Spring isn't quite here, but different shades of visors are already starting to appear on sunnier days.

It's easy to be blinded by the sun when riding a motorbike using a clear visor, which is why many of us opt for a tinted one.

So what's road legal? There's some help in the form of legislation and guidelines from the Department of Transport.

Section 18 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 subsection 3 states "...if a person driving or riding on a motorcycle on a road uses an appliance of any description for which a type is prescribed under this section and that appliance is not of a type so prescribed, or is otherwise used in contravention of regulations under this section, he is guilty of an offence." The Act also includes anyone selling such items.

The Department of Transport gives simpler guidelines on legal visors: "Visors are to have a trademark or trade name on them and should have the words 'Daytime Use Only' if they are unsuitable for night time use. They should also have an international approval mark consisting of a circle surrounding the letter 'E' followed by the number of the country. In the UK, BSI Kite Mark BS 4110:1999 applies specifically to visors."

This ensures that they let enough light through, and a visor that lets through less than 50% light transmission is illegal. Dark tint and iridium visors have particularly low light transmission rates and are normally therefore illegal. On reputable websites that sell visors there's usually advice on which ones are road legal.

What's the police stance?

This very much depends on the particular force and the officer dealing with the matter. Most will be sensible and will be aware of the guidelines given in the ACPO National Motorcycle Enforcement Strategy (2008).

These state that if tinted visors are used during daylight hours, then a police officer should only give the rider advice on their use. If used during the hours of darkness or in conditions of reduced visibility, an officer should check the tint of the visor using Tintman equipment where available. The guidelines recommend a pragmatic approach, and only in cases where there's an obvious danger should prosecution be considered.

So the general rules that the police follow are that visors should let through 50% of light transmission (dark and iridium visors don't), but if you're stopped during the day and you've less light transmission through your visor, you're likely to get advice from the officer. If you use a tinted visor when it's dark, you may face prosecution.

It's worth taking a sensible approach.

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