Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of dip headlights on motorcycles in improving road safety.

There are detailed requirements that must be satisfied before vehicles can be sold or registered in the UK. The lighting system fitted to motorcycles is included in the pre-registration assessment which requires that headlamps are approved to internationally recognised standards to ensure that they are bright enough to light the road ahead but not so bright as to dazzle other road users. Headlamp operation and aim is also routinely checked as part of the annual MoT inspection.

No recent UK assessment has been made of the effectiveness of dipped motorcycle headlamps but in response to public concerns raised about glare from vehicle headlamps an international glare prevention taskforce has been established at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. UK officials and vehicle manufacturers’ representatives are actively involved in the work of the group which is reviewing existing requirements and looking at potential measures to reduce the occurrence of headlamp glare.