BS 6102-3 Bicycle Lights

[hellymedic]

After some googling last night, I found I got nowhere so I thought I'd ask...

Himself bought a new (supplementary) rear light yesterday. Said light packaging stated light was only lawful if used in conjunction with a BS 6102-3 light.

So I tried to find out which lights were compliant - seems nothing currently on sale in the UK is. Some compliant lights seem to have been discontinued.
I would have to PAY to download a pdf of BS 6102 and I'm far too mean for that.
The CTC Cycling UK website is vague.

In the Old Days, a rear light had to be red and of at least 1½" diameter.
What are the Rules now?
I know flashers must be 1-4 Hz and >4 candela
Are there minimum light sizes?

I know using German standard lights will be more than good enough.

This seems to be nightmare in the making for anyone who is the victim of a nocturnal collision...

[Cudzoziemiec]

The rules are universally ignored. That is all.

[Bledlow]

I think that it's not a nightmare precisely because it is so difficult to find a compliant rear light. AFAIK nobody makes rear cycle lights in this country, & overseas manufacturers ignore British standards. If a law becomes impossible to obey, one cannot be penalised for not obeying it. Well, as long as one shows willingness to obey as far as is possible, e.g. by using a good, visible, rear light.

I should have kept an old BS6102 light so that if ever argued with in court I could show it lit up beside a new non-compliant light, remind the court what the purpose of a bike rear light is (& why there's a BS for them), & ask which light fits the purpose better.

The Cateye TL-LD570 might, perhaps, from the wording on the Cateye UK website, but it doesn't quite say so explicitly, & that's the only one I've found.

[hellymedic]

I am very uncomfortable with a situation where the rules are impossible to find and universally ignored.
It would appear it is well-nigh impossible to obey teh Rules

unless we all dust off our Never Ready Night Riders <spit>

[Bledlow]

I recall that we've been here before. In the early 1990s the then British Standard required that cycle lights use filament bulbs which were on a list drawn up years earlier, all of which had either gone out of production or were no longer fitted to any bike lights sold in the UK. The requirements for operating in the wet were also so low that any light which met the standard, but no more, probably didn't qualify as fit for purpose under trading standards rules.

I heard a senior policeman say, at a meeting open to the public, that he regarded the law as unenforceable (IIRC he also said 'a joke', or something similar) & he was entirely in favour of the technically unlawful then-new LED rear lights, & recommended them for use. And you could quote him on that.

[RibbleRouser]

   Not paying £94 doesn't class you as mean

[Biggsy]

Himself bought a new (supplementary) rear light yesterday. Said light packaging stated light was only lawful if used in conjunction with a BS 6102 light.

That's technically out of date since flashing LED lights without a BS/EU mark can now qualify.  The new legislation doesn't apply to lights with a steady mode, though, like most on the market.  That's the stupid catch.  They still need a BS/equivalent EU mark to be approved.

Full details are on a CTC web article, if it's still up.

[Biggsy]

1 – 4Hz flashing and >= 4 candela is all you need to be legal if the light has no steady mode.  No BS mark required for that.

Here's the article:
www.cyclinguk.org/cyclists-library/regulations/lighting-regulations

[hellymedic]

Himself bought a new (supplementary) rear light yesterday. Said light packaging stated light was only lawful if used in conjunction with a BS 6102 light.

That's technically out of date since flashing LED lights without a BS/EU mark can now qualify.  The new legislation doesn't apply to lights with a steady mode, though, like most on the market.  That's the stupid catch.  They still need a BS (or equivalent EU?) mark to be approved.

Full details are on a CTC web article, if it's still up.

I did look at the CTC Cycling UK website (and forum) before posting and the information is fairly scanty there IMO.

[Kim]

IIRC the Brompton (Spanninga) rear dynamo light is BS marked.  Probably the battery one too?

And as I recently discovered, the new B&M IQ-X has a confusing BS6102/2 mark on it (BS6102/2 pertaining to reflectors).

[wajcgac]

http://www.hargreaves-cycles.co.uk/m13b0s39p1585/CATEYE-TL-AU100-REAR-LIGHT

Still in stock apparently.

[drossall]

Didn't Chris Juden mention something about lights being marked BS6102/2 on purpose to give the impression that they were compliant, when that was just the reflector part?

[Kim]

Didn't Chris Juden mention something about lights being marked BS6102/2 on purpose to give the impression that they were compliant, when that was just the reflector part?

