LHD headlights and the MOT

[Guest JudgeMental]

when I imported my new van in 2007 I had to change the speedo cluster from KPH to MPH before the DVLA would register it plus move the fog light. at the time nothing was said re the head lights so I have just left them....

 

The first MOT will be due March next year...What is the posution? will I have to change the headlights? or will beam benders be enough to get through the MOT?

[dikyenfo]

Beam benders are not a legal requirement either here or on the continent but in the UK it is a requirement before completing the final for importation that UK headlights should have been fitted and checked. My advice set them to lowest position and hope for the best but be aware that it is not compliant with UK regs. Customs have a complete set of rules to follow when importing and yours is wrong.

[davenewellhome]

Beam benders will be OK for the MOT Eddie.

 

D.

[Guest JudgeMental]

davenewell@home - 2009-10-03 4:19 PM

 

Beam benders will be OK for the MOT Eddie.

 

D.

 

Thanks Dave!

 

And Dicky, registration with the DVLA is a post code lottery. by that I mean it depends which branch you go to what they expect. a lot still get registered without even changing the speedo.....So if they had asked for the headlights I would have complied.

[brom]

 

We bought a second-hand Fiat (old type) from a dealer, with a short warranty. It was a RHD, British specification vehicle. When I drove it at night for the first time, I was appalled at the lack of vision on the nearside, where badly-lit cyclists and pedestrians lurk. I couldn't understand what could be wrong, until I investigated and found that Fiat had fitted left hand lights to a RHD van. Grabbed the first lights they came to in the parts bin, I suppose - lucky I didn't get a cross-eyed van!

 

The van had been MOT'd just before I purchased, so I took this up with the dealer, and investigated the position. The MOT Inspection Manual (June 2002 - I don't know if it's still current), said:

 

(page 12, 1.6), 'The aim of headlamps must be checked on main or dipped beam according to their type.........These methods of inspection involve the use of beam checking equipment with a collecting lens'

 

Right hand dip headlamps can be temporarily altered for use in the UK by fitting masks or converter kits which remove the beam 'kick-up' to the right.

 

A headlamp altered in this way is not a reason for rejection if

a. the headlamp aim is not rejected for the reasons listed under diagram 1 (except that the top of the beam image will be a straight line)

b. the light output is not unduly reduced - not usually a problem with commercially produced kits

c. the mask or converter is securely attached.'

 

I don't understand some of the technicalities in that document - they refer to various diagrams which are there to guide the MOT tester. However, the important point, to me, was the word 'temporarily'. I took the view that the LHD lights, even had beam benders been fitted to stop blinding oncoming traffic (they weren't), were therefore not acceptable as a permanent solution, and should not have passed the MOT.

 

I had some difficulty in claiming the cost of fitting the correct RHD lights back from the dealer, as can be imagined, but we got there in the end!

 

I thought the lights originally fitted were extremely dangerous, and would respectfully suggest that it is unsafe to drive around at night without having a clear view of the nearside verge. It's unavoidable when abroad on holiday, but that's just short term. At home it's a different matter.

 

Brom

[davenewellhome]

brom - 2009-10-03 7:16 PM

 

 

We bought a second-hand Fiat (old type) from a dealer, with a short warranty. It was a RHD, British specification vehicle. When I drove it at night for the first time, I was appalled at the lack of vision on the nearside, where badly-lit cyclists and pedestrians lurk. I couldn't understand what could be wrong, until I investigated and found that Fiat had fitted left hand lights to a RHD van. Grabbed the first lights they came to in the parts bin, I suppose - lucky I didn't get a cross-eyed van!

 

The van had been MOT'd just before I purchased, so I took this up with the dealer, and investigated the position. The MOT Inspection Manual (June 2002 - I don't know if it's still current), said:

 

(page 12, 1.6), 'The aim of headlamps must be checked on main or dipped beam according to their type.........These methods of inspection involve the use of beam checking equipment with a collecting lens'

 

Right hand dip headlamps can be temporarily altered for use in the UK by fitting masks or converter kits which remove the beam 'kick-up' to the right.

 

A headlamp altered in this way is not a reason for rejection if

a. the headlamp aim is not rejected for the reasons listed under diagram 1 (except that the top of the beam image will be a straight line)

b. the light output is not unduly reduced - not usually a problem with commercially produced kits

c. the mask or converter is securely attached.'

 

I don't understand some of the technicalities in that document - they refer to various diagrams which are there to guide the MOT tester. However, the important point, to me, was the word 'temporarily'. I took the view that the LHD lights, even had beam benders been fitted to stop blinding oncoming traffic (they weren't), were therefore not acceptable as a permanent solution, and should not have passed the MOT.

