Driving Light Legal: Victoria

Making Sure Your Additional Spotlights or LED Light Bars are Legal Across Australia

One of the most practical and easiest upgrades for your 4WD or vehicle, especially if you do a lot of night driving in country and rural areas,  would have to be fitting driving lights or LED light bars for increased visibility. But what you may not know is that there are laws on how many additional lights you can fit to your car, as well as where you mount them. There can be hefty fines if you do not adhere to these laws – and to add more complexity to the situation, these laws can differ depending on what part of the country you live in.

Interpreting and remembering these rules can be tricky, so we've created a series of blogs summarising each state's rules regarding the fitment and use of additional lighting. That way you can ensure wherever you are in Australia, your additional forward facing lights are legal. Please be aware though, that because the laws differ from state to state and can change from the time of us writing these blogs, it is always best to check official sources and stay up to date with the state or territory that you will be driving in/through. You can find links to respective traffic authority websites at the bottom of each article to assist you.

We're kicking it off with VICTORIA:

Number of Lights

You can fit a maximum of four additional forward facing lamps to your vehicle in Victoria. This can be a combination of Spotlights and LED Light Bars. Keep in mind that an LED Light Bar is considered as one lamp if all of the LEDs operate together – for example, are in one sealed unit and all sections in the unit turn on and off at the same time. If you have what can be called a “switchable” LED Light Bar where multiple sections can be independently turned on or off, then each section is considered as a lamp.

Fitting of Lights

Lights are to be fitted in such a manner where they are not considered a “protrusion”. Lights that are fitted on top of a bull bar, for example, will be a dangerous protrusion for pedestrians and as such are not acceptable. VicRoads states that lights “must not be mounted on a bull bar in a way that they protrude above the top or front of the bull bar”.

The light/s must be fitted to the front of your vehicle and fitted symmetrically to the centre of the vehicle. If you are only fitting one light (in the case of an LED light bar), it must be fitted in the exact centre of your car. They must also be fitted so the driver cannot be visually impaired by the lights either by reflection or by being in their field of view.

Operation of Lights

The additional lights must be installed in such a way that they only come on when the vehicle’s high beam (or main beam) headlights are activated, and must automatically turn off when the high beams are switched off.

VicRoads deem additional lights to be operated in the same way as your high beams, which means that you must not use them “less than 200 metres behind a vehicle travelling in the same direction, or less than 200 metres from an oncoming vehicle.”

Type of Lights

It is important to note that in Victoria, additional lights installed on your vehicle must be white lights only. NARVA stock a wide range of additional lighting, including L.E.D driving lights and light bars, plus work lamps suitable for a variety of applications and legal fitment. You can check out our full range here: NARVA Driving Light Range

Adam from NARVA Garage has spoken about fitting additional lights to a vehicle, feel free to have a watch here for additional guidance:

The information provided by us is correct as of May 2020. As mentioned, it is worthwhile keeping up to date with local laws as they are subject to change. To check out the VicRoads page on additional lights, click here:

https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/vehicle-safety/fog-and-driving-lights