Outline lights on trucks: What is required? What is allowed?

What are outline lights?

Outline lights are white (front-facing) or red (rear-facing) lights mounted at the top of large vehicles. They do not serve to illuminate the area around the vehicle but are intended solely to make the dimensions of the vehicle visible to other road users in the dark.
One key advantage of outline lights on trucks: if, for example, a car driver cannot see the headlights of an oncoming truck due to a median strip, this does not prevent the driver from being dazzled by the high beams. The outline lights at the top of the truck ensure that other road users can recognize the truck and dim their lights accordingly.

What types of outline lights are there?

Outline lights are white (front-facing) or red (rear-facing) lights mounted at the top of large vehicles. They do not serve to illuminate the surrounding area of the vehicle but are solely intended to make the dimensions of the vehicle visible to other road users in the dark.
One key advantage of outline lights on trucks: for example, if a car driver cannot see the headlights of an oncoming truck due to a planted median strip, it does not mean they won’t be dazzled by the high beams. The outline lights mounted at the top of the truck help ensure that other road users can recognize the truck and dim their lights accordingly.

How many outline lights are required? How many are allowed?

At least one outline light must be installed on each upper corner of the vehicle, both at the front and rear. This is necessary to adequately fulfill the function of the outline lights. In addition, it is permitted to install up to two more outline lights facing forward and two more facing backward, allowing for the use of side-mounted lights that emit in both directions, for example. Naturally, it is also permitted to use two outline lights mounted on the surface per upper corner of the vehicle.

Where should outline lights be mounted?

The mounting location of the outline lights is determined by their intended purpose—to indicate the height and width of a vehicle. Accordingly, they must be installed as high and as far to the outside as possible. Regarding the width, there is a restriction that, even for technical or structural reasons, the distance from the outer edge must not exceed 40 centimeters. If necessary, additional light brackets must be installed to stay within this maximum distance.

If you have any further questions or require more detailed technical information on this topic, you can contact our team of specialists at any time.

Based on experience, legal regulations change irregularly, therefore LED-MARTIN GmbH cannot guarantee the completeness of the information provided here.