Got the fluorescent jackets, bulb kit, fire extinguisher, documentation and warning triangle tucked away in the Hyundai coupe ready for my trip to Spain and France.
What are the latest thoughts about headlights?
I've set them to the lowest position in years past and sometimes used duck tape (after polishing the polycarbonate lens to limit the amount of stiction). Tried Metro deflectors once and the adhesive 'safe with polycarbonate lenses' seemed to be water soluble- both fell off with the first rainy day!
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Do you wear glasses ?
A spare pair is a requirment in Spain.
Edited by Pugugly on 25/07/2008 at 13:38
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Heavens PU, I was sailing even closer to the wind than I realised last time I was in Spain. Not a garotting offence though one supposes.
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My last European trip was in a Fiat Coupe, and due to the weirdness of the headlights I did the same as you - just adjusted them as low as possible.
I didn't have any problems with the police, but that's no gaurantee of course.
Am about to drive throught France, Italy, Austria, Italy, Holland and Belgium starting from next week, this time in an Alfa 156 GTA, and I'm wondering exactly what to do about the headlights too.
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Various rumours about French cops who are down on their numbers hauling in UK reg cars and doing them for headlights, spare bulbs, yellow waistcoats and no spare garlic/Gauloise.
Best to do something about the headlights, as they are the most visible. The others are cheap/make sense.
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Thats what they are rumours and hearseay not backed up with any facts.
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Been to France/Belgium quite often of late - when I had the 535 I didn't hang about, never been bothered by the cops. Our motorcycle trio were stopped at French side of the Belgian border, the Gendarme had a glance at my friend's number plate and waved all three of us through - never a moment bother with them (none of us had GB stickers by the way)
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I've done loads of miles in France, Belgium and Holland. Been pulled once, as I crossed into Holland near Breda, and all they wanted was to see my passport, which was checked for authenticity in a mobile office parked just off an m-way junction. No vehicle inspection, and I didn't leave the car.
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<<.... and I'm wondering exactly what to do about the headlights too. >>
Get a roll of black duct tape and artistically stick a triangular patch approx 12cm long by 6cm high on the offside of each headlamp. It shows willing...no, doesn't matter which way round - doesn't make much difference.
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I carried mine in the tank bag on my last trip with a multi-tool - more a statement of intent. Despite riding at night (restaurant you see) never bothered - it was the country with country cops.
Edited by Pugugly on 25/07/2008 at 15:06
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Even before the EEC most border crossings in Europe were fairly efficient and drama-free. We are very fortunate.
Went by road in someone else's car, so just along for the ride, from Nigeria to Ghana and back, rapidly, in the 70s, through Dahomey (now Benin) and Togo. Togo had mobile customs that would lurk anywhere on the 50 or 60 miles of road through the country with a surprisingly discreet temporary notice stuck in the grass verge. If you didn't see it, or even if you were going too fast to stop near it, you were deemed to have done a runner and chased and heavily fined. This caused one sudden heavy-braking episode from high speed followed by a rapid 50yd reverse, which customs reluctantly agreed had shown sufficient respect.
At all three frontiers there were long queues of trucks and cars waiting in the sun for hours to be inspected. There were also expediters waiting at the back of the queue. You gave them the passports of all the travellers and a sum of money to cover, er, various informal fees including the expediter's cut, and a few minutes later simply got signalled out of and past the queue and across the frontier.
OK for some, eh? And didn't cost me a penny as I was just a passenger.
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Tip:
To minimise the sticky area of the black tape that's in contact with the glass/polycarbonate, first cut your piece of black stuff, then cut a piece if tin foil to the same shape but about 3mm - 4mm smaller on all sides. Stick the foil on the sticky stuff and so just the edges are needed to actually stick to the headlight. It might take a few attempts as it can be fiddly. The by-product might even be a tad more light due to reflection of the shiny foil .
HJ, where do I collect my Blue Peter Badge?
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If you plan to drive in the dark, don't be so stingy.
Spend £6 on a pair of the new Eurolights. (And people on here know how incredibly stingy I am about spending money.) One size fits all cars.
www.travel-spot.co.uk/products/eurolites.htm
They are absolutely fantastic. I drove to the Alps last December - so about 2,000 miles, mostly in the dark. Black masking tape blocks out a load of the light; these are superb.
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Cheers Mappie. Are they available from Halfords and the like?
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MM - what's going on? Won the lottery or something?
Six quid ! That's, er .. enough to drive ...er maybe 40 miles nowadays.
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MM - are they reusable? They look good but not at £72 (or whatever) each year for frequent continental jaunts.
The cost of one set also represents more than 25% of my usual ferry crossing!
