RV FEATURE
‘ Vehicle Standard( Australian Design Rule 13 / 00 – Installation of Lighting and Light Signalling Devices on Other Than L-Group Vehicles) 2005’ dictates under clause 6.8 that a rear numberplate light is mandatory and that these should be installed in a number, arrangement and position that the site of the registration plate is illuminated.
This is supplemented by‘ Vehicle Standard( Australian Design Rule 48 / 00 – Devices for Illumination of Rear Registration Plates) 2006’. This requirement is very technical in terms of the“ photometric requirements for devices which illuminate the rear registration plate by reflection”.
Under the general specifications of clause 5, the entire surface of the numberplate must be illuminated within a certain field of vision, while clause 6 states that the light must be sufficiently colourless so as not the change the colour of the numberplate.
STATE AND TERRITORY REQUIREMENTS
While not a national Australian Design Rule( ADR) requirement, many states and territories also mandate that front and rear numberplates must be visible from 20m away within an arc of 45 degrees from the surface of the plate, from above or to either side of the vehicle.
The Northern Territory is a touch more lenient, applying the same 45 degrees for vehicles over 4.5 tonne GVM but reducing the requirement for visibility from above to 15 degrees for vehicles that are less than 4.5 tonne GVM.
South Australia simply states that front and rear numberplates must be clearly visible from the front and rear of the vehicle so that they can be read up to 20m away, day and night, but otherwise does not reference angles of visibility.
Tasmania simply stipulates that numberplates be legible at night when viewed 20m from the rear of the vehicle, but it does not have a daytime visibility requirement above that of the ADRs.
Numberplates can ' t be located higher than 1300mm from the ground.
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