Today I learned in the Highway Code...

[BBQCF]

What should you do when parking your car at night on a 30mph road?

a) Ensure your parking lights (side lights) are left on for the duration of your parking period
b) Ensure you are facing the direction of oncoming traffic
c) Ensure you move your car before daylight
d) Ensure your reflectors are clean and free of dirt

Five bonus points to anyone who knows this - and a further five bonus points to anyone who actually does this!

Id get the 5, but not the 7!!

10 points to anyone who knows this is wrong.

I knew about the parking lights but I would be worried my battery would be drained. I have never seen anyone using them though

I don't think you can leave your side lights on in modern cars can you? Mine starts beeping if I dare to open the door with anything on!

Why would you have to move your car before daylight? 🤔

Honestly, I was just coming up with extra stupid options and it was harder than I thought.

Parking lights are for roads more than 30mph, so that’s not right and where does it say I need to move my car before daylight? I don’t go out in my car every day and it’s fine to leave it parked to outside my house for the duration…

I wish people living in my area would learn the part about giving way to the right at roundabouts..there's this roundabout near me where if I'm approaching from a specific part people always shoot straight out in front of me (I'm definitely approaching them from their right!!) so I have to ignore the highway code and honk loudly while giving the middle finger

If it's over 30mph then it's A.

I haven’t checked the Highway Code but aren’t these rules for over 30mph roads? Or have the rules changed?

Placemarking for answer. Been driving 30+ years and am flummoxed

It looks like my OP wasn't clear - it was supposed to be a "which of these options is correct?" type quiz.

The correct answer is you must use parking lights whilst parked on a road with a speed limit of greater than 30 mph (extra bonus points for the people who spotted my OP missed the "greater than" too).

I have never heard this, despite driving for over 30 years, and can't ever remember seeing anyone parked with lights on. As a PP said - surely your car would ding at you until it exploded?

Oh I thought you were saying they were all true.

Yes I knew you had to park on the right side of the road. And I always do. You’re supposed to do the same in daytime too, and I rarely park on the wrong side in the day either, as it is so much more dangerous to pull out.

My driving instructor told me it wasn’t ever allowed so I only ever started doing it in the last few years when they added it as a manoeuvre that was tested on the driving test, but the Highway Code still says you shouldn’t do it in daytime.

EDIT I still read it wrong. I’m jet lagged. Ignore me. But I did know the point you were trying to make. I’ve never parked at night on a 40mph+ road so never needed to use parking lights.

I think you're supposed to park on the side you're driving (e.g. not facing oncoming traffic), but I'm not going to open a second can of worms!

Yeah I just corrected my post. Not enough sleep!!!

Isn't it for roads over 30mph that you need to leave your lights on? Obviously no-one does though, you'd drain the battery. I suppose the idea is that you shouldn't park on a fast road overnight, which makes sense.

Yes, I would edit my OP, but then it would make everyone else look crazy for picking up something that isn't there. But you are quite right! I genuinely didn't know this. (Maybe I did for about a month when I was cramming for my theory test...)

It can ding all it likes. Car manufacturers must obtain type approval for all cars sold in the UK. A car which did not allow for the sidelights to be left on when the car was unattended would be ineligible.

What are parking lights?

Light that you use when parked. To be fair I wouldn't know what to press in my car to turn them on 🤣🤣

Me neither 😂

I just use auto lights anyway so they sort themselves out!!!

Surely some of you will remember the VAG VW group cars used to leave a dull side light on if you pushed up or down your indicator and turned off the ignition? Specifically for this purpose.

to turn your parking light on it’s often (can’t think of car that’s not, but I’m sure there is!) the indicator down or up and kept down or up.
you don’t need to keep your sidelights on

Have we found anyone on the thread who actually does this though? (Admittedly it’s probably rare for me to park in a 40mph area but some residential main roads near us always have cars parked.)

I think I probably have done this a few times a LONG time ago in a car where I knew where the parking lights were!