Headlamps (again ?)

[JohnM20]

Can someone with a bit of knowledge please tell me whether this is legally acceptable or not.
I can raise or lower the headlight beams on my Ford Mondeo. If I have them lowered as far as they will go is that sufficient to "avoid dazzle" which I think is the legal requirement. If I do this the pool of light appears to be not very far in front of the car. I will be in France late June early July and don't expect to be using the car when it is dark but it could be raining and/or there may be tunnels en-route where lights are obligatory.

 

[Alanbrooke]

Do you ever see Continental cars with headlamp deflectors in UK? I'm sure it's not allowed to dazzle other drivers but what law says you have to fit these? I just lower the settings on my Mitsubishi Grandis and other cars I've had and never had any problems.
Has anybody actually been fined?
Alan

 

[Jaydug]

My previous car had Xenon headlights and according to Citroen UK the lamps didn't need correcting, but this last winter I drove a car with halogen lamps. I bought the masks but then got worried about the residue being difficult to remove from the plastic. I carried the masks with me but didn't fit them. Instead I turned down the beams a bit. I managed all the four months I was away without being flashed or stopped by police.

 

[JimF]

I've had the same beam deflector for about 3-4 trips, not out of the packet yet, maybe next week.........

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Do lorry drivers going backwards and forwards across the channel stop and change theirs? Their lights are higher off the ground in any case and are about at, or above, a car drivers eye level.

 

[cooky1]

It's not the height of thre beam that causes the problems. British car headlights have a kick up on the beam that helps light up road signs on the left. The beam deflectors that people fit just knock out this kick up in the beam so as not to dazzle drivers on the other side of the road.
European cars bo not have this kick up so they do not need to convert their lights when they come to our country. I assume wagons are the same.

 

[PaulT]

Can someone with a bit of knowledge please tell me whether this is legally acceptable or not.
I can raise or lower the headlight beams on my Ford Mondeo. If I have them lowered as far as they will go is that sufficient to "avoid dazzle" which I think is the legal requirement. If I do this the pool of light appears to be not very far in front of the car. I will be in France late June early July and don't expect to be using the car when it is dark but it could be raining and/or there may be tunnels en-route where lights are obligatory.

Not quite the same thing but on my previous left hand drive car I just used to lower the lights when I came back to the UK. It worked fine and I never got flashed.

Re the tunnels, lights are required so that you can be seen not so that you can see. The same when it's raining so it doesn't matter that the pool of light is just in front of the car.

On a funny note - our other car is a RHD SLK Mercedes with very expensive lights. I've never changed the lights, just wound them down. Every time it goes for its CT (French equivalent of the MoT test) the examiner says "Monsieur, your lights" to which I reply "Thats ok, we don't drive it at night", he then says "Ah, that's ok" and passes the car. Just goes to show, not all French officials are PITA's!

 

[RayS]

My 2013 Freelander had levers on rear of headlamps tp adjust (according to the book) but not in fact. Dealer said that lights are now all with symetrical dipping, rather than asymetric which delflected the pattern to the left, and hence 'beam benders' not now required.

The car has halogen not zenon lights and has a dashboard adjustment, which the xenon version does not. I normally move the beams down slightly with this control and have never been 'flashed' at night or bad weather in either France or Spain.

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Some years ago my late Father in Law bought a Ford Focus Estate its first owners were HANSONS.and had obviously been use on the continent somewhere as when Father in Law took it for an MOT it failed on the head lamps.Yes failed the lamps in it came from a vehicle where they drive on the right the throw on on the beam right to left was wrong. Ive never heard of any penalties for this at all but I thought this was a point worth a mention.It cost my Father in Law two new headlights
Sir Roger .

 

[smiley]

It you turn down your lights onto the floor so you don't dazzle other drivers might be fine but, at a guess if you ever got caught out in the dark you would not be able to see where your going!! For the money I would buy deflectors and be legal and safe!!!

 

[Woodentop]

We got a Passat in January which has Bi-Xenon lights. There is a 'travel' setting on the dash display that sets the lights to dip right.

It is quite amusing when switching the ignition on when the headlights are already on to see them self test - dip down, then both lights swing outwards, back to centre, and rise to the normal position.

Having just come back from France yesterday I have to say it feels quite odd to see the headlights dipped right in a RHD drive car driving on the 'wrong' side of the road!