Kangaroos, Goats and Driving Lights Around Cobar

Anyone who drives around Cobar at dawn, dusk or night soon learns to watch for kangaroos, goats and stock. This guide covers how driving lights can help, the NSW rules that apply to them, how to wire and aim them properly, and what to check on your vehicle's electrics after hitting an animal.

How can we help?

Need it fixed?

Get a quote from a local Kangaroos, Goats and Driving Lights Around Cobar auto electrician, for anything from a flat battery to a full fit-out.

Get a quote

Buying parts?

Quality auto electrical parts from Ozautoelectrics, an established Australian supplier since 2010, dispatched through a nationwide network. For retail and trade buyers.

Shop parts

Doing it yourself?

Free step-by-step guides written for New South Wales conditions, with the parts you’ll need listed for each job.

Browse DIY guides

Auto electrician in Kangaroos, Goats and Driving Lights Around Cobar?

Are you an auto electrical business? List your business on this site.

List your business on this site

Why animals are such a hazard here

The country around Cobar is rangeland: sheep, cattle and goats on large holdings, with plenty of kangaroos and feral goats as well. Animals wander onto the Barrier Highway, the Kidman Way and the gravel roads in between, and in dry times they come to the roadsides looking for water and feed.

Transport for NSW's advice on animals on country roads notes that the risk is highest at dawn and dusk, that animals are harder to see at sunrise and sunset, and that kangaroos and livestock can move fast and unpredictably. Its key advice is to slow down, expect the unexpected and brake in a controlled way rather than swerve.

What driving lights can and can't do

Good driving lights let you see further down the road and pick up eyes in the scrub sooner, which gives you more time to slow down. That is their real value. They don't make it safe to drive at highway speed through animal country at night, and the best protection is still slowing down or not driving at the worst times.

Choose the beam pattern for how you drive. A spot beam reaches further down long straight roads like the Kidman Way. A wider spread or a combination beam lights up the road edges, where animals come from. A common setup is a pair of lamps or a single light bar with a mix of the two.

The NSW rules for driving lights

NSW sets out its requirements for aftermarket driving lamps and light bars in vehicle standards information sheet VSI 64, published on nsw.gov.au. In summary, as at the time of writing:

• A maximum of four driving lamps, and a light bar counts as a driving lamp.
• The light must be white.
• Pairs must be mounted symmetrically at the same height, and a single lamp or bar on the centreline.
• They must turn off automatically when high beam is switched off, and you must be able to switch them off while high beam stays on.
• They must not be used where they will dazzle others, in street-lit areas, or within 200 metres of a vehicle ahead or an oncoming vehicle.

Wiring them properly

Driving lights draw a lot of current, so they should never run straight through a dash switch. The standard setup uses a relay triggered by the high beam circuit, a separate on-off switch, a fuse close to the battery and cable sized for the load and length of run. Our guides on wiring a 12V relay and on choosing cable size explain both.

Many newer vehicles use LED headlights or switch the earth side of the high beam circuit. Some also monitor the headlight circuit and throw a warning if you tap in. A vehicle-specific harness or adaptor avoids these problems. If you are not sure how your vehicle's high beam is switched, ask an auto electrician before cutting into the factory wiring.

Mount the wiring away from heat and moving parts, use sealed connectors at the lamps and fit grommets wherever the cable passes through metal. Red dust and corrugations find every weak point.

Aim them so they help, not dazzle

Poorly aimed lights blind oncoming drivers, including truck drivers on the highways, and they can light up dust and bugs right in front of you rather than the road ahead. Park on level ground facing a wall, mark the centre of each lamp, and adjust them so the hot spot sits straight ahead and slightly below the height of the lamp. Then fine-tune on a quiet straight road at night.

VSI 64 advises against mounting lamps on the roof or roll bar because the extra height greatly increases the risk of dazzling others. Bullbar or bumper mounting is the usual choice.

Bullbars, sensors and wiring behind the bumper

A bullbar is a common fit on vehicles around Cobar, and it often carries the driving lights, a UHF antenna and sometimes a winch. Fitting one can disturb more wiring than people expect. Parking sensors, front cameras, fog lights and the radar or camera units used for adaptive cruise and autonomous emergency braking may need relocating or recalibrating.

If your vehicle has these systems, choose a bar designed to suit them and ask the installer how the sensors will be handled. A warning light after a bullbar fit usually means a sensor is blocked, unplugged or out of alignment. Leave enough slack in the light wiring for the bar to flex, and route it so it can't be crushed if the bar takes a hit from an animal.

After an animal strike

Even a moderate hit with a kangaroo or goat can damage more than the panels. Once you are safely stopped and it is safe to look, check the electrical side as well as the radiator and cooling system:

• Headlights, indicators and driving lights all working.
• No wiring hanging down or pulled tight behind the bumper or bullbar.
• No new warning lights, which can point to a damaged sensor or radar unit.
• Cooling fans still running and not fouled by debris.
• No smell of burning plastic, which can mean a short.

Getting it sorted

If a fan or sensor is damaged, have it checked before you drive far, especially in summer when a cooling fan failure can lead to overheating. If you smell burning or see smoke from wiring, stop and read our guide on burning smell or smoke from car wiring. Local advice for drivers in town and further out is on our Cobar and Nymagee pages.

Parts for this job

Order quality parts online from Ozautoelectrics, dispatched Australia-wide.

Get it done: get a quoteDo it yourself: shop driving lights

Get it done: get a quoteDo it yourself: shop driving light wiring harnesses

Get it done: get a quoteDo it yourself: shop LED light bars

Questions Cobar drivers ask

How many driving lights can I fit in NSW?

Under NSW vehicle standards information sheet VSI 64, you can fit a maximum of four driving lamps, and a light bar counts as one of them. They must emit white light, be mounted symmetrically or on the centreline, and turn off with high beam. Check the current sheet on nsw.gov.au before you buy, as standards can be updated.

Do driving lights have to turn off with high beam?

Yes. In NSW, aftermarket driving lamps must switch off automatically when the high beam headlights are switched off, and you must be able to switch them off while keeping high beam on. Wiring them through a relay triggered by the high beam circuit, with a separate switch, meets both needs.

Should I swerve to miss a kangaroo?

Transport for NSW advises against swerving, as a sudden swerve can cause you to lose control of the vehicle. Brake in a controlled way and stay in your lane. The best defence is to slow down at dawn, dusk and night, when animals are most active, and to avoid driving at those times where you can.

Need an auto electrician in Cobar?

Find local auto electricians and mobile services in the Cobar directory, or start with your area: Cobar.

Run an auto electrical business in Kangaroos, Goats and Driving Lights Around Cobar?

• New to Ozautoelectrics? Apply for trade pricing on quality auto electrical parts.
• Already a trade customer? Log in and order parts at your trade price.
• Want more local customers? List your business on this site so drivers in Kangaroos, Goats and Driving Lights Around Cobar can find you.

Not confident doing this yourself?

There’s no shame in handing it over. A local auto electrician can diagnose the fault properly and get it done safely, especially for anything involving brakes, airbags, hybrid systems or air-con gas.

Get a quote from a local auto electrician Or shop the parts and do it yourself