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The dft puts forward a convincing argument, but I would aver that they are not illegal per se, there is no case law that I am aware of and they are not specifically prohibited in law. Whether they come under C&UR and type approval would be open to debate in a court as these only apply to new vehicles or non-type approved imports. It's certainly not a cut and dried case.
Edited by Hamsafar on 14/10/2008 at 00:59
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Factory fitted HID lights are only allowed because they are EU approved.
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Specifically, cars fitted with them only get type-approval because they are EU approved. That is not the same thing at all.
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Regardless of whether they are legal to be fitted or not !
There are no cameras yet (that I know of) that can catch a car fitted with them and fine the owner accordingly.
At mot time, the C+U regs are not checked; just the beam pattern. Its quite possible for them to pass mot test and what mechanism is there to stop the illega use of them being used?
None whatsoever! Unless you stumble across the 1 road traffic policeperson in the country !
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re: the £125 comment....take a look on ebay theyre way cheaper than that
pretty sure theyre all coming from the same chinesse factorys anyway
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re: the £125 comment....take a look on ebay theyre way cheaper than that
And then don't buy them, there or anywhere else. These things are bright enough to cause an accident if they're not correctly installed - which, as Screwloose and RTJ have pointed out, they can't be in a DIY installation - so regardless of whether or not you'd get caught or fail an MoT, it would be irresponsible and could invalidate your insurance.
If you can't see what's ahead of you, you don't need brighter headlights - you need to slow down.
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In Spain and many other EU countries, it is simply illegal to DIY-fit anything "structural" to the car: everything from rear seat belts to lights, exhausts, spoilers, horns, whatever. If I want to fit front foglights to my car, I have to get the work done at an authorised garage, keep the record of work and receipt (presumably forever) and immediately submit the car to a brand new MoT, in which the new item must be tested and declared legal. Registration plates are uniform, one font, one design, 4 numerals + 3 consonants (i.e. no scope for any type of "words", especially rude ones) for all new cars since 2001. No exceptions, no private plates except for the King and Queen's cars!
As a result, tacky, tasteless and often downright dangerous aftermarket "conversions" are almost non existent. Any car with a ridiculous spoiler may be stopped by traffic police at any time and if the paperwork is not in order, the car is impounded. End of problem.
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In Germany,only "TuV" approved items may be fitted and these are added to the vehicles registration book.A friend of mine in Cologne bought a new pair of handlebars in the UK for his motorcycle.When he took it for his equivalent of an MoT test,it failed-handlebars different to photo in Homologation docs.We did a lot of work at that time with the "Homologation" side of the Tuv and one of their engineers inspected the handlebars and gave my friend a letter to say that he considered these handlebars would not affect control and handling.This letter was taken to the "MoT" side of the TuV who then passed his motorcycle.The letter then had to be kept with the registration documents.Some private plates were available.Another friend of mine had initials "KK" and his plates were K-KK****;the first K being Cologne(KOLN).Only items shown in Homogation Docs.could be fitted to cars.Volvos,for example,had no DRL's.Not required in German legislation,therefore must not be fitted unlike the UK where they are not mentioned either and therefore can be fitted.
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There are very logical reasons for the limit of headlight brightness; it's not in your interest to see better if it means that dazzled oncoming traffic hits an obstruction and deflects head-on into you.
True, but some factory-fitted HID/Xenons are wildly bright when the draw up behind your car. The Porsche Cayenne is a notable one. I'd like to know how these are legal? Anti-dazzle rear view mirrors are very handy for night driving.
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Sad but true - there's no law against the Porsche Cayenne.
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There is no law in the UK with respect to limiting the brightness (luminous flux) of headlights.
The limits on brightness are technical, and are an indirect result of standards not related to brightness, such as physical dimensions and power draw.
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In my opinion ALL HID lights should be made illegal retrospectively! They are a menace to all other road users. The difference between dipped and full beam is so tiny, that any road irregularity causes oncoming vehicles to be blinded! In this age of ever decreasing speed limits why on earth does any driver need to have the road in front better illuminated?
They are only in existence due to a designers whim....."got to be better, bigger, faster, brighter, flashier, etc, etc, etc ad nausium........
Whilst on the subject of headlights.....have you noticed how many cars are driving with maladjusted headlights?.....a HUGE amount!......and of those who are........100% are pointing UP..think about it.......has ANYONE seen a headlight that is out of adjustment pointing DOWN?.....come on.........admit it..no one.......why?
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Completely agree with Piston Bloke. Worst is the Range Rover, when I get one of those behind me I have to move the mirrors so I'm not blinded from behind.
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All retrofit conversion bulbs are illegal for the simple fact no bulb can be E approved for such application. Normally the kits have a E marked part so often they are sold as ?E marked? but they are sill not road legal. If you feel like a little light reading you can get the full regulations from the ECE but to cut a long story shorts a H1, H2, H3, HB3, HB4, H7, H8, HIR1, HIR2 and/or H11 can only be approved if a Halogen Filament Lamp. Contrary to some posts E approval is proven and tested in court not only in the UK but all over Europe.
Edited by Zilog on 27/03/2009 at 21:21
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Also UK regulations DO have brightness limit of 225000CD. Lm is something very different but any low beam with over 2000 lumen is required to be fitted with headlamp cleaning device(s) in addition with vertical inclination auto control.
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has ANYONE seen a headlight that is out of adjustment pointing DOWN?
Oh yes, travel on any unlit motorway and you will see quite a few cars coming past with the headlamp levelling control on its lowest setting - casting a brilliant, well-defined dip beam pattern on the road about 12 feet in front of the car. Which is doing 80mph+.
Maybe they've caught the control with their knee getting in, or have no idea such a control is fitted? Or even more likely, aren't looking that far ahead anyway...
Back on topic, aftermarket HID conversions in my experience tend to be fitted to 10 year old plus cars with fluted glass lenses covered in gravel rash - a recipe for pronounced beam diffusion at the very least.
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