Get ready to see more red flashing warning lights on UK motorways and dual carriageways. Starting this week, operators can apply to the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) for permission to use high-visibility red lamps, which were previously reserved for emergency services.
For over 30 years, the breakdown industry has been pushing for red lamps to be used alongside the usual amber lights, and now it's finally happening after a consultation by the former government. However, the Department for Transport has set strict guidelines. These red lamps should only be used in high-risk situations, and operators must record why they're being used through a "dynamic risk assessment" made at the scene of a breakdown.
According to the Institute of Vehicle Recovery and the National Tyre Distributors Association, whose members can apply for temporary permits until a permanent law change in 2024, these red lights can only be used when it's “necessary or desirable to warn motorists of the presence of breakdown, recovery or tyre technicians working on or near a live carriageway”.
One key rule: the red lamps cannot be used while a recovery vehicle is moving. Permits will only be issued if the vehicles are fitted with a system that automatically turns off the lights if they go over 5mph.
Dom Shorrocks, the RAC’s chief operations officer, called this change a major milestone for roadside assistance. “Being able to use red flashing lamps will unequivocally improve the visibility of roadside workers and help save lives,” he said.
“There have been too many tragic collisions where lives have been lost involving stationary recovery vehicles at the sides of high-speed roads where more prominent red lights might have made a difference.”
