents/made

ETA: Schedule 1 appears to contain much of the important information with respect to applicability according to date of first use.


Peter

Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations offences relate to "The hours of darkness". The fitting of lights etc for daytime use is covered by the Road Vehicles Construction & Use Regs.

Location: Gard, France 30960

So the conclusion is that running with no wings is illegal?

Ok, so no lights is no issue... No wings seems to be..

How can the cars I saw driving to and from Goodwood at the weekend get away with open wheels? I wouldn't think they would risk a conversation with officer dibble when on their way to the festival of speed??

Location: Horsham

I've often seen cars without wings being driven around. The hotrod brigade seem particularly keen.

I suppose plod have better things to do than be fully aware of regulations.

I think it may depend on the age and experience of the copper who stops you. What is not generally realised is that the Police have closed a number of training schools and now much of the training is done "on the job" these days. It is all about priorities and cutting costs. I doubt the minor offences get the attention they once did; there are more serious crimes being committed.

Location: Derby

Also watch out for Part IV E97... No motor vehicle shall be used on a road in such manner as to cause any excessive noise which could have been avoided by the exercise of reasonable care on the part of the driver.

I think this means you need to keep the whoops and screams of unbridled joy at a reasonable level!

Oh - and there's a silver lining if the police turn up to find you broken down at the roadside, as you don't need wings fitted then!?? good luck on the test run.

Location: Essex

Call me an old fart but old cars are being marginalised, our free tax/no MOT status makes us identifiably different. The least that we should do is play by the rules as written and not take the pi55. Wings when used on the road, irrespective of what Bugatti or hot rod owners do.

Charles

I once knew a Bugatti 35 owner who, although living in the UK, took his car over to France a couple of times a year in order to maintain its French registration. This was done entirely to circumvent the lights and wings rules that at the time applied here, but apparently did not in France.

Location: Herefordshire, with an "E", not a "T"!

Location: North Yorkshire

If you refer to them as wings perhaps we should all aspire to having winged wheels….

Location: Ripon

We are surely annoying enough to those behind as it is, reducing them to a snails pace, asphyxiating them with smoke and covering them with a thin film of oil. Showering them with grit, stones and gravel may well prove to be the last straw.

That the law seems to be lenient or at least interpreted leniently is something that I think we need to respect in order to maintain the status quo.

Location: Fishbourne near Chichester

ok, so wings on before test drive then...

Location: Horsham

Get it finished, Robbie! When you have that first blast up the road you will have enough to be thinking about without the worry of a copper stopping you and asking awkward questions. God forbid if you were involved in an accident whilst running without lights, wings etc?
I am lucky in having a garden long enough to have a good blast from one end to the other. I remember trying the special with the supercharged engine and narrowly avoiding the Calor gas tank!

A horn is a necessity.

Location: The Pits,Leicester

Location: Fishbourne near Chichester

6V motorcycle horns are hardly expensive (about £6 on eBay) - and they are effective. As virtually all sevens would have had one originally, I can't see why one should not be fitted even if it is within the rules to do so.

Peter

ETA - about £11 actually, see http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BSA-AJS-NORTON-TRIUMPH-CLASSIC-MOTORCYCLE-HORN-6V-/322026563919?hash=item4afa47694f:m:mSoR4s_2SY7s8mbmwC8165Q

Vehicle Wiring Products £6.22 plus VAT 6v motorcycle horn.
Dave.

Location: Sheffield