Wide and Projecting Loads: When You Need Side Markers, Marker Boards and Extra Lights
A load over 2.9 m wide, or sticking out over 305 mm each side, needs side markers and police notice. Rules for wide and overhanging loads and lights.
In this guide
- Side projections and wide loads at a glance
- How wide can a load be before you must use side markers?
- Lights for loads and trailers that stick out sideways
- Loads that stick out at the front or rear
- Wide agricultural machines and implements
- Side marker lamps on long vehicles and trailers
- Checklist before you move a wide or overhanging load
- Frequently asked questions
On UK roads, a load needs side markers when the overall width of the vehicle and load is more than 2.9 metres, or when the load sticks out more than 305 mm beyond either side of the vehicle. Those loads also need two clear working days’ notice to the police, and an attendant once the width goes over 3.5 metres. At night, any load or trailer that sticks out more than 400 mm beyond the vehicle’s side lights needs its own front and rear position lamps within 400 mm of the edge. Loads that stick out more than 1 metre at the rear (2 metres for agricultural vehicles) need an extra red rear lamp and reflector at night. Wide agricultural machines and implements have their own width bands and speed limits, set out below.
This guide covers the marker and lighting rules for wide and overhanging loads, from bales and timber on a trailer to a wide implement on a tractor. It is based on the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (regulation 82 and Schedule 12), the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 (regulation 21 and Schedule 9) and Department for Transport guidance on overhanging loads.
Side projections and wide loads at a glance
| Width or projection | What you need |
|---|---|
| Load sticks out up to 305 mm each side, overall width up to 2.9 m | No markers or notice under the wide load rules; lamps if it sticks out more than 400 mm beyond the side lights at night |
| Load sticks out more than 305 mm on either side | Police notice (two clear working days), side markers visible from front and rear, extra lamps at night |
| Overall width over 2.9 m, up to 3.5 m | Police notice, side markers visible from front and rear, extra lamps at night |
| Overall width over 3.5 m, up to 4.3 m | As above, plus an attendant |
| Over 4.3 m | Special types rules apply |
These are the general rules for loads. Agricultural vehicles, machines and implements are treated differently, see wide agricultural machines below.
How wide can a load be before you must use side markers?
When the overall width of the vehicle and its load is more than 2.9 metres, or the load sticks out more than 305 mm on either side, the load must carry a side marker on each side that projects, visible from the front and the rear. A side marker counts as correctly placed when part of it is within 50 mm of the outermost point of the load on that side, and it is not needed on a side where the load does not stick out past the vehicle. Markers must be kept clean and, between sunset and sunrise, lit so they can be seen from a reasonable distance.
The same widths also trigger the requirement to give the police two clear working days’ notice of the journey, and over 3.5 metres you also need an attendant: someone other than the driver, there to help the driver and warn other road users.
Lights for loads and trailers that stick out sideways
The lighting rules work from the vehicle’s obligatory side lights rather than its bodywork. Under regulation 21 of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations, between sunset and sunrise and in seriously reduced visibility:
- If a load sticks out more than 400 mm beyond the outer edge of the vehicle’s obligatory front or rear position lamp, you must either move that lamp onto the load or fit an extra position lamp, white at the front and red at the rear, with a matching reflector, within 400 mm of the outer edge of the load.
- If a trailer that has no front position lamps of its own sticks out more than 400 mm beyond the towing vehicle’s front position lamp, it needs a white front lamp within 400 mm of its outer edge. This is common with a wide trailer behind a narrow tractor.
- If the load hides any obligatory lamp, reflector or rear marking, it must be moved or repeated where it can be seen. This applies to stop lamps and indicators at all times, not only at night.
In practice, a set of magnetic or clamp-on LED position lamps, with a red and white reflector, is the quickest way to light the edge of a wide load. Our range of position lamps and LED marker lights covers both.
Loads that stick out at the front or rear
| Projection | Rear | Front |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 m | Nothing specified | Nothing specified |
| Over 1 m, up to 2 m | End made clearly visible | Nothing specified |
| Over 2 m, up to 3.05 m | Marker boards | Marker boards and an attendant |
| Over 3.05 m | Police notice, attendant and marker boards | Police notice, attendant and marker boards |
The end marker must be within 0.5 m of the very end of the projection and no more than 2.5 m above the road. Side markers are added once a forward projection is over 2 m or a rearward projection is over 3 m, one each side within 1 m of the end marker, with more side markers along longer projections.
The lighting rules for long projections, under regulation 21, are:
- Rear: a load sticking out more than 1 m beyond the rear (more than 2 m for an agricultural vehicle) needs an extra red rear lamp and red reflector, within 1 m (or 2 m) of the end of the load, at night.
