The operation of vehicles is prohibited if:

Explanation

In both cases — both the external lighting devices failing to work in the prescribed mode and a motorcycle tyre tread of 0.6 mm.

External lights are the vehicle's language to others: they say I am here, I am this wide, I am braking and I am turning this way. The key phrase is "in the prescribed mode"; merely lighting up is not enough — the right lamp, in the right colour, with the right flashing pattern must work. A brake light that stays on permanently, or an indicator flashing at the wrong frequency, gives false information, and false information is more dangerous than none.

The second item is numerical: the minimum residual tread depth for a motorcycle is 0.8 mm, so 0.6 mm is below the limit and an offence. A motorcycle has only two contact patches the size of a palm on the asphalt, and its balance depends on those same two points. A worn tyre on wet asphalt does not expel the water from beneath it, and for a motorcycle the result is not a longer stopping distance but a fall.

Since both items are on the list of prohibiting defects, the comprehensive answer is correct.

Worth memorising: in the numerical questions of this chapter, first find the vehicle type and only then measure the figure against the table — passenger car 1.6 · lorry 1 · bus 2 · motorcycle 0.8 mm.

• This item is correct but leaves the answer incomplete; choosing it means treating a motorcycle tread of 0.6 mm, which is below the 0.8 limit, as permitted. • This too is a defect on its own, but choosing it means overlooking the correct functioning of the external lights, which is a separate item on the list.

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