I know its a basic point but we're just making final preperations for our first trip to France this weekend. Can anyone tell me which side of the car/caravan the GB plates should go left or right?
GB Stickers
- Thread starter Tango
- Start date
Don't think it is recommended to place it either side, as long as it is showing from the rear.
BTW. If you have the GB with stars logo on the left of your rear reg plate, you will not need a stick on GB plate..
Bon Voyage
BTW. If you have the GB with stars logo on the left of your rear reg plate, you will not need a stick on GB plate..
Bon Voyage
When driving in England the GB sticker should be on the right at the rear.
When driving in Europe it should be placed on the left rear
the logic behind this is the driver following you has the sticker in front of him and is then made aware you are from a different country.
Note you do not need a GB sticker in the UK but if you did then it would be positioned where I said.
I cant remeber where I read that when travelling in Europe it needs to be placed on the Left rear but it is in one of the recomended books Mine is always on the car positioned left hand side rear
If you have a number plate with a GB on it you will note it is positioned on the left.
When driving in Europe it should be placed on the left rear
the logic behind this is the driver following you has the sticker in front of him and is then made aware you are from a different country.
Note you do not need a GB sticker in the UK but if you did then it would be positioned where I said.
I cant remeber where I read that when travelling in Europe it needs to be placed on the Left rear but it is in one of the recomended books Mine is always on the car positioned left hand side rear
If you have a number plate with a GB on it you will note it is positioned on the left.
Tango said:
All I've ever seen on the subject is that if the number plate doesn't carry the information, a Country plate is required on the rear of the vehicle. Position is never mentioned.
I believe there is a requirement to have the sticker 'in the vicinity' of the rear number plate, although it doesn't matter which side and I don't know how far away it can be and still count as being 'in the vicinity'.
Lutz said:
That was always my understanding. Mind you I am not sure if anyone checks. The Danes seem to travel all over Europe with no EU plates or country indentifyer
David
Not just the Danes. I see plenty of U.K. registered cars, with pre E.U. plates, in Europe without any country identifier.
And we also see many overseas cars in UK without any identifier on the number plate or on the car. And what about overseas cars without beam benders!!!!!!
Vehicles from abroad do not require beam benders or masks as the light pattern is a flat beam, unlike the british versions which have a beam which is designed to give extra illumination to our near side kerb.
Steve W
Steve W
Correct, Steve. Left hand drive vehicles have a symmetrical beam pattern and therefore do not require beam benders or masks.
Not in France, see page 3 & 4 http://www.utac-otc.com/Upload/base_doc/1200/SRVF4-1_E-180311.pdfLutz said:
I get the impression that article shows the decline from lamp height to road surface and not the angle to the nearside.Nick in France said:
My French isn't that brilliant, but from memory of the EU regulations regarding lighting, an asymmetric beam pattern is permissible throughout the EU and not mandatory (except in the UK). No use was made of the asymmetric beam option elsewhere. We certainly never fitted specific headlamps for the French market, at least not since they dropped their yellow headlamp requirement.
What have EU regulations got to do with the French?Lutz said:
I only know of that document because I couldn't register my Jaguar because the beam pattern didn't match the illustration at the top of page 4, throwing the lever to convert from driving on the left to 'Continental' produces a flat beam pattern which isn't acceptable to the French.
I can quite understand that it wouldn't be acceptable just to throw the lever to 'Continental' because that does not create a symmetric beam pattern. It is just a compromise to make the best out of a UK asymmetric beam so that it doesn't dazzle oncoming traffic, but it wouldn't meet the requirements of the EU regulation.Nick in France said:What have EU regulations got to do with the French?
I only know of that document because I couldn't register my Jaguar because the beam pattern didn't match the illustration at the top of page 4, throwing the lever to convert from driving on the left to 'Continental' produces a flat beam pattern which isn't acceptable to the French.
Nick in France said:
Likewise - my Citroen C5 is fitted with xenon headlights. I always carry with me when going abroad a letter from Citroen Techies dept. stating that beam benders are not required for Continental driving. And yet I've heard of guys wanting to import Brit C5 into France and finding the xenons are not acceptable for Controle Technique.
I'm not surprised by that, either. I think you are misinterpreting the letter that you have received from Citroen. It's not that xenon headlights produce a beam pattern which you interpretate from the letter as being acceptable for driving on the right. What the letter should be trying to get across is that xenon headlights must not be fitted with beam benders because a.) they do not work properly together with xenon headlamps as these have automatic beam height adjusters, b.) xenon headlights run very hot and partially covering them up with a beam bender could cause thermal damage, and c.) beam benders can refect light within the headlamp unit, causing scatter. Because xenon headlights emit very intense light, this scatter alone can cause dazzle which would defeat the whole object of having beam benders.
Short of getting a dealer to temporarily readjust xenon headlights to a compromise solution, but one which would nevertheless not fulfil the requirements of the regulations, there is nothing one can do to adapt the UK beam pattern for driving on the right short of replacing the whole headlamp units.
