The operation of vehicles is prohibited if:

Explanation

When the external lighting devices and reflectors are dirty.

External lights and reflectors being dirty is treated as exactly equivalent to their not working and prohibits operation of the vehicle. This point surprises many, because mud on a lamp seems an aesthetic rather than a technical matter; but from the point of view of the driver facing you, there is no difference at all between a burnt-out lamp and one covered in mud.

The effect of dirt on light intensity is far greater than one imagines: a thin layer of winter mud or road salt can absorb most of the light output and reduce a lamp's range to a few metres. With reflectors the situation is worse, because a reflector has no light source of its own and its whole function is to return the light of another vehicle's headlights; a dirty surface means zero reflection and means that at night, on an unlit road, your vehicle is effectively invisible. Armenia's winter roads are exactly the environment in which that layer forms within a few dozen kilometres.

The practical consequence: cleaning the lights and reflectors is part of the pre-drive inspection, not a housekeeping task. By contrast, dirt on the front and rear protection devices impairs no safety function, because these structures are mechanical and their role is to absorb an impact, not to be seen.

• The front and rear protection devices are mechanical structures for absorbing impact and their being dirty does not destroy their function; this condition is not on the list of prohibiting defects. • Since dirt on the protection devices is not a ground for prohibition, "in both cases" is wrong and only dirt on the lights and reflectors matters.

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