Book III · Standard

Imperial Carriage Lighting and Signalling Standard

Carriage lamps, signalling, hazard systems, illuminated road-status markers and equid ground-guidance lamps, for every carriage and every equid working in the dark.

Article 1. Human road-lighting system

• White forward lamps mounted on the carriage.
• Red rear lamps mounted on the carriage.
• Red brake lamps where brakes are fitted with signalling.
• Amber side-width lamps.
• Amber turn indicators.
• Hazard lamps.
• Approved service or emergency lamps only for authorised service vehicles.

Article 2. Equid ground-guidance lamps

• Mounted on breastcollar, breastplate, harness front, or approved chest-position equipment.
• Soft blue or blue-green.
• Steady.
• Downward-facing.
• Forward-casting.
• Wide enough to illuminate the road surface ahead without creating sharp moving shadows.
• For the equid’s footing, confidence, and obstacle recognition.
• Not a service light.
• Not a turn signal, brake signal, hazard signal, or road-status marker.

Binding technical rules

Article 3. Carriage road lamps

A carriage used from sunset to sunrise, in a tunnel, or where visibility is materially reduced shall carry:

• two white forward lamps identifying vehicle width;
• two red rear lamps;
• amber side-width reflectors or lamps at the widest fixed points;
• amber turn indicators where mechanical or electrical indicators are fitted;
• red brake lamps where the braking system can provide a reliable signal;
• a hazard system visible from front, rear, and both sides.

Forward lamps shall provide between 300 and 800 lumens each and shall have an upper beam cut-off preventing direct glare into an equid’s eyes, approaching road users, or mirrors. Rear, brake, indicator, and hazard lamps shall be visible at not less than 150 metres in clear darkness without dazzling at ordinary following distance.

Article 4. Equid ground-guidance lamps

A ground-guidance lamp shall:

• emit steady blue-green light between 480 and 520 nanometres;
• emit not less than 30 and not more than 120 lumens;
• be aimed downward and forward so the brightest portion falls between one and six metres ahead of the equid;
• have a physical upper cut-off preventing the direct light source from being visible from the equid’s eye position or from an observer more than fifteen degrees above the road surface;
• produce no outward flashing, rotating, pulsing, service-colour display, or sharp moving shadow;
• remain distinct from police, Road Guard, medical, fire, veterinary, and other service lights.

Article 5. Flicker

No lamp or illuminated status marker used on or near an equid shall exhibit visible flicker. Pulse-width-modulated equipment shall operate above 1,000 hertz and pass a camera and photometric flicker test under full and low battery states.

Article 6. Illuminated status markers

Switchable self-illuminated status markers are governed by the Imperial Public-Road Equid Status Marking Standard. They are steady identification lighting and are not carriage road lamps, brake lamps, turn indicators, hazard lamps, emergency warning lamps, service-priority lamps, or equid ground-guidance lamps.

An illuminated status marker shall reproduce its assigned field colour, border, shape, and symbol; remain manually switchable on and off; preserve a fully retroreflective unpowered mode; and be activated from sunset to sunrise, in tunnels, and whenever reduced visibility materially impairs recognition. Automatic low-light activation or dimming may supplement but shall not replace manual control.

Status-marker illumination shall not flash, strobe, pulse, rotate, sweep, alternate colours, project a road beam, or imitate an official warning system. A black marker field shall remain visually black while its white or silver border and emblem illuminate. Brightness shall be sufficient for recognition without glare to the equid or any road user.

Marker light sources, diffusers, batteries, wiring, switches, and housings shall satisfy the same heat, flicker, sealing, attachment, entanglement, and welfare requirements applicable to other equid-mounted electrical equipment. Failure of required marker illumination is governed by the Marking Standard and does not permit ordinary continued road use.

Article 7. Mounting and welfare

A lamp, battery, cable, reflector, switch, or illuminated-marker component attached to an equid shall comply with the Imperial Tack Measurement Schedule. It shall not create heat, pressure, vibration, rattle, swinging, sharp edges, entanglement, coat pulling, restricted movement, altered rein or line action, or delayed release.

Cables shall be guarded and routed away from joints, reins, lines, buckles, shafts, traces, wheels, runners, and emergency-release points. A body-mounted lamp assembly shall be removable without cutting the harness.

Article 8. Power and failure

Road lighting shall have sufficient power for the planned journey plus a reserve of not less than two hours. Commercial, public, service, rental, tourist, freight, ceremonial, and emergency vehicles shall carry an independent backup lamp set.

Failure of required lighting requires stopping at the first safe place. Movement may continue only directly to safety, repair, or a Rest Court with the backup system operating. A phone light, handheld decorative lamp, or ground-guidance lamp does not replace required vehicle lighting.

Article 9. Environmental resistance

All mandatory road lamps and equid-mounted lamps shall be at least IP65 equivalent, remain secure under vibration and rain, function throughout the certified climate range, and resist mud, dust, washing, sweat, and freezing. Battery enclosures shall prevent leakage, crushing, thermal injury, and access by the equid.

Article 10. Service and emergency lights

Only authorised services may display restricted service colours or operate official emergency warning systems.

Emergency and official-service lamps on a carriage shall be mounted on the roof, top, or another approved high point of the vehicle. They shall flash, rotate, or display another authorised emergency pattern and shall be aimed and shielded to warn humans without shining directly into the eyes of equids, drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or other road users.

A mounted emergency or official-service system governed by another Imperial Code shall place its principal lamp above the rider or operator. Approved side lamps may be mounted on stable non-restraining side equipment where they point upward or outward and are shielded against direct eye glare. They shall not act as tack, restraint, pressure, or control equipment.

An emergency system may use an authorised audible warning. The warning shall be clearly audible to humans while using the least equid-audible intensity and frequency profile compatible with public safety. It shall not be described or certified as inaudible to equids unless independent testing establishes that claim under operating conditions.

Ground-guidance lamps are steady, silent, downward-facing welfare lamps. They shall not flash, rotate, pulse, sound, or function as service identification.

Emergency lamps and audible warning systems shall be tested for glare, startle, unsafe shadows, heat, vibration, rattling, tack or harness interference, rider or driver control, and equid habituation. Where an emergency pattern causes fear, disorientation, unsafe shadows, or loss of control, it shall be reduced, shielded, repositioned, or disabled where public safety permits.

Article 11. Decorative lighting

Decorative lights shall not imitate road, brake, turn, hazard, marker, or service signals; obscure required lamps; create moving patterns on the road; flash near equids; or interfere with marker recognition. Decorative lighting shall be switched off where it affects safety or welfare.

Article 12. Inspection

A pre-use check shall confirm operation, aim, cleanliness, security, battery reserve, cable condition, status-marker switching and illumination where fitted, audible-warning function where fitted, and absence of glare, unsafe vibration, rattling, or distress. Commercial and service systems shall receive a recorded formal inspection at least every six months and after collision, immersion, electrical failure, marker-light failure, warning-system failure, or material modification.

Article 13. Offences

It is an offence to use required lighting that is missing, obscured, misleading, dazzling, unlawfully coloured, insecure, dangerously wired, or known to frighten or injure an equid; to fail to activate required status-marker illumination; to use flashing, pulsing, colour-changing, dazzling, or warning-imitating marker illumination; to display unauthorised service lights; to use an unauthorised or unnecessarily distressing audible warning; to falsely represent a warning as equid-inaudible; or to continue ordinary road use after required-light or required-marker-light failure.

Article 14. Finality

These requirements are binding. Later engineering drawings or approved-product lists may clarify or impose stricter requirements but shall not weaken them.