Trailer lighting for safe road traffic

Trailers also take part in road traffic as part of the vehicle. Therefore, like all other vehicles, trailers must comply with the applicable regulations of the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations. Accordingly, car trailers must also be provided with sufficient lighting. Because not only in cars, but also in trailers, lighting is an important minimum standard for your personal driving safety and the driving safety of other road users. Other road users can only see you in the dark, at dusk or in poor weather conditions if your trailer is sufficiently equipped with lights and reflectors. This is an important prerequisite for preventing rear-end collisions or the like and thus always arriving safely at your destination.

Various trailer lights

What lights are there for followers? Which reflectors are for trailers? Questions upon questions that trailer owners keep asking themselves. The trailer lighting is similar to that of cars. There is also a rear light, brake light, rear fog light and reflectors. Depending on the model, the reflectors are available as two-chamber lights or three-chamber lights. Parking lights, marker lights, tail lights, lane lights, license plate lights, clearance lights and position lights are also installed on trailers. These various lights are supplemented by reflectors on trailers. These are for better visibility. Especially on the side of a car trailer, the reflectors should not be missing. These must be yellow in color. However, these yellow reflectors must be replaced by side marker lights on trailers that are longer than six meters.

Which trailer lighting is mandatory?

How a trailer has to be illuminated is regulated in the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations, or StVZO for short. In this context, only those lighting equipment that are prescribed under this regulation may be installed on a trailer. This also applies to the phosphors used and the reflective materials, which are also prescribed by the StVZO.

According to the StVZO, lights in the form of side lights and parking lights are required on the front of the trailer. In addition, reflectors are mandatory at the front. These must glow white and must not have a triangular shape. Headlights for the low beam or the high beam, which illuminate the road, are generally not available on trailers. Only in the case of single-axle trailers that are attached behind single-axle tractors may these headlights also be attached to the front.

According to StVZO, two red reflectors and two red brake lights must be installed on the rear of the trailer. The reflectors must have the shape of a triangle, the sides of which are at least 150 mm long. The triangle must be mounted with the tip up and glow red. It is also important that the rear light is significantly weaker than the brake light. This is the only way to distinguish between the different types of lighting without causing confusion for other road users. The installation of reversing lights is not required by law. They can optionally be installed in single or double versions. Alternatively, two red reflecting triangles can be attached to the rear.

If your trailer is a trailer of a multi-track vehicle that allows top speeds of over 60 km/h, the rear must also be equipped with one or two red rear fog lights. Furthermore, yellow flashing lights are required, which must also be attached to the back of the beginner. In addition, there is the license plate light. According to the StVZO, yellow reflectors must be attached to the sides of the trailer, which must not have a triangular shape. In addition, trailers that are longer than six meters must also be fitted with yellow marker lights.

In addition to these prescribed lights for your trailer, it is important to ensure that the lights are always firmly attached and ready for use at all times.

List of trailer lighting

Front:

• 2 white reflectors (not triangular)
• 2 side lights if the trailer protrudes more than 40 cm beyond the outermost point of the side lights of the towing vehicle

long side:

• yellow reflectors not triangular
• Trailers up to 1.80 m wide: no clearance light
• Trailers with a width between 1.80 m and 2.10 m: clearance lights optional
• Trailers with a width greater than 2.10m: Clearance lights are mandatory
• Longer than 6m: yellow side marker lights

Back:

• 2 red tail lights
• 2 red brake lights
• 2 triangular red reflectors
• 1-2 rear fog lights from 60km/h
• identification lighting
• Parking light or parking warning sign
• 1-2 white reversing lights are optional