I set the grandchildren a Christmas quiz and going through some old workshop light fittings from various classic cars - this is their feedback:
Vehicle lights for night time parking on public streets was a a law in the UK, passed we believe in the mid 1940’s but used earlier in bigger cities like London as vehicles and cars became more popular and affordable for the general public. This law still remains in place today when parking on any road or adjacent rest area/layby where the speed limit is above 30mph.
After market parking lights were available until such features began to be built into modern cars. These needed to have a forward facing white light and rear facing rear light, and placed on the outer side of the car that face the centre point of the road. Lucas, Wipac, etc certianly made these Parking lamps.
The choice was either “fix to the roof” (requiring one at either side of the car - perhaps as Rob has found on his roof, and probably needed an dashboard selector switch to illuminate driver’s or passenger’s side); “clip on window” type; and “magnetic” type. These later 2 designs being either to plug into the cigar lighter or clip onto the battery terminals.
These are some photos of what we found:
ROOF FIX PARKING LAMPS:
CLIP ON WINDOW PARKING LAMPS:
MAGNETIC PARKING LAMPS:
I awarded an extra Christmas quiz point for finding this extract of information from the UK Government in 1955:
# Vehicle Parking Regulations (Lights)
HC Deb: 04 May 1955 vol 540 cc128-30W[128W]
Mr. Peter Freeman asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he is now able to announce his decision in reference to car owners leaving their cars without lights on the street if within 100 yards of public lighting, following his hearing of comments received from interested organisations.
Mr. Boyd-Carpenter: Yes. I am making regulations to permit certain vehicles to be parked in the streets of London at night with parking lights so long as they are on a road subject to a speed limit and are within 100 yards of a street lamp, and to be parked without lights at all if they are within 25 yards of a street lamp on such a road, except on bus routes. Outside London there will be similar arrangements except that parking without lights will be subject to the permission of the Chief Officer of Police concerned. The necessary regulations will be made under the Road Transport Lighting Acts and I would emphasise that they relate only to vehicle lighting and do not alter the existing law as to parking. A more detailed account of my proposals is given below.
Following are the Proposals
The effect of the proposed Regulations in respect of the lighting of parked vehicles will be broadly as follows:—
Vehicles of the following classes, viz., private cars, hackney carriages adapted to carry less than 8 passengers exclusive of the driver, goods vehicles not exceeding 30 cwt. in unladen weight, motor cycles with or without sidecars, invalid carriages, pedal cycles and tricycles will be exempted from the requirements of the Road Transport Lighting Acts, 1927–1953 in respect of the carrying of front and rear lamps—
(A) (1) if showing a white light to the front and a red light to the rear from either—
- (a) a single “parking lamp” complying with prescribed requirements as to character, size, position on the vehicle and areas of visibility; or
- (b) the normal off-side front and rear lamps; or
- (c) until 30th September, 1956, in the case of a vehicle legally permitted to carry only one rear lamp, the normal offside front lamp and a rear lamp on the centre line or off-side, and
(2) only while standing or parked close to and parallel with the near side edge of the carriageway within 100 yards of a street lamp (whether or not illuminated) on any road on which a 30 m.p.h. or lower speed limit is in force.
(B) If showing no lights—
(1) Within the City of London and Metropolitan Police districts
- (a) while standing or parked close to and parallel with the near side of the carriageway within twenty-five yards of an illuminated street lamp on any road on which a 30 m.p.h. or lower speed limit is in force, other than a road on which a bus or trolleybus service is operated; and
- (b) in any authorised car park or hackney carriage stand on a road on which vehicles of the class concerned are legally permitted to be parked or to stand, subject to the consent of the Commissioner of Police concerned where the car park or stand is on a road on which a bus or trolleybus service is operated.
(2) Elsewhere throughout England. Scotland and Wales - (a) while standing or parked close to and parallel with the near side edge of the 130 carriageway within twenty-five yards of an illuminated street lamp on any road on which a 30 m.p.h. or lower speed limit is in force;
- (b) in any authorised car park or hackney carriage stand on such a road;
subject in both (a) and (b) to the consent of the Chief Officer of the Police for the area concerned.
No exemptions will be granted by the Regulations in respect of the lighting of vehicles parked on road verges, and the leaving of cars with special lights or unlit near road junctions and intersections will not be permitted.
The proposed regulations deal only with exemptions from vehicle lighting requirements, and the existing law in regard to parking and obstructions remains entirely unaffected.