What are clearance lights?
2 Answers
Clearance lights are warning lights used to alert other vehicles. Installed at the highest points of the front and rear of a vehicle, they indicate the vehicle's width and height during driving in conditions such as dusk, overcast days, rain, or fog. This helps drivers judge relative positions and vehicle dimensions during encounters or overtaking. Typically, clearance lights are white at the front and red at the rear. Safety regulations mandate that vehicles taller than 3 meters or wider than 2.10 meters must be equipped with clearance lights. There are two ways to activate clearance lights: either via a rotary knob or a lever switch. Simply adjusting the switch to the 'O' position turns on the clearance lights.
The position lamp, commonly known as the parking light, is installed on both the front and rear sides of the vehicle. Its primary function is to illuminate in dark, foggy, or dimly lit conditions, allowing others to clearly see the outline and width of your car. For example, when driving on a national highway at night, if you forget to turn on the headlights and only have the position lamps on, it still enables others to spot your moving vehicle from a distance, helping to prevent accidents. Having driven for many years, what annoys me the most is when some drivers forget to turn on these lights, nearly causing accidents in rainy or foggy conditions. Checking them is actually quite simple: they should light up when the engine is started. If they're not working, replacing the bulb is all that's needed, and it's not costly. In short, this small design might seem insignificant, but it's indispensable for driving safety.