Which seems particularly unhelpful when the light doesn't have a built-in reflector.

[drossall]

 
I rather agree there.

[Kim]

The IQ-X comes with an optional bolt-on reflector, so presumably it's pertaining to that.  Strange that they'd put the mark on the lamp body not the reflector itself, though.

[mcshroom]

If I was worried about compliance, I'd go for one of the StVO K-marked lights from Germany which meet the rules under EU equivalence rules. My B&M rear lights are K marked, and you can get little stick on ones like this: -
https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/b--m-ix-post-diode-back-light/aid:703628

[hellymedic]

If I was worried about compliance, I'd go for one of the StVO K-marked lights from Germany which meet the rules under EU equivalence rules. My B&M rear lights are K marked, and you can get little stick on ones like this: -
https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/b--m-ix-post-diode-back-light/aid:703628

I appreciate that.
It strikes me as ridiculous that so much trawling should be needed to find and source properly compliant lamps.

[Kim]

It isn't really trawling though, as all the best bike lights are German.  Unless it's an auxiliary or for off-road use, when you're not bothered about compliance anyway.

[hellymedic]

   Not paying £94 doesn't class you as mean

 

Truth is, I wouldn't pay £5 for information I feel should be freely available for someone who wishes to cycle legally at night.

[hellymedic]

http://www.hargreaves-cycles.co.uk/m13b0s39p1585/CATEYE-TL-AU100-REAR-LIGHT

Still in stock apparently.

Thanks! 

Surely, every bike shop should sell at least one fully-compliant light?
No chance!

[RibbleRouser]

http://www.hargreaves-cycles.co.uk/m13b0s39p1585/CATEYE-TL-AU100-REAR-LIGHT

Still in stock apparently.

Thanks! 

Surely, every bike shop should sell at least one fully-compliant light?
No chance!

Every other bike shop seems to be "out of stock" or "currently(sic) not available "

[Plug1n]

I've always liked the tl-au100 - in addition to the standards compliance, it is long battery life AA and has a decent reflector.  Not the brightest but relatively solid.

The German version is available for 11.90€ at https://www.bike24.com/p21476.html, but the price goes up to 12€ if you checkout to a UK destination and postage is 5.95€.

[Oaky]

If I was worried about compliance, I'd go for one of the StVO K-marked lights from Germany which meet the rules under EU equivalence rules. My B&M rear lights are K marked, and you can get little stick on ones like this: -
https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/b--m-ix-post-diode-back-light/aid:703628

What struck me in that listing was the battery-related caveat.. "According to German road traffic regulations (StVZO), this lamp is only approved for road bikes under 11 kg when it is used with non-rechargeable batteries. When it is used with rechargeable batteries, this lamp is approved for all bikes. "

I'm seriously struggling to come up with a reason for that nuance of the regulations.  Why would having rechargeable vs. non-rechargeable batteries make a difference to the range of bikes it's approved for?

[beeblemaster]

The "Bikehut" rear lights from Halfords are (apparently) BS6102/3.  I use one on my off-side seat stay.  It's absolutely fine as a light at night and I'd say comparable to the dynamo lights I see - bright enough but doesn't blind. 

However for daylight and low-light, that's firmly in the domain of my Smarts (which also stays on at night).

[Cudzoziemiec]

If I was worried about compliance, I'd go for one of the StVO K-marked lights from Germany which meet the rules under EU equivalence rules. My B&M rear lights are K marked, and you can get little stick on ones like this: -
https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/b--m-ix-post-diode-back-light/aid:703628

What struck me in that listing was the battery-related caveat.. "According to German road traffic regulations (StVZO), this lamp is only approved for road bikes under 11 kg when it is used with non-rechargeable batteries. When it is used with rechargeable batteries, this lamp is approved for all bikes. "

I'm seriously struggling to come up with a reason for that nuance of the regulations.  Why would having rechargeable vs. non-rechargeable batteries make a difference to the range of bikes it's approved for?

I presume (and therefore could be completely wrong) that it's a result of their previous insistence on dynamo power for non-racing (ie over 11kg) bikes. I'm guessing the standards authority or the German parliament or someone decided that rechargeable batteries could be considered a reasonable substitute for dynamo power, whereas non-rechargeables are disposable and therefore not permanently part of the bike. Or something like that.