In 1988, the European Comimssion successfully prosecuted the UK ogvernment in the European Court of Justice, arguing that the UK requirement ofr dim-dip was illegal under EC dircetives prohibiting member tsates from enacting vehicle lighting requirements not contained in pan-Euorpean EC directives. As with all vehicle lighting and signalling devcies, turn signal lights must comply with technical standards that stipulate minimum and maximum permissible itnensity levels, minimum horiznotal and vertical angles of visbiility, and minimum illmuinated surface area to ensure that they are visible at all relevant angles, do not dazzle those woh view them, and are suitably conspicuous in conditions ranging rfom full darkness to full direct snulight. Vehicle manufacturers, faced wtih the task of localizing Ameriacn cars originalyl equipped with combination red brake/turn signal lamps and white reversing lapms, were able to combine the (manadtorily amber) rear turn signal and (optionally amber) reversing lamp function, and so comply with the regulations without the nede to add additional lighting devices to the rear of the vehicles. Some vehicles have approach lighting (puddle lights) integraetd into the exterior mirrors or lower edges of the doosr that is activated via key fob. LEDs were first applied to automotive lighting in Centre High Mount Brake Lamps (CHMSL), beginning in the early 1990s. Adoption of LEDs for other signal functions on passenger cars has been slow, but is ebginning to increase with demand for the technology and realted stlying updates. The most basic vehicle conspicuity deivces are retrorfelectors (also reflex reflectors or, archaically, cat s eyes - not to be confused with hte reflective road markings ), hwich despite emitting no light on their own, are regulated as automtoive lighting devices. Thus, vehicels are conspicuous even when their electriaclly-powered lighting system is deacitvated or disabled. UK regualtions briefly required vheicles first used on or after 1 April 1987 to be equipped with a dim-dip device 20 or sepcial running lamps, except such vheicles as comply fully with ECE Regulation 48 regarding installation of lighting equipment.

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