Parking light
The parking light (also: parking light ) is for lighting a standing motor vehicle is provided. The rare designation city light , however, is misleading. The light intensity of the parking light is a few percent of the low beam at the front (usually a 5-watt bulb each), while the rear driving light (usually a 10-watt bulb or the 5-W part of a combined 5 / 21- W bulb for tail and brake lights) - often the license plate light is switched on in combination with the parking light or parking light. In contrast to the daytime running lights , the rear of the vehicle is also identified with the parking lights.
Situation in Germany
Illumination of the motor vehicle is required when it is parked in a dark place , e.g. B. out of town. When waiting in front of closed barriers, you should switch to parking light if possible so as not to dazzle people on the other side. When parking and stopping in built-up areas, the vehicle does not need to be illuminated if there is sufficient street lighting. When parking in built-up areas, as an alternative to parking lights, parking lights on the side facing the traffic are also permitted, which are now available in the majority of vehicle types approved in Europe. One-sided parking lights are not permitted outside built-up areas ( Section 17 (4) of the Road Traffic Regulations ).
In Germany and most other countries, the parking lights must be white at the front and red at the back. In many vehicles, the front parking lights are built into one another with the main headlights; at the rear, they are built into one another with the brake lights or with the reflectors . The taillights are seldom built into one another with the rear fog lights (e.g. Ford Sierra model upgrade until 1992, Lada Niva from 1996). Side marker lights in orange / yellow can be attached to the side, which must be switched on together with the parking lights. Side marker lights are mandatory for vehicles over 6 m in length.
In some countries, white and orange marker lights are allowed to the front and can be combined with the direction indicator .
Installation regulations for Germany are regulated in Section 51 StVZO . The simplified description of the installation limits looks like this:
- vertical: lower edge min. 35 cm from below, upper edge max. 150 cm from below
- horizontal: outer edge max. 40 cm from the outermost vehicle edge; min. 60 cm distance between luminaires.
Exceptions are also regulated in § 51 StVZO.
The regulations for lights on vehicles differ in different countries, even within the European Union. In France, for example, it is permitted to drive with parking lights even at night within built-up areas with sufficient street lighting. In Germany, on the other hand, Section 17 (2) of the StVO describes : “It is not allowed to drive with position lights (parking lights) alone. (...) ". However, in this special case (sentence 3), there is no mandatory dipped beam for parking lights: “(...) With two fog lights, the additional use of the marker lights instead of the dipped beam is sufficient. (...) “) Section 17 (2) is often wrongly interpreted as a general ban on driving with parking lights. That's not true. “According to Section 17 (1) of the Road Traffic Regulations (StVO), the prescribed lighting equipment must be used during twilight, in the dark or when the visibility conditions otherwise require it. According to Section 17, Paragraph 2, Sentence 1 of the StVO, it is not permitted to drive with the marker lights (parking lights) alone. This regulation refers to § 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 StVO and therefore always presupposes a lighting requirement. This means that it is generally allowed to drive with parking lights in daylight, but as soon as there is a lighting requirement (e.g. in tunnels), the dipped headlights must be switched on, since then Section 17 (1) sentence 1 of the StVO in conjunction with Section 17 (1). 2 sentence 1 StVO applies. “Driving with only parking lights then constitutes an administrative offense which, according to the Fines Catalog Ordinance, is subject to a 10 Euro warning fee (offense no. 74). In the event of danger or damage to property, the rate increases to 15 or 35 euros.
literature
- Rudolf Hüppen, Dieter Korp: Car electrics all types. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart, 1968, ISBN 3-87943-059-4
- Jürgen Kasedorf, Richard Koch: Service primer for vehicle electrics. 15th edition, Vogel Buchverlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8343-3098-7 .
- Hans-Hermann Braess, Ulrich Seiffert: Vieweg Handbook Motor Vehicle Technology , 6th edition, Verlag Vieweg + Teubner Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-8348-1011-3 .
- Road traffic regulations (StVO).
- Vehicle Registration Ordinance (FZV).
