headlight masks

[Jasper]

Hi Trickydicky

I only got the protectors (not deflectors). They were £44.50 inc postage and vat - so should be atleast 2p cheaper now! They are for the Transit I didn't look at the Fiat ones. If you go to their website www.formula4.co.uk and put stuff in your basket the price will come up without having to complete the order. Their service was excellent.

 

Jaz

[Brian Kirby]

dikyenfo - 2008-11-21 11:50 AM Any vehicle designed to operate in Europe has 'E' marked lights and everything else. In the bad old days 1964 about the Construction and use regs was altered and about this time yellow lights for France and many other regs were altered and this even more so when full membership of the Common Market came about. There is no regulation for bits of sticky to be applied to lights and can you imagine trying to prosecute for not haveing bits of tatty rubbish blocking light from lenses. I lived in France for years and spoke on several occasions about our obsession with these bits of sticky and there police were as non-plussed as me but I suppose that if it makes you feel better then go ahead but you will never NEVER see a continental vehicle being prosecuted over here for not having sticky rubbish on lights and you will never see a British Lorry having them on -- funny that???

There is no law, so far as I know, requiring deflectors per se.  However, there is a law that requires vehicle lights not to dazzle oncoming traffic.  Standard "Euro" dip pattern lights, for both left and right hand traffic, have a kick up in the beam intended to provide illumination along the nearside kerb beyond range of the dipped lights.  This is to show cyclists/pedestrians earlier on unlit roads.  It is this component of the beam that causes dazzle to oncoming traffic, where lights designed for left hand traffic are being driven on the right, and vice versa.

You may get away with it, but the French police were reported earlier in the year to be running a little campaign and stopping British vehicles with un-masked lights, and I believe fining at least some.  It was noticeable at the time that the ferries had deflectors for sale on board, and notices advising of the police activity.  However, if you get away with it, all you will have succeeded in doing is dazzling other drivers as you travel.  Whether you do this is up to you.  However, the fact that British police don't "pull" LHD vehicles for not having deflectors (and how I wish they would!) does not mean it has suddenly become legal to cause dazzle.

[AlanP]

Hi Tricky Dicky

I had the problem of crazing when I removed the beam adaptors from my 2005 Fiat Ducato.

These are the ones sold by Halfords and manufactured by Travel Spot LLP. When I contacted them to report this problem they said that they had only had 2 instances in 10 years, never the less, I ended up with them supplying 2 new headlights.

So the advice of fitting protectors seems worth following.

I have just purchased a Pilote on a Boxer, so will be looking at formula4 for these covers.