This remained the position for many years, and for many motorists from Britain venturing abroad in the 1960s/70s, whose cars were equipped with circular Lucas headlamps (predominantly seven inch types), vehicle preparation for driving in France included the attachment (by elasticated clips) to the headlamps of yellow-coloured beam converters, constructed from see-through plastic. In those days huge numbers of British-built cars were fitted from new with these ‘standard’ Lucas headlamps. A Green Cardfrom your insurer when necessary (from 2 August 2021, you no longer need a Green Card when driving in the European Economic Area). Any driving holiday when you are using your car for long periods of time may increase wear and tear on your vehicle. Before you venture across the channel in your own car or hire one further afield, get to know the rules of the road in the countries you're visiting so you don't get caught out.

Our he adlamp deflectors come with easy to follow fitting instructions for cars and vans. You can use these on every type of headlight on the very newest cars on the road today or "Classic Cars" with the old headlights which have line patterns in the glass. All first-time adult passport applicants must now attend an interview to verify their identity. It now takes up to six weeks to get a first passport. . Many European countries operate toll roads, so make sure you have plenty of loose change in the correct currency to cover the cost of tolls. This is better than the forward only method but comes with more expensive production costs. So, very few manufactures have this optional extra. (Some but not all Citroens have this I believe) Most UK cars with projector headlights can be switched from right hand drive, over to left hand drive.

Do I Need Headlamp Converters in France?

You’ll need a certificate of motor insurance when driving in Europe. However, from 21st August 2021, a green card (also known as an International Motor Insurance Card) is no longer required when driving in EU countries. A Green Card proves that your UK motor insurance policy provides you with the minimum compulsory insurance cover required by the law of the country you're visiting. A green card may be required for other countries – a few examples include: If you find you have to overtake, exercise extra caution as it is not easy in a right-hand drive car and may be safer when you reach a stretch of dual carriageway. Most cars/vans/motorhomes etc sold in the UK have headlights with a standard setting for the dipped headlight beam. (I’d guess 95% or more) If you've got a long road trip ahead of you and drive a new diesel that uses diesel exhaust fluid (AdBlue), it's a good idea to carry a top-up can with you. There are a tiny number of makes/models that have both left kerb and right kerb bias settings and a simple switch which can be used to alter the bias of the beam.

The default factory fitting for the UK and a travel mode. The travel mode on some I've seen gives a flatter/lower arc of light and would be ideal for driving in France, Spain etc.As with so many things in automotive life, things have become more complex in terms of modern headlamp design and operation, compared with the units of a few years ago. In turn this impacts on what you can do to make sure that your lamps are legal when driving outside of the U.K. Some countries also ban you from using a sat nav system that can show fixed speed camera locations so you might have to disable the function before you go. Your UK car will as standard have the beams set for driving on the left hand side of the road and therefore when on the right hand side of the road throughout France, or any other mainland European country, you will be a menace to other drivers.

My wife and I (plus friends) recently took our Vauxhall Zafira on an excursion to France. In the past I have experienced difficulty with some of the available converters, in establishing exactly where on the headlamp lenses the converters should be attached. This time I tried the converters supplied by www.headlampconverters.co.uk If you’re taking your own vehicle to Europe for less than 12 months, then you'll need to carry your V5C log book with you. Adapt your headlights so that you 'do not dazzle oncoming traffic' by manually adjusting your lights or by using headlight converters. Eurolites are available from most motor accessory shops or on-line at www.travelspot.co.uk. These headlight converters come with a list of over 600 different vehicle types, with corresponding diagrams showing you how to position them. Eurolites are suitable for clear lens, projector and xenon headlights.

How UK Headlights Work – The Beam Pattern

If you have a left-hand drive (LHD) car that has been driven from Europe to the UK then we sell special left-hand drive headlamp deflectors for these cars. There are a number of countries that have introduced low emission zones in towns and cities, including; Germany; Italy; Denmark; Czech Republic; France; and Portugal. We've teamed up with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to give you some tips on preparing for a great trip, whether you’re driving or travelling abroad.