The operation of vehicles is prohibited if:

Explanation

If there is no first-aid kit in the lorry.

A first-aid kit is mandatory equipment, and its absence in a lorry prohibits operation on its own. Its rationale is tied to statistics: most preventable deaths in a collision occur in the first minutes and from bleeding; and a lorry often works on intercity roads, where an ambulance takes tens of minutes to arrive. Mandatory equipment carries exactly the same weight on the list of defects as mechanical faults.

The second item is a colour trap. Memorise the colour rule: white light and reflectors at the front of a vehicle, red at the rear and amber/yellow at the sides. So a white reflector at the front is not only no offence — it is exactly what should be there. What is prohibited is the reverse: red reflectors or light at the front and white at the rear.

The safety reason for this rule is orientation at night. A driver who in darkness sees only the reflection of his own headlights tells from the colour whether he is facing the front of a vehicle or its rear — that is, whether the vehicle is coming towards him or moving away. If the colours are swapped, that instant judgement disappears and the decision to overtake or brake is made on a false reading.

So only the first item is an offence and the comprehensive option is ruled out automatically.

• A white reflector at the front is entirely lawful; the rule says white at the front, red at the rear and amber at the sides. The prohibition concerns the reverse of this arrangement. • "In both cases" is correct only when both items are offences; since a white reflector at the front is not, this option is ruled out.

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