third brake light mask

[reedbradshaw]

heyup , my mate works in a vinyl store and i managed to get a free brake light cover off him , ( much the same as the ones off ebay ) it said seat sport in the exact lettering as seat use! i thought it looked **** hot but after one day of riding about the police pulled me and ordered me to remove it or face punishment at a later date! havent they got better things to do ? they siad it blocks the veiw of the brake light, i said some cars dont even have a third brake light!

 

[Ric 2001]

The GF got one saying focus on hers (yeah it a ford not a seat). Cops have never said anything to her.

 

[BeEzA]

any pics?

 

[tommmineh]

Meh IMO there a bit tacky

I'm guessing you had to remove it because it's a factory equipped brake light, and if in their opinion it blocks the 3rd break light, would invalidate your insurance by altering the factory spec Tis a bit petty though

 

[reedbradshaw]

fraid nto i didnt have it on long enough to take a pic! must admit it looked well cmart tucked away under spoiler. me mate can do some for you all if you want, ill have to ask him of the price but im sure a few quid prob up to a fiver wil suffice

 

[BJM]

The third (High level) brake light is not a legal requirement, even though its factory fitted it doesnt have to work so you should be able to do what u want to it. Think they were talking out their bums! Was it traffic cops or patrol cops?

 

[BeEzA]

if its factory fitted it has got to work. i think they were just bein twisted.

 

[BeEzA]

meant to say sorry for double postin, does your mate that does the stickers have any pics or designs he could sho me?

 

[Ibiza FR TDI]

The third (High level) brake light is not a legal requirement, even though its factory fitted it doesnt have to work so you should be able to do what u want to it. Think they were talking out their bums! Was it traffic cops or patrol cops?

I thought if it was factory fitted, it MUST work?

 

[rashcupra]

if the light is visible they cant say jack sh17! as it is still doing its job that it was put there for! my break light on my spoiler is angled downwards so it wouldnt work but if its neatly done then i think it looks top at night!!

afraid it is required you have a top break light and it must work on cars after a certain age! (cant remeber year!)

 

[dmjw01]

if its factory fitted it has got to work.

I thought if it was factory fitted, it MUST work?

People often say this, but it's not correct. What matters is whether it is required to be fitted.

For example: Front fog lights. They are fitted to your car, but they are not required to be fitted. Hence if one of your front fogs is not working you should still pass an MOT. My old Peugeot 106 had a broken front fog and passed its MOT twice in that state. Rear fog lights are a different matter because they are required lights.

I had a little look through the construction and use regulations governing vehicle lighting, but I couldn't find anything that specifically related to third brake lights. So BJM may well be correct that they're not required lights.

 

[Vicky M]

here's a pic of my old one (sorry for quality, pic taken with phone, you can see it better in the relection on the window )

new one has "FR TDi" mask, but haven't got any pics that show it up yet.

Tho the new one is a bit crap, as the light shines through the vinyl. Muust get another one cut

Vick works for kent police, and nothing has been said to her about 3rd light masks, i'll get her to speak to traffic and find out what it's all about?????

she did get a bollocking for the number plates on the new one tho. can't see what's wrong with them really, not considered some of the script fonts/blatant re-spacing that i see on a regular basis

 

[BJM]

People often say this, but it's not correct. What matters is whether it is required to be fitted.

For example: Front fog lights. They are fitted to your car, but they are not required to be fitted. Hence if one of your front fogs is not working you should still pass an MOT. My old Peugeot 106 had a broken front fog and passed its MOT twice in that state. Rear fog lights are a different matter because they are required lights.

I had a little look through the construction and use regulations governing vehicle lighting, but I couldn't find anything that specifically related to third brake lights. So BJM may well be correct that they're not required lights.

Trust me - I'm right

 

[BJM]

she did get a bollocking for the number plates on the new one tho. can't see what's wrong with them really, not considered some of the script fonts/blatant re-spacing that i see on a regular basis

I can see what your saying about the font mate, it is readable and a good size so isn't too bad considering some of the plates you see on cars. I think the problem is that should you be involved in an incident and drove off (I know you wouldnt ) then anyone taking down your reg number would have the 1st 3 digits as 999. IIRC its known as misrepresenting the number. You can be reported to the DVLA for it as it's a cherished transfer and they can revoke your entitlement to the number.

 

[Leigh15]

I can see what your saying about the font mate, it is readable and a good size so isn't too bad considering some of the plates you see on cars. I think the problem is that should you be involved in an incident and drove off (I know you wouldnt ) then anyone taking down your reg number would have the 1st 3 digits as 999. IIRC its known as misrepresenting the number. You can be reported to the DVLA for it as it's a cherished transfer and they can revoke your entitlement to the number.

Are the first three digits not 999?

 

[Kendo]

Part of the prob with the plates is that ANPR might not be able to read it so fi your cars stolen then it might not be as easlily detected........... as well as all the neds who drive about without tax insurance licence mot etc,.

 

[dmjw01]

Trust me - I'm right

I'm not convinced...

As far as I could see, the only requirement in the UK Construction and Use regulations was that there must be two stop lights, and nothing is mentioned at all about the third brake light. On the face of it, this seems to support your view that the centre rear brake light is not required - by UK law, at least.

Trouble is, we're not only governed by UK law - we're also governed by European Law. I can't find a definitive reference, but I have a nagging feeling that the third brake light is required these days. My doubt stems from seeing a Top Gear review a while ago where Clarkson was complaining that the regulations governing the height of the third brake light had ruined the high-speed handling of a car (I forget what it was, but it was something like a Jag or an Aston). Something about the high boot line producing too much downforce, resulting in light steering at high speed. (It was a convertible, so the third brake light couldn't be placed above the rear window.)

I have found this page. The page appears to duplicate the text in this Wikipedia page. It's not a definitive reference, but it does seem to support the view that the third brake light is required after all. My suspicion is that the third brake light is required by European law, rather than UK law.

Center High Mount Stop Lamp (CHMSL)

In North America since 1986, in Australia since 1990, and in Europe since 1998, a central brake lamp, mounted higher than the vehicle's left and right brake lamps and called a Centre High Mount Stop Lamp (CHMSL), is also required. It is often referred to as the Center Brake Light or Third Brake Light.

Edit: I've found the Clarkson review. It was indeed a Jag - the XK (though not just the convertible). The review is here...

So, what’s the XK like? Well, if you go faster than 130mph I can report that the front end starts to get a bit light. You lose some of the “feel” from the wheel. And this, in one of the strangest games of consequences ever, is because of the need to provide a decent-sized boot.

Here’s why. EU rules say that the compulsory high-level centre brake light has to be mounted within a certain distance of the rear window. And because the rear window on the XK convertible is small, so it’ll fit in the boot without taking up too much space, the only place to fit the brake light is on top of a big rear spoiler. And because it’s so big, the front of the car starts to “lift” at speed.

Of course, you wouldn’t expect there to be a similar problem in the coupé, which has a big rear window, but this is Jaguar, a small company that’s been losing money hand over fist in recent years. So thanks to a need to economise, both models get the same spoiler. So both have the same high-speed handling issue.

 

[Kendo]

Think all cars manufactured after a certain date now require a third brake lamp.

 

[Vicky M]

Are the first three digits not 999?

hell no !!!!!!!!
that was way into 4 figures££££
the plate on the car is S99 VJM
only photoshopped to read 999 for photo purposes given Vic's choice of occupation


back on topic......
pic of ours (crappy one that light shines through )