Headlight deflectors on French Car?

[Jyouthed]

We are visiting the UK  next month and will be driving our French car.   Does anyone know if we need deflectors on our headlights, and if so, where we can get them?

Jane

[Bugsy]

I've searched for them and never found any. Just use electrical tape and follow the lines on the light unit.

[IMG]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p211/Bugbear2/lighttape.jpg[/IMG]

[suein56]

[quote user="Jyouthed"]

We are visiting the UK  next month and will be driving our French car.   Does anyone know if we need deflectors on our headlights, and if so, where we can get them?

Jane

[/quote]

We found they were for sale in the little shop on the BF ferry from Caen to Portsmouth, but didn't buy any as we had been told our new-to-us LHD car did not need them.

Sue

[Pierre ZFP]

Or duct tape, it sticks a bit better in the rain.  I've never paid the huge amounts asked for sticky bits of plastic to prevent dazzle when a bit of tape works just as well.

In fact, you only only need 2 items in your toolbox, WD40 and Duct Tape.  If it doesn't move and it should, use WD40.  If it moves and it shouldn't, use the tape [;-)]

[Bugsy]

[quote user="Spg"]

We found they were for sale in the little shop on the BF ferry from Caen to Portsmouth, but didn't buy any as we had been told our new-to-us LHD car did not need them.

Sue

[/quote]

I think you'll find that they are for UK vehicles only Sue.

[Will]

I think some cars may be OK without deflectors, it depends on the light pattern. Normally, the dipped beam is higher on one side, so that it illuminates the side of the road without undue dazzling of oncoming drivers. If you do nothing about this, then obviously you risk dazzling oncoming traffic and not getting the best illumination of the RH side when driving on the right. With quite a few recent vehicles, the dipped beam can be changed over by either a switch on the headlight unit or reinserting the bulb in a different position. Otherwise you need deflectors or masks.

I can confirm that deflectors for LHD vehicles are available onboard Brittany Ferries, though I have never seen them elsewhere.

If you have lights that can be adjusted up and down, then that will prevent dazzle, but the illumination won't be very good. I have to admit that's what I tend to do most of the time.

[suein56]

[quote user="Bugbear"][quote user="Spg"]

We found they were for sale in the little shop on the BF ferry from Caen to Portsmouth, but didn't buy any as we had been told our new-to-us LHD car did not need them.

Sue

[/quote]

I think you'll find that they are for UK vehicles only Sue.

[/quote]

No really, there were two different kinds for sale there - one for UK cars and one for foreign cars - the two sorts of deflectors definitely were the reverse of each other.

Sue

[Bugsy]

OK, at last it looks like I've found some.

Thanks Sue..................................[:)]

[Benjamin]

This was covered late last year but it was buried in a thread about headlight deflectors for RHD cars and I'm bu**ered if I can find it now.

In summary Sunday Driver unearthed and quoted the relevant UK legislation which simply stated that dipped headlights should be adjusted such that they do not dazzle oncoming drivers.

I was in the UK in january and did a fair amount of driving in the dark and used my headlight adjuster to tilt the beams downwards. I didn't get flashed [6] once by oncoming traffic.