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Don't mean to be offhand but my car goes over the channel every other month. Has done for about thirty years. I'm lucky if I remember my wallet never mind beam deflectors, hi-viz jackets, spare bulbs warning triangles and the like. Have had very occasional conversations with police in France and Italy ( never Germany strangely ). At no time has the subject of these accessories arisen. None of my biz what anyone else does but I just lower the headlamp beam a bit and get on with it.
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 25/07/2008 at 20:17
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For those who don't reccomend blanking off the headlights correctly please don't post anywhere else on this forum complaining about foreign lorries who don't bother either and then dazzle us all!
Personally I think that you should adjust your headlights correctly - most car manufacturers or suppliers supply a kit or a plastic lens which does the job and costs a fraction of the cost of the holiday - I just think that its a bit rich that we have had threads complaining about badly adjusted headlights (both UK cars and foreign vehicles) and then some people actually reccomend someone does the same when they go abroad.... unbelievable!
Edited by b308 on 25/07/2008 at 20:19
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Citroen Dyane, and I am sure other cars, used to have a simple lever on each headlight that changed the focus in main beam and dip from British to Continental. Of course lights were simpler too in those days, not the elaborate googoo eyes car designers seem to think we need now.
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By far the best thing to do regarding the headlamps is FIRST fit a set of (clip-on) clear perspex protective covers and THEN stick the Eurolights / Beambenders / wedges of gaffer tape in place onto the covers.
There is the added advantage of protecting your RHD headlamp lenses which are notoriously expensive and hard to get over the counter on the continent. As is a RHD clutch cable, which has left many a British motorist stranded abroad.
French police are notorious for requesting the (original) V5 (or leasing company's waiver if it's a company car); the same is true of a lot of garages carrying out work on the car should the worst happen.
In Spain one triangle is sufficient for foreign-registered cars, but producing two in the event of a police check wins brownie points and a speedy exit. Expect police checkpoints at the Spanish border, especially in the Basque Country, although the security forces are a million times more interested in ID documents than a dodgy beam pattern!
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Thanks for all your thoughts. Got everything sorted as above. Will wind the headlights down to the lowest setting when I hit the continong (Basque Country!) on Tuesday.
Just got to strap the bikes on the back of the car and settle down in the now tidied garden with a cold beer.
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Don?t wish to alarm you unnecessarily but here is a useful check list.
www.livingfrance.com/france-travel-driving-in-fran...7
Recall when first motoring to France in the 70?s all I seemed to be bothered about was breakdown cover and painting the head lamps orange. How times change.
Bon voyage.
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From a DGT press release regarding their preparation for holiday traffic this week:
"Para el control de la velocidad los agentes disponen de 300 vehículos equipados con
radar para la detección de infracciones."
I don't think you need much Spanish to know what that means.
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For the sake of a bit of Gaffer tape its not worth risking it. About 20 years ago I saw French Police pulling everyone over straight off the ferry and ticketing them for lights.
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I for one have found this thread helpful - shame about the moaners.
It seems EGR do headlight covers for £39.95, add £6 for Mapmaker's super top notch deflectors and you've got properly deflected headlight beams for the life of your car.
Just put 'em on and off at the ferry terminals.
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Or do as we have, just keep forgetting to take the deflectors off, and they are ready for your next trip over!!!!
I really must get round to removing them - but as we rarely go out at night over here does not seem much point!!
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Just got to strap the bikes on the back of the car
Which will then push the lights back up again!!
Lets look at it logically,
You've spent several hundred (thousand?) quid on the ferry/hotel/digs
You've spent a lot on a bike rack
You've spent a lot on bikes
and you can't be bothered spending less than £30 on something to adjust your headlights to make them legal?
As I said before... unbelievable....
Edited by b308 on 26/07/2008 at 22:53
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"and you've got properly deflected headlight beams for the life of your car."
Until they drop off with that weak adhesive...
( moan ;)
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I needed a GB plate as the Golf's numberplates haven't got GB at the side, as the Mini's have. Asa set, with a magnetic GB plate came some very cheap stick-on round light deflectors. I hope they did the job, as we didn't drive at night in France this time.
I can't remember where I got them from, but I think they are readily available.
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Last week whilst sitting waiting to exit the ferry. i witnessed the driver in front trying to attach his magnetic GB plate to the rear of his Mercedes. After about 6 failed attempts and watching him carefully clean the surface and still fail, I had to get out and show him that the boot lid, and bumper mouldings were plastic, and that the roof over the rear window was the only place that it would stick! I still do not think that he understood the problem and thought the plate was faulty. Perhaps I should have offered to swap my spare adhesive freebie GB sticker.
pmh
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