Bike lights law: do you need lights on a bike at night?

UK bike lights law

The rules for Great Britain are in the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, summarised in rule 60 of the Highway Code. As of 5 November 2026:

• When: lamps must be lit between sunset and sunrise (regulation 24). Lamps you have fitted must also be lit in seriously reduced visibility during the day. Note the start time: it is sunset, not “when it gets dark”, so the first part of a dusk ride often needs lights before you think it does.
• Front: one white front position lamp. It may flash, at 60 to 240 flashes a minute. The Highway Code recommends a steady front lamp if you ride where there are no street lights.
• Rear: one red rear position lamp, plus a red rear reflector.
• Pedals: amber pedal reflectors on bikes made on or after 1 October 1985.
• Daytime: you don’t have to fit lamps or reflectors at all to ride between sunrise and sunset (regulation 4(3)), which is why many new bikes are sold without lamps.
• Stopped: lamps can be off while you wait at the left-hand edge of the road or push the bike along it.

The Highway Code adds that white front reflectors and spoke reflectors help you to be seen, and that reflective clothing or accessories increase your visibility in the dark. Northern Ireland has its own regulations, not covered here.

US examples: New York and Washington State

US lighting rules are state law, so they vary. Two examples, from the statutes as of 5 November 2026:

• New York (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1236): from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, a white front light visible from at least 500 feet and a red or amber rear light visible from 300 feet, with one of them visible from 200 feet on each side. New bikes need reflective tyres or spoke reflectors, and every bike needs a bell or similar device audible at 100 feet.
• Washington (RCW 46.61.780 and 46.37.020): during the hours of darkness, meaning half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, or any time people and vehicles aren’t clearly visible at 1,000 feet, a white front lamp visible at 500 feet and a red rear reflector approved by the state patrol. A red rear lamp, and a flashing LED tail light, may be used as well.

Riding home from Thanksgiving dinner in New York City on Thursday 26 November 2026? Sunset is at 16:31, so by state law your lights must be on from 17:01. In practice, switch them on before that.

Germany: an EU example

EU countries set their own lighting rules. In Germany, § 67 of the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO) asks for more equipment than the UK: one or two white dipped-beam headlamps (flashing headlamps are not allowed) and a white front reflector, a red tail light and a red category “Z” rear reflector, yellow reflectors on both faces of each pedal, and side reflectors (white reflective tyre stripes, reflective spokes or two yellow spoke reflectors per wheel). Battery lights are allowed. Lamps may be detachable, but must be fitted in twilight, darkness or poor visibility. There is no clock rule for twilight, so the planner shows civil dawn and dusk alongside sunrise and sunset.

Planning a winter commute

The planner works out sunrise and sunset for your city and date in your browser, using the method of NOAA’s solar calculator (equations from Jean Meeus’s Astronomical Algorithms, with the standard allowance for refraction at the horizon). NOAA describes it as accurate to about a minute between 72° north and south. It then applies your place’s rule and checks each ride. The strip underneath runs Monday by Monday through the winter, so you can see when your evening ride first needs lights and when the mornings come back.

The clocks make the biggest jump. In London the sun set at 17:49 on Saturday 24 October 2026; after the clocks went back on Sunday 25 October it set at 16:45 on Monday 26 October, so a 17:00 ride home needs lights for its whole length from that day. Around the shortest days, on Monday 21 December 2026, London’s sun rises at 08:04 and sets at 15:53, and in Edinburgh at 08:42 and 15:40. The UK clocks go forward on Sunday 28 March 2027 and US clocks on Sunday 14 March 2027.

Common mistakes

• Waiting until it’s dark. In the UK the rule starts at sunset; in New York and Washington half an hour later.
• Relying on reflectors alone. Reflectors only show up in someone else’s headlights; the law wants lit lamps too.
• A flashing front light on unlit lanes. It’s legal in the UK, but a steady beam shows you the road and helps others judge your distance.
• Bags and coats over the rear light. A saddlebag or a long jacket can hide a seatpost light completely.
• Flat batteries. A winter commute uses your lights twice a day: charge them the night before, and carry a small spare.

Cold morning ride? Hilltop Cove shows how cold the air feels at riding speed, and City on Foot has walking times for the days you leave the bike at home.