 

I had some difficulty in claiming the cost of fitting the correct RHD lights back from the dealer, as can be imagined, but we got there in the end!

 

I thought the lights originally fitted were extremely dangerous, and would respectfully suggest that it is unsafe to drive around at night without having a clear view of the nearside verge. It's unavoidable when abroad on holiday, but that's just short term. At home it's a different matter.

 

Brom

 

Whilst in general I would agree with your comments I can't agree with the MOT bit, "temporarily fitted" could actually refer to them being fitted to meet MOT regulations and therefore comply with the MOT rules...........grey area, almost certainly...................ridiculous, totally.................legal, almost certainly. (lol) Such are the vagaries of British law.

 

D.

[smifee]

I've imported new vans twice.

 

First time, in 1998, a new LHD Toyota HiAce for conversion by Devon Conversions. I had to sign a statement that speedo & lights had been changed.

 

Second time, in 2005, was a new Hymer coachbuilt. Motorhomes were exempt from need to sign a statement. The local DVLA tried to say that it was necessary but I had done my homework and showed them the DVLA bumph I had printed out.

 

I have had a new speedo fitted & a reversing light changed to a fog light plus 2 new reversing lights fitted but it's beam benders on the headlights still. I just hope the reported crazing they can cause gives me a miss when I take them off for next years trip over the water.

[brom]

Well, Dave, you may be right; I don't think so - but as you say, it's a very grey area.

 

As I read them, the MOT regs are trying to cover the situation where RH dip lights are temporarily fitted, so that masks are fitted so as not to blind oncoming traffic. They don't envisage RH dip lights being permanently fitted, for the simple reason that they are sub-standard in use on British roads, and don't comply with the Construction and Use Regulations.

 

In the course of my 'discussions' with the dealer, I obtained a copy of the relevant section from the Caravan Club legal department - always useful and helpful folk, who have easy access to these things.

 

Statutory Instrument 1989/1796 Schedule 4, Section 12© says;

' Every dipped-beam headlamp fitted to a vehicle first used on or after 1st April 1986 in accordance with this part of this Schedule shall be designed for a vehicle which is intended to be driven on the left-hand side of the road'.

 

Which is common sense, really.

 

In my case, this enabled me to show the dealer that the van sold to me didn't comply, and at the very least should have been expressly been stated to be suitable only for long-term use abroad, with only temporary use over here.

 

Imagine if you were to hit a cyclist after dark (remembering that, apparently, in the near future any accident involving a cyclist will be considered the responsibility of the driver, whoever was morally at fault), and it were discovered your lights were wrongly-handed, and you had been knowingly driving around with them in that condition for some time. Not only might the authorities consider this increased your culpability, but your insurers might well be interested too...

If the van had just passed its MOT test, I think the station might come under scrutiny, as well, though the woolliness of the wording might save them.

 

As you say, the rules are uncertain; it's a grey area - almost as grey as the nearside verge! But I think the intention of the regulations is reasonably clear (and sensible), and - is it worth the risk?

 

Brom

[libby]

Judge,

 

Decide on your garage for the MOT then call in and ask them for advice before submitting the vehicle.

[Archiesgrandad]

Our van is based on a LHD Mercedes Sprinter, and was imported from Belgium by the previous owner.

 

We still have the KPH speedo, with a bit of a transfer over the dial showing with no great accuracy the Mph equivalents.

 

Our headlights are the origional LHD units with lense convertors stuck on.

 

Our local MOT station in Slough has no qualms about passing it every year, and I have no problems seeing cyclist etc., either in this country or Europe.

I tend to ignore the MPH markings on the speedo and do a quick mental calculation on the KPH reading, doing the 5/8ths bit.

 

We can only speak as we find, but we have no problem, and if at some point in the future we find that someone wants us to change something, I am sure that we would choose the spend a couple of hundred quid to put right the vehicle that represents over £25000 to us.

 

AGD

[davenewellhome]

The original question was whether or not beam benders would be ok for the MOT and the answer is, quite simply, yes. Whether or not LHD lights comply with C&U regs is a totally different question and not totally relevant to the original question.

 

D.

[tyreman]

Beam benders will be fine with any mot testing station who`s not looking for a pension plan from every customer and if you do come up with an awkward sod and they fail it when you take it back for the retest take the headlamps out and tell them you dont use it in the night,nothing they can do,the mot test is a farce

[davenewellhome]

tyreman - 2009-10-04 8:55 AM

 

Beam benders will be fine with any mot testing station who`s not looking for a pension plan from every customer and if you do come up with an awkward sod and they fail it when you take it back for the retest take the headlamps out and tell them you dont use it in the night,nothing they can do,the mot test is a farce

 

I think you'll find it would then fail the test for not having headlights, far from the MOT test being a farce your suggestion is ridiculous.

