Originally Posted by
taz777
I've never heard of StVZO. Is this some kind of cycling regulation? We don't really have any (enforced) laws for cycling in the UK. I was out walking last night, it was dark, and 90% of cyclists were riding on the pavements (sidewalk in the US) and had no cycling lights! Hence, here any light is better than nothing.
It's a German law encompassing a lot more than bike lights. I had google translate
this page, and the first paragraph says
The German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations ( StVZO ) is a statutory ordinance of the Federal Government on the basis of § 6 of the Road Traffic Act , issued by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing.
The law specifies, among other things, the shape and intensity of bike light beams. Until 2013, all bikes sold in Germany had to come with headlight and taillight bolted onto the bike, and the lights had to be powered by a dynamo, not a battery. They lifted part of this, and they allow battery power. They might have lifted the bolting part, too. But the law has had some good effects:
1. Good lights with that superb beam shape are plentiful and reasonably priced.
2. The lights are available outside of Germany, in places where they are not required. I understand the Dutch prefer these lights in general.
Some stupid part of the light specification (in my own view) are the maximum power and the forbidding of blinking. Blinking lights are forbidden in Germany. Most of us agree that blinking is useful in at least some situations. StVZO compliant lights make excellent use of the maximum power and make them effectively as powerful as lights that put more out, since the majority of the light goes to the front edge of the beam and since the beam does not light up the areas left and right of your path. As [MENTION=262745]angerdan[/MENTION], not all compliant lights are like this, but the compliant lights I have, made by B&M and Philips are. The shapes are uncanny. They accomplished with innovative optics in the lamp.