Is it illegal to drive without your third brake light?

[Josh220]

as above, my third brake light fell off the window today and i had to pull in a disconnect it, this is not a clio by the way.

anyway is it illegal to drive without it, am i right in thinking all cars after a certain age have to have it? would it be an MOT failure.

I am going to fix it when i figure out how as i glued it on before with no success

by the way sorry if this is in the wrong section

 

[adammichael]

I wouldnt of thought so half the majority of cars on the road dont have one my old car had one but was ripped off by the time i gotit

 

[MT AUDIO]

96 plate or newer have them iirc however i dont think police would be bothered so long as your other brake lights worked

 

[AlexS]

I think if you have got one then it must work, the police aren't likely to pull you over for that though.

 

[Josh220]

yeah thought so about cars after 1996 had to have one. not too worried just wondered, plus if the police are behind me, i wont brake then they will be none the wiser

 

[Ads_172]

As said, if it has one then it must be working in order to pass the MOT, which in turn means that it's technically a road legal requirement.

Would be surprised to hear you get pulled for it though.

 

[MrMark]

yeah, i doubt the poilce would give it a second thought, as long as your other two are working. Around my area, they only tend to stop people with only one functioning brake light.

 

[V1NNY]

mask it over with black insulation tape

 

[Marky_]

You'll be fine. I've seen a stupid number of people driving around with ONLY their 3rd brake light working. Ridiculous!

 

[Blue4Ever]

Mine on my cup spoiler isn't connected. I took it off for the MOT to make sure it passed. It's been back on for about 7 months now. I've never even been flashed to tell me it's not working.

 

[jonny mac]

the car will pass an mot with the 2 required brake lights functioning, the 3rd brakelight is an extra and is not required as it is not a required brake light.

your car will pass an mot without this one working however make sure that both your bulbs work on the tail lights to meet legal requirements

 

[A13EX F Trophy No70]

yup i think it's a legal requirement to have just the 2 main ones working.

however if you are involved in an accident and the 3rd one isnt working you may end up having to do lots of hard work convincing the insurance company not to go nock for nock rather than claiming 100% off the other driver.

 

[Ads_172]

I am almost certain that if the brake light is there, then it has to work. In the same way as fog lights...

 

[Josh220]

rite thanks guys, going to get it sorted as soon as possible anyway. its stuck to the windscreen you see so its tought to fix it on.

 

[marchowie]

you should not get pulled or fail mot with it off because if its there and not working its a fail if it aint there they cant fail it simple as i no this as i see mots gettin done every day as i work for peugeot

 

[Chris_Cliomk1]

I am almost certain that if the brake light is there, then it has to work. In the same way as fog lights...

Why would fog lights have to work if they are there?? you always see people driving through fog without their foggys on and they dnt get pulled for not having em on. Who cares if ur break light fell off. its the thrid one, as long as number one and two are working ull be fine, chill out.

 

[Day]

High level brake lamps are tested. These are usually mounted in spoilers or on the rear window. Since these lamps are over and above the current legal requirements they are treated more leniently. For example, if a high level lamp is not working and you say it is broken some testers will fail you but if you say it is disconnected then as far as the law is concerned it is not a lamp checking whether it is broken or disconnected is beyond testers ability unless they stripped the car down so they have to pass you

 

[NOT! gary l]

yeah thought so about cars after 1996 had to have one. not too worried just wondered, plus if the police are behind me, i wont brake then they will be none the wiser

Just watch out for the kiddies and that car in front stopping suddenly:rasp:

 

[Ads_172]

I am almost certain that if the brake light is there, then it has to work. In the same way as fog lights...

Why would fog lights have to work if they are there?? you always see people driving through fog without their foggys on and they dnt get pulled for not having em on. Who cares if ur break light fell off. its the thrid one, as long as number one and two are working ull be fine, chill out.

Chill out? Okay... :S

I'm not saying it makes sense, but I am fairly sure it's the law. I could be wrong, but just going on past experiences and having a previous car fail an MOT for a fog not working.