Driving in France. Headlight deflectors

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Well the French driving regulations seem to have changed? I bought the breathalyser before the law was scrapped!
I’ve now discovered that my lights automatically adjust to right hand driving once on foreign soil (apparently it gets the info from the GPS system?)

Rob
 
I have just remembered, a hire car I had a while back (Volvo, I think) had paper templates in the owners manual to be traced out so the driver could make his own bit of black tape to cover the offending part of the headlamp glass when going from driving on right to driving on left. Any Volvo owners on here who can confirm ? Please don't tell me this was a dream , my dreams are weird enough already....and thats just the ones during my waking hours...:eek:

That's basically what the Eurolite thingies are anyway: a standardised stick on thing, with a map of how you trim it to fit your car. I lost one on one trip and the simply copied the shape from the diagram supplied, and created a perfect equivalent with electrical tape.

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These stick on deflectors have mixed reviews? Lots of users saying how great they are but equal number saying not worth the money! a common thread seems to be the deflectors coming off in transit especially in heavy rain etc?
 
Does anyone know anyone who has EVER had a problem with these regs?
Not a problem as such but a couple of years back passing through the toll at Chambery I was "randomly" selected for scrutiny by the gendarmerie. They were going to stop the french vehicle in front but then changed their mind to target us in a 20+ year old British registered 124 going through the tag only lane. Very polite but very thorough. One checked all the documents -V5, MOT, insurance, cash etc whilst the other went over the car - lights, tyres etc. They did not ask about the breath test things but did check the yellow vests and yes I did have beam deflectors fitted. All very good natured and nothing was found but they were clearly looking for a reason to impose some sort of sanction. That has been the only time its happened in many trips through France.
 
Hopefully the gendarmerie will leave me alone but I’m confident I now have all the necessary paperwork/Equipment . As I mentioned in my initial post I’m a complete novice at driving anywhere other than UK ! Must admit I’m slightly anxious but I’m breaking journey in two, staying in Magnant just south of Troyes just off the A5. Thank you to all who contributed to my initial query, much appreciated

Rob
 
Hopefully the gendarmerie will leave me alone but I’m confident I now have all the necessary paperwork/Equipment . As I mentioned in my initial post I’m a complete novice at driving anywhere other than UK ! Must admit I’m slightly anxious but I’m breaking journey in two, staying in Magnant just south of Troyes just off the A5. Thank you to all who contributed to my initial query, much appreciated

Rob
Have fun - it’s very easy once you get used to it and Troyes is an easy run down from Calais.
 
These stick on deflectors have mixed reviews? Lots of users saying how great they are but equal number saying not worth the money! a common thread seems to be the deflectors coming off in transit especially in heavy rain etc?

Combination of rain and heat from the lights loosening the adhesive.

Just keep the instructions in the car, and if you need to fix it in transit, some electrical tape will do just as good a job.

There's nothing clever about these things, they're just sticky backed plastic that you cut to fit.
 
As I mentioned in my initial post I’m a complete novice at driving anywhere other than UK !
You'll love it - as @Srdl says, it's very easy once you get used to it and the drive to Troyes isn't very challenging. If you're paying as you go on the Autoroute, just make sure your passenger has a credit card handy and you can be through the booths pretty quickly as you don't need to enter a PIN. Avoid paying cash as it's much slower and you invariably won't have the right amount.

The old centre of Troyes is a nice place to wander around in the evening, and there are a few places where you can get a decent tagine or cous-cous.

The only other tip is that fuel is much cheaper at supermarkets off the Autoroute, so avoid paying Autoroute prices unless you're absolutely stuck.
 
The best tip for driving South, to take the Eastern route, avoiding Paris, if you can.
 
Troyes is a great place to stop. Some lovely restaurants and reasonably priced B+Bs. Also Leclerc is 5 minutes from the autoroute junction 23 and fuel costs at least 20c per litre less than on the motorway
 
Talking of tolls, get a tag - your wife will love you for not having to reach out to take a ticket or to pay. Also, will save you any queues. It costs a small amount in the way of service charges but one of the best things I have ever bought for the car!

I use this one but others are available:
Emovis Tag UK
 

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