O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 40-8-30 (2019)

Standards for multiple-beam road lighting equipment

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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Except as hereinafter provided in this part, the headlights or the auxiliary driving light or the auxiliary passing light or combination thereof on motor vehicles other than motorcycles or motor driven cycles shall be so arranged that the driver may select at will between distributions of light projected to different elevations, and such lights may, in addition, be so arranged that such selection can be made automatically, subject to the following limitations: (1) There shall be an uppermost distribution of light, or composite beam, so aimed and of such intensity as to reveal persons and vehicles at a distance of at least 350 feet ahead for all conditions of loading; (2) There shall be a lowermost distribution of light, or composite beam, so aimed and of sufficient intensity to reveal persons and vehicles at a distance of at least 100 feet ahead; and on a straight level road under any condition of loading none of the high intensity portion of the beam shall be directed to strike the eyes of an approaching driver; (3) Every new motor vehicle other than a motorcycle or a motor driven cycle registered in this state which has multiple-beam road lighting equipment shall be equipped with a beam indicator which shall be lighted whenever the uppermost distribution of light from the headlights is in use and shall not otherwise be lighted. Such indicator shall be so designed and located that when lighted it will be readily visible without glare to the driver of the vehicle so equipped.

History

(Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 556, § 113; Ga. L. 1955, Ex. Sess., p. 25, § 1; Code 1933, § 68E-211, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 165, § 4; Code 1981, § 40-8-30, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 165, § 10.)

Annotations

Code Commission notes. - Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1985, in the first sentence of paragraph (3), commas were deleted following ‘‘indicator’’ and ‘‘use.’’

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1991, in the introductory language and in paragraph (3), ‘‘motor driven’’ was substituted for ‘‘motor-driven.’’

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Cited in Southeastern Liquid Fertilizer Co. v. Mock, 92 Ga. App. 270, 88 S.E.2d 531 (1955); Wood v. Atlantic Coast Line R.R., 192 F. Supp. 351 (M.D. Ga. 1960); Mathis v. Patrick, 109 Ga. App. 376, 136 S.E.2d 166 (1964); Cupp v. State, 111 Ga. App. 722, 143 S.E.2d 197 (1965); Seaboard C.L.R.R. v. Sheffield, 127 Ga. App. 580,

194 S.E.2d 484 (1972); Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. Bryson, 138 Ga. App. 78, 225 S.E.2d 475 (1976); Rothrock v. Martin, 138 Ga. App. 16, 225 S.E.2d 489 (1976); Ingram v. Jackson, 153 Ga. App. 201, 265 S.E.2d 29 (1980); Johnson v. UPS, 616 F.2d 161 (5th Cir. 1980).

RESEARCH REFERENCES Am. Jur. 2d. - 7A Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, § 205 et seq. C.J.S. - 60 C.J.S., Motor Vehicles, § 43 et seq. 60A C.J.S., Motor Vehicles, § 630 et seq.

ALR. - Liability or recovery in automobile negligence action as affected by absence or insufficiency of lights on parked or standing motor vehicle, 61 A.L.R.3d 13.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1990–2002 · leading case: Pate v. Georgia S. & Florida Ry. Co., 395 S.E.2d 604 (Ga. Ct. App. 1990).
Pate v. Georgia S. & Florida Ry. Co., 395 S.E.2d 604 (Ga. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 4× “See generally OCGA § 40-8-30 (2) (low beams must reveal vehicles at a distance of at least 100 feet).”
State v. Mussell, 571 S.E.2d 518 (Ga. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 2× “Under OCGA § 40-8-31 (1), a driver has the duty to dim the lights of her vehicle when she “approaches an oncoming vehicle within 500 feet” so that “the glaring rays are not projected into the eyes of the oncoming driver.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.