 

D.

[Brian Kirby]

Now, now, chaps!  The answer is in two parts.  Eddie's van is UK registered - that is to say it has a UK registration number.  To be registered in the UK, the vehicle must, under the Road Traffic Acts, comply with UK C&U regulations.  When it is registered, the person completing the registration details for DVLA signs to say it meets the legal requirement (it's on the form!).  The minimum requirement is that the speedo must show MPH and be visible at night, the rear fog light must be on UK offside, and the headlights must dip left.  All this is in the DoT booklet on importing vehicles.  The rules are not made by DVLA or VOSA, they are just supposed to enforce them.  If all these measures are not met, it has been illegally registered, for which there are penalties, but it seems no-one is really interested in enforcement.  It is not a "grey area", it is unenforced black and white.

So, to the MOT test.  This is just a check to ensure the vehicle meets basic safety requirements, among which is a need no to dazzle oncoming traffic at night, but does not include any check on legality of registration.  If beam benders are satisfactorily applied, and no dazzle results, the vehicle will pass.  (It will even pass with a KPH speedo, since speedo calibration is not included.)

The problem, if there is one, might arise if you caught speeding with a UK registered vehicle and a KPH speedo - when the police might do you on both counts - or if you were involved in an accident where (your) defective lighting was held to be a contributory factor, and VOSA inspected the vehicle and concluded the right dipping lights had a role to play.  How your insurance company might then react to any claim, I have no idea, but they would, presumably, "be interested".

The real question, as with so many vehicle/driving/insurance questions, is "are you feeling lucky, Punk?"  :-)

[tyreman]

Mr Newell, i realise very few people would go to that extreme but i think if you check up,if a vehicle is presented for mot with no front or rear lights and you are informed the vehicle is only used in daylight its a pass and advise...it still has to have indicators and have no sharp edges left by removal of the lights....the comment made about an mot test being a farce still stands,a vehicle can be taken to 3 different testing station and failed on different items in different garages,all depends on how the tester reads things

[colinfrier]

As I understand it if you import a vehicle more than 3 years old it has to have an MOT before being UK registered so the question of spedo and lights that are fitted with masks does not arrise these problems only occur if its a new vehicle??

[davenewellhome]

tyreman - 2009-10-04 1:50 PM

 

Mr Newell, i realise very few people would go to that extreme but i think if you check up,if a vehicle is presented for mot with no front or rear lights and you are informed the vehicle is only used in daylight its a pass and advise...it still has to have indicators and have no sharp edges left by removal of the lights....the comment made about an mot test being a farce still stands,a vehicle can be taken to 3 different testing station and failed on different items in different garages,all depends on how the tester reads things

 

No Mr Tyreman, if you present a vehicle for test without front or rear lights they will refuse to test it which, if your MOT is about to expire, is as good (or bad) as a fail!

 

As for the test being a farce, well perhaps three different testers would fail it or not on certain items but only if they felt it was borderline. Brake discs for example could be a reason for failing the test if they are "excessively worn" but the definition of "excessive wear" is in itself open to interpretation, one tester may pass a vehicle with worn discs, another may issue an advisory notice on them while a third may decide they are "excessively worn" and therefore fail it.

 

This doesn't make the total test a farce at all it simply allows for professionals to give an opinion. The only way to be absolutely certain in this instance is to have specific thicknesses for worn/not worn discs and the MOT tester has to measure the thickness, of course to do that he would have to remove all the roadwheels which would extend the duration of the test and therefore significantly increase the cost to us.

 

D.

[Derek Uzzell]

There have been many previous threads about this. This is just one...

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=7185&posts=21

 

For what it's worth, the UK speedometer requirement is that the instrument be capable of displaying the vehicle's speed both in mph AND kmh.

[Sundowner]

Until my retirement, I was employed as a driver for an international haulage firm, with a mixed fleet of both LHD and RHD articulated trucks.

Before being presented for the annual MOT, the LHD vehicles had their headlights masked. This was always accepted by the testers and I never heard of any vehicle being failed because of this masking.

I would also add that in the 31 years that I drove all over Europe meeting many other British drivers, I never heard of any drivers of RHD vehicles being fined for having lefthand dipping headlights while driving in

Europe. I am not commenting on the rights or wrongs of this, just stating the facts as I know them.

 

 

[Dancer]

Hi everybody.

I drive a 13 year old rhd Ducato which had it's original lhd headlamps, beam benders, and a new twelve month MOT when I bought it 3 years ago. (Beam benders fell off after three months and I 'taped' the lights). MOT'd twice since then at the same station and passed on lights, once got an advise that the lights were taped. Going to try this year with the RH 'kick-up' masked with silver Hammerite, tape keeps peeling off with the rain.