- Front: a load sticking out more than 1 m forward (more than 2 m for an agricultural vehicle) needs an extra white front lamp and white reflector within the same distance of the front of the load.
Front-mounted implements and loader buckets often hide the tractor’s headlamps or indicators. When they do, the hidden lamps must be repeated where they can be seen; see implement lights for the usual solutions.
Wide agricultural machines and implements
Wide tractors, combines, sprayers and implements are covered by special rules for agricultural vehicles rather than the general load rules above. Department for Transport guidance sets out the main bands:
| Overall width (including tyres and any implement) | Speed limit | Notice and attendant |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 2.55 m | Normal tractor limits | None |
| Over 2.55 m, up to 3.5 m | 20 mph | Over 3.0 m: notify the police of journeys |
| Over 3.5 m, up to 4.3 m | 12 mph | Notify the police and use an attendant |
The width includes the tyres, including any extra ones you have fitted, and any implement or trailer being towed. Many large conventional tractors on wide tyres end up in the 20 mph band without their owners realising. Police forces can issue a dispensation letter for regular local journeys, which removes the need to notify every trip but not the attendant or marking rules. The outer edges of a wide machine must be clearly marked and lit in the dark or poor visibility, using the 400 mm lamp rule above.
Check the current rules with the Department for Transport or your police force’s abnormal loads officer before moving very wide machinery. The NFU also publishes guidance for members.
Side marker lamps on long vehicles and trailers
Side marker lamps are not the same thing as wide load side markers. They are amber lamps along the side of a long vehicle so that it can be seen from the side at night. Under the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations:
- Motor vehicles longer than 6 m, first used on or after 1 April 1991 and able to exceed 25 mph, need side marker lamps. Vehicles limited to 25 mph, which covers most standard tractors, are exempt.
- Trailers longer than 6 m, measured without the drawbar (9.15 m for trailers made before 1 October 1990), need side marker lamps. The regulations exempt agricultural vehicles in the trailer table, as well as caravans, boat trailers and works trailers.
- Where they are required, the front lamp must be within 4 m of the front (including the drawbar), the rear lamp within 1 m of the rear, and lamps no more than 3 m apart (4 m if 3 m is impractical), no higher than 2.3 m.
- Side marker lamps are amber, but the rearmost can be red if it is within 1 m of the rear.
Separately, side reflectors (amber) are required on trailers longer than 5 m excluding the drawbar. Our guide to side marker lights explains the lamps themselves, and agricultural trailer lighting requirements covers everything a farm trailer needs.
Checklist before you move a wide or overhanging load
- Measure the overall width, including the load, the tyres and anything towed.
- Measure how far the load sticks out at the front, the rear and each side.
- If it is over 2.9 m wide, or more than 305 mm out each side, give the police two clear working days’ notice and fit side markers.
- Over 3.5 m wide, arrange an attendant.
- For dark or poor visibility, fit white front and red rear lamps and reflectors within 400 mm of each side edge, and an extra rear or front lamp if the load sticks out more than 1 m (2 m for agricultural vehicles).
- Check the load does not hide the tractor’s stop lamps, indicators or number plate; repeat any it does.
- Agricultural machines: check which width band you are in and the speed limit that goes with it.
Frequently asked questions
How wide can a load be before you must use side markers?
Side markers are needed when the overall width of the vehicle and load is more than 2.9 metres, or when the load sticks out more than 305 mm beyond either side of the vehicle.
How far can a load overhang at the rear before you need marker boards?
Up to 1 m, nothing is specified. Over 1 m the end must be clearly visible, over 2 m it needs marker boards, and over 3.05 m it also needs police notice and an attendant. At night, a rear overhang of more than 1 m (2 m on agricultural vehicles) needs an extra red rear lamp and reflector.
When does a load need extra lights?
At night or in poor visibility, when it sticks out more than 400 mm beyond the vehicle’s side lights (white front and red rear lamps within 400 mm of the edge), or more than 1 m to the front or rear (2 m for agricultural vehicles).
Do farm trailers need side marker lamps?
Trailers longer than 6 m, excluding the drawbar, generally need side marker lamps, but the regulations exempt agricultural vehicles in the trailer table. Trailers longer than 5 m excluding the drawbar need amber side reflectors.
Are orange side lights legal in the UK?
Amber side marker lamps along the side of a vehicle are legal and required on long vehicles and trailers. Front position lamps (the side lights at the front) must be white, or yellow where they are built into a yellow headlamp, so amber or orange front side lights are not legal.
