Marker lights (or marker lamps) are an essential part of keeping your HGV (or LGV) truck visible to other drivers, and to keep you and other road users safe. Although some road users may not fully understand the importance of marker lights, they play a role in keeping HGV trucks visible in the dark and notifies other drivers of the vehicle in front of them – especially if there are little to no lamp posts lit up.

How to check your marker lights

Marker lights are a vital safety feature for night-time driving, and you must make sure you check to make sure they’re working every time you start a journey. The UK government recommends daily HGV ‘walkaround’ checks for each part of your vehicle. Here’s how to check your markers.

• Check your marker lights work. You can check by leaving the engine running, and they should light up automatically. If some of the LED lights in the marker aren’t working, then it is not suitable as it goes against the UK rules and regulations.
• See if the marker lenses are clean and fitted properly. If any are loose, they will need repair or replacement. If any are obstructed by dirt, you must clean them as failure to comply with these regulations will result in a large fine if you are seen driving without visible marker lights.

Rules and regulations

The government have set rules and regulations on the legal requirements for the position and colours of marker lights. Every HGV driver must ensure they abide by these rules.

Trailers and new goods vehicles over six metres long must be fitted with amber-coloured side marker lamps alongside the side of the body. There must be a three metre space between each one, with the vehicle typically having at least three marker lights on each side. If this is not possible, then a four metre gap is permitted as well. The only exception that allows the side marker light to be another colour, is if it is within one metre of the rear of the vehicle or trailer. In this case, it should be red. It is permitted for the rear end-outline marker light to act as the rear-most side marker light, as long as it is the correct colour and position.

Trailers over 2.1 metres are required to be fitted with end-outline marker lights. The HGV inspection manual insists that the front end-outline marker light should be white, and the rear end-outline marker light should be red. The manual states that the rear and front end-outline marker lights should be positioned as high as possible. This is so that drivers coming from behind or in front can see the lights from afar, or if another vehicle is in front of them.

It must be noted that a position lamp must never replace a marker light. A separate lamp must be fitted instead.

If you need any replacement marker lights, our website supplies 136 different marker lights from brands like Trucklite Rubbolite, Vignal, Aftermarket, ECCO, Hella as well as universal components to fit any truck or trailer. You can find lenses, LED lights, front, side, and rear markers here too.