SECTIONS 25650-25651 - California Statutes

VEHICLE CODE

SECTION 25650-25651

25650. Every motorcycle during darkness shall be equipped with at
least one and not more than two lighted headlamps which shall conform
to the requirements and limitations of this division.

25650.5. Every motorcycle manufactured and first registered on and
after January 1, 1978, shall be equipped with at least one and not
more than two headlamps which automatically turn on when the engine
of the motorcycle is started and which remain lighted as long as the
engine is running. This section does not preclude equipping
motorcycles used as authorized emergency vehicles with a switch to be
used to turn off the headlamp during emergency situations or when
the light would interfere with law enforcement, if the switch is
removed prior to resale of the motorcycle.

25651. The headlamp upon a motor-driven cycle may be of the
single-beam or multiple-beam type, but in either event, when the
vehicle is operated during darkness, the headlamp shall comply with
the requirements and limitations as follows:
(a) The headlamp shall be of sufficient intensity to reveal a
person or a vehicle at a distance of not less than 100 feet when the
motor-driven cycle is operated at any speed less than 25 miles per
hour and at a distance of not less than 200 feet when operated at a
speed of 25 to not exceeding 35 miles per hour, and at a distance of
300 feet when operated at a speed greater than 35 miles per hour.
(b) In the event the motor-driven cycle is equipped with a
multiple-beam headlamp, the upper beam shall meet the minimum
requirements set forth above and the lowermost beam shall meet the
requirements applicable to a lowermost distribution of light as set
forth in subdivision (b) of Section 24407.
(c) In the event the motor-driven cycle is equipped with a
single-beam lamp, it shall be so aimed that when the vehicle is
loaded none of the high intensity portion of light, at a distance of
25 feet ahead, shall project higher than the level of the center of
the lamp from which it comes.