The same applies to cars fitted with AFL (Adaptive Forward Lighting) where the beam follows the direction in which the front wheels are steered. Beam benders wouldn't work here, either.
It would help if the UK dropped its requirement to have an asymmetric beam pattern, but there is no indication that this is planned.
Short of getting a dealer to temporarily readjust xenon headlights to a compromise solution, but one which would nevertheless not fulfil the requirements of the regulations, there is nothing one can do to adapt the UK beam pattern for driving on the right short of replacing the whole headlamp units.
The same applies to cars fitted with AFL (Adaptive Forward Lighting) where the beam follows the direction in which the front wheels are steered. Beam benders wouldn't work here, either.
It would help if the UK dropped its requirement to have an asymmetric beam pattern, but there is no indication that this is planned.
I was advised the same as John D by Citroen UK about my C5 with Xenon and AFL (I think all the C5's with Xenon lights follow the steering). Customer services described the beam as "flat and not aimed either left or right except in line with the steering" and also that the auto height adjustment guaranteed no dazzle so it was suitable for driving on the continent without adjustment. If that's true and what you say is correct Lutz then it appears the C5 (at least my 2006 model) did not fit UK requirements.
I'm completely baffled now. If the beam on the C5 with xenon headlamps is truly symmetrical and not biased to the left or the right, then what is the reason why the French authorities have cause to complain, given that EU Regulations permit the option of a symmetric beam or an asymmetric one with a 15° bias towards the nearside. It is true that countries do have the freedom to restrict certain EU requirements if local conditions are so specific that they call for such measures, but there cannot be anything so specific about French traffic conditions that would make an asymmetric beam in their country mandatory. Besides, it would mean that cars coming into France from another country where one also drives on the right, would fail, too. Without a detailed explanation from the French authorities I can only assume that either, 1.) they are apparently not aware of the information that Citroen have supplied concerning UK market vehicles with xenon headlights or 2.) the information from Citroen has been checked by measuring beam distribution and found to be incorrect.
I was always under the impression that, due to local conditions, the UK does not permit a symmetric beam, but I stand to be corrected. The only reference that I can find in the UK regulations is, quote, "Every dipped-beam headlamp fitted to a vehicle first used on or after 1st April 1986 in accordance with this part of this Schedule shall be designed for a vehicle which is intended to be driven on the left-hand side of the road". Whether this amounts to a mandatory requirement for an asymmetric beam, I don't know.
I was always under the impression that, due to local conditions, the UK does not permit a symmetric beam, but I stand to be corrected. The only reference that I can find in the UK regulations is, quote, "Every dipped-beam headlamp fitted to a vehicle first used on or after 1st April 1986 in accordance with this part of this Schedule shall be designed for a vehicle which is intended to be driven on the left-hand side of the road". Whether this amounts to a mandatory requirement for an asymmetric beam, I don't know.
I'm also somewhat confused.
Lutz, is the beam pattern shown at the top of Page 4 of the French document asymmetric? because that is the one that French CT Stations measure against.
FWIW, rather than paying 800€ for a pair of LHD headlights for my Jaguar, I took the lights apart & reversed the metal plate that defined the beam pattern.
One my wife's 'imported' Terrano, because I couldn't get European LHD lights, I cut the 3 lugs off the bulb & turned the bulb until it met the beam pattern on the test station machine.
Lutz, is the beam pattern shown at the top of Page 4 of the French document asymmetric? because that is the one that French CT Stations measure against.
FWIW, rather than paying 800€ for a pair of LHD headlights for my Jaguar, I took the lights apart & reversed the metal plate that defined the beam pattern.
One my wife's 'imported' Terrano, because I couldn't get European LHD lights, I cut the 3 lugs off the bulb & turned the bulb until it met the beam pattern on the test station machine.
I've had another look at the French regulations to which you kindly provided the link to and if I correctly interpret the information on page 3 where it says, "L'angle α (qui doit être inférieur ou égal à 15 ° pour la partie droite inclinée de la ligne de coupure) ....." then the bias to the nearside must be 15° or less. Less means that 0° is also acceptable and that would amount to the beam being symmetrical. I therefore remain puzzled.
On my Terracan, I have 2 headlights on each side of the car. One for dipped & one for main beam.
The dipped light is of the bulls eye type that can not be masked.
I was told by the guy that adjusted the beam pattern after I fitted HiD bulbs that all I can do on the continent is to adjust the height of the beam to its lowest setting.
After several years of driving on the continent I have never had a problem of blinding oncoming vehicles
The dipped light is of the bulls eye type that can not be masked.
I was told by the guy that adjusted the beam pattern after I fitted HiD bulbs that all I can do on the continent is to adjust the height of the beam to its lowest setting.
After several years of driving on the continent I have never had a problem of blinding oncoming vehicles
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