Beam adjusters in France..?

[dontlookdown]

Apols if this is a question that went out with the ark, I only usually drive hire cars aboard rather than taking my own.

My sis is going to France this weekend, taking the car on the ferry. The continental driving kit she bought for the trip comes with a set of those round stick on headlight beam deflectors and a leaflet saying they are compulsory.

Is that really true? The car is a Mazda 3 with LED projector lights (not self dipping). I thought that such relatively modern lights would not require the stickers - can't remember the last time I saw a car in France with them on anyway (not that I have been looking that hard tbh).

Obvs not a biggie to fit them just in case, but I am curious to know if they are still a legal requirement - quick google was inconclusive so I thought I'd try the hive mind of PH instead.

[NDA]

I drive to France every year - and have done for over 30 years.

I have never fitted beam deflectors to any car, nor have I ever been asked to.

Unless you are doing an awful lot of driving on small country roads at night, I really wouldn't bother.... It is also the case that many cars have quite a flat beam spread, so they're unnecessary.

[Doofus]

NDA said:

I drive to France every year - and have done for over 30 years.

I have never fitted beam deflectors to any car, nor have I ever been asked to.

Unless you are doing an awful lot of driving on small country roads at night, I really wouldn't bother.... It is also the case that many cars have quite a flat beam spread, so they're unnecessary.

This.

[Truckosaurus]

As above, check the car manual to see if the lights actually need anything doing. Some point straight ahead or you can switch the direction with a physical switch or via the settings.

Otherwise you can also just point the lights at the ground via the leveller so you aren't dazzling anyone coming the other way if the car is loaded with holiday detritus.

[LHRFlightman]

I drove to France last Thursday. As I exited at Calais the car flashed up a message "Headlight beam automatically adjusted for European driving".

Tesla Model 3.

[Ussrcossack]

LHRFlightman said:

I drove to France last Thursday. As I exited at Calais the car flashed up a message "Headlight beam automatically adjusted for European driving".

Tesla Model 3.

Better hand in your petrol head licence!!

[RizzoTheRat]

Truckosaurus said:

As above, check the car manual to see if the lights actually need anything doing. Some point straight ahead or you can switch the direction with a physical switch or via the settings.

Yeah, check the manual. My 2009 Skoda has a little lever on the back of the headlight unit you flick across to get a flat beam profile instead of the kick up on the left that's usual. Any more modern car is going to have something similar or a lot better.

[Some Gump]

Golf / touran - go to the settings menu on the dash, select lhd lights. No stickers.

[NDA]

LHRFlightman said:

I drove to France last Thursday. As I exited at Calais the car flashed up a message "Headlight beam automatically adjusted for European driving".

Tesla Model 3.

I didn't know they did that.... does the speedo go to km too?

[tog]

I've driven in France and Europe pretty regularly for over 30 years and it would never occur to me to not fit them. Just courtesy to other drivers. I actually have a complete set of four right hand dipping headlights for one car that I usually swap over in the ferry queue.

[dontlookdown]

Tks for the quick replies everybody. Handbook is an good shout, should have thought of that. Also means I can tell her to RTFM which is a bonus;)

[ecsrobin]

I fitted them once but then realised I rarely drive at night over there. Winter I would consider it due to poorer weather and the shorter daylight.

[RizzoTheRat]

tog said:

I've driven in France and Europe pretty regularly for over 30 years and it would never occur to me to not fit them. Just courtesy to other drivers. I actually have a complete set of four right hand dipping headlights for one car that I usually swap over in the ferry queue.

From your profile pic, presumably a much older car though? Mine's passed several APKs (Dutch MoT) with the adjuster lever set to a flat beam.

[Truckosaurus]

tog said:

.... I actually have a complete set of four right hand dipping headlights for one car that I usually swap over in the ferry queue.

That's properly keen If you were a comedy genius you'd have a removable steering wheel that you could pop off if anyone was watching you change the lights and say 'just swapping to LHD....'

[blue_haddock]

Doofus said:

NDA said:

I drive to France every year - and have done for over 30 years.

I have never fitted beam deflectors to any car, nor have I ever been asked to.

Unless you are doing an awful lot of driving on small country roads at night, I really wouldn't bother.... It is also the case that many cars have quite a flat beam spread, so they're unnecessary.

This.

Yep i never bother.

Ask yourself - with the millions of polish, romanian and ukrainian cars in the uk - when was the last time you got blinded by a foreign car?

[Doofus]

blue_haddock said:

Yep i never bother.

Ask yourself - with the millions of polish, romanian and ukrainian cars in the uk - when was the last time you got blinded by a foreign car?

And, as said above, how often are you likely to drive in the dark?

[vikingaero]

blue_haddock said:

Doofus said:

NDA said:

I drive to France every year - and have done for over 30 years.

I have never fitted beam deflectors to any car, nor have I ever been asked to.

Unless you are doing an awful lot of driving on small country roads at night, I really wouldn't bother.... It is also the case that many cars have quite a flat beam spread, so they're unnecessary.

This.

Yep i never bother.

Ask yourself - with the millions of polish, romanian and ukrainian cars in the uk - when was the last time you got blinded by a foreign car?

I'm fairly sure there is a UK spec/type approval requirement for the dipped beam to have a flare up in the light pattern to illuminate pedestrians on the near side of the car. That's why we are recommended to have the beam deflectors as this flare point can blind oncoming drivers when we drive on the continent. So all those EE cars won't have the same right hand side flare in theie beam pattern.

[omniflow]

I'm fairly sure that cars fall into 1 of four different categories:

1 - generally older cars that require some kind of blanking / beam benders
2 - slightly newer cars where you have to physically move a leaver on the headlamp
3 - more modern cars that have a beam pattern that doesn't need adjusting
4 - fancy cars that take care of the adjustment themselves

My Alfa 156 GTA was in category 1 - but it actually had clip on headlamp covers that you applied the blanking stickers to.

My E61 BMW 5 series (2007) was in category 2

My 2013 Maserati Gran Cabrio is in category 3.

I've never owned a car in category 4, but apparently they do exist

[Riley Blue]

vikingaero said:

blue_haddock said:

Doofus said:

NDA said:

I drive to France every year - and have done for over 30 years.

I have never fitted beam deflectors to any car, nor have I ever been asked to.

Unless you are doing an awful lot of driving on small country roads at night, I really wouldn't bother.... It is also the case that many cars have quite a flat beam spread, so they're unnecessary.

This.

Yep i never bother.

Ask yourself - with the millions of polish, romanian and ukrainian cars in the uk - when was the last time you got blinded by a foreign car?

I'm fairly sure there is a UK spec/type approval requirement for the dipped beam to have a flare up in the light pattern to illuminate pedestrians on the near side of the car. That's why we are recommended to have the beam deflectors as this flare point can blind oncoming drivers when we drive on the continent. So all those EE cars won't have the same right hand side flare in theie beam pattern.

This ^^^^ is the correct reason; dipped beam patterns are different.

[LHRFlightman]

NDA said:

LHRFlightman said:

I drove to France last Thursday. As I exited at Calais the car flashed up a message "Headlight beam automatically adjusted for European driving".

Tesla Model 3.

I didn't know they did that.... does the speedo go to km too?

No, that requires accessing the Display menu.