Driving Light Legal: South Australia
— May 13, 2020 | 2 min read
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.
In SOUTH AUSTRALIA, you can fit additional lighting to your vehicle without approval provided the lights comply with relevant Australian Design Rules (ADRs). There are further guidelines including:
Number of Lights
You can fit a maximum of four additional forward facing lamps to your vehicle in South Australia. 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” and cause bodily injury. 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. Additional driving lights can be fitted above the roof line so long as they do not increase glare to the driver.
The Government of South Australia states that additional headlights must be fitted symmetrically in pairs and as far apart as possible. This is a technical term for ensuring your additional lights are a matching pair and are symmetrical relevant to your vehicle.
For example, if you chose to run two sets of spotlights on your vehicle such as a pair of Narva Ultima 175’s and a second pair of Narva Ultima 225’s, you would mount the 225’s at each edge of your bull bar, with the 175’s mounted on the inside of each one. This makes the pairs “as far apart as possible, and in pairs”.
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. This can be on a separately switched circuit, but only powered when the high beam is activated.
Type of Lights
Any additional lights fitted to your vehicle need to be white in colour 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
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 document compiled by the Government of South Australia on additional lights, click here: