It has passed virtually without comment. On budget day they announced that a new MOT has come into force. It now includes testing of all warning lights and sensors and even things like headlamp wash wipes. Supposed to bring us into lime with Europe but how which is DOT internal jobsworths additions? After all they haven't brought us into line with the two year testing frequency or first test after 4 years.
AFAIUI the new items became advisory from January 2012, and are now a full part of the test.
Anyone know if front fog lights are now included. Mine have been broken for years
Sounds like a good idea, apart from any connection with Europe.
Even ignoring the new rules, if they are fitted, they should work.
That, of course, is why citizens of the USA use the term "limey" for we Brits...
That sounds like potentially bad news for older Volvos - most of the big ones had headlamp wash/wipe which packed up and wasn't worth the cost of repairing.
I assume you could just remove the blades so there wasn't a wipe any more. However there are words about missing or not working.
I feel some additional expense coming on.
However the AA site is unclear.
"headlamp levelling and cleaning devices when fitted for HID or LED headlamps" seems to be quite specific and not include older cars.
Also
"?While it could have expensive consequences for someone running an old car on a tight budget, these changes are long overdue as airbags, for example, have been widely fitted since the mid-nineties. It?s important that these systems remain safe and effective throughout the life of the vehicle."
IIRC (and I'm not going out in the snow to check) the air bags on my Volvo
850 have some kind of "best before" sticker on them which gives them a life of 10 years.I have been told that this is not a problem because when they were first fitted nobody had a clear idea of how long air bags would stay operative, but it is not clear to me how an air bag can be tested to be still functional (apart from the absence of a warning light).
Someone also made the point that if you had two cars, identical apart from an optional extra such as headlamp wash/wipe, how does the one with the failed wash/wipe become less safe that the one with the option not fitted?
Cheers
Dave R
They've been useless in last few cars I've had. The beam cutoff is below the line of sight over the bonnet, and not adjustable, so they light up the bit of road you can't see, and the kerb and white line you can only see by hanging your head out of the window.
I saw that, and a friend of mine has just missed the boat. It looks like they are interested in the more modern vehicle though, from the choices. I'm not sure about electrical connectors though, its not specific enough.
Brian
Anything mentioning headlight cleaning is to do with the regs for HID/Xenon headlights, in part to stop people retro fitting the kits. For HIDs the requirements are that the car must be self levelled and have light washers. That's fairly small beer compared to getting a decent headlight pattern out of them without projector lenses.
There's all sorts of other things like trailer socket testing which, AIUI, only applies to the 13 pin ones that almost no-one has in this country.
Scott
Misquoted *again* !!
Nothing to do with preventing retro-fitting.
At the link
The PDF file suggests for headlamps that HID or *may* be fitted with self levelling devices. (In the Section 1, 1.7 dealing with lighting) The regulation does not however say *must*. Therefore I read it as if the vehicle has a form of levelling device it must work and be effective. Not a fail if it does and is not "self" levelling. Although specifically the shape/form of the beam is significant, existing test equipment appears to be measuring the correct spread, angle and shape of the beam through the lens. If it gives the required shape and angle the lights will pass. (Following section)
This section attracts a lot of discussion on sites akin to the motor vehicle trade with varying degrees of opinions on the wording and the subsequent interpretation of that text.
There is also mention elsewhere that certain types of sports car with stiffer suspension set-ups and little space for luggage which the weight of could change the level of the light output height may well be exempt from this regulation.
So, I can't see any problems unless the shape, form, or beam spread height does not comply.
Also there's no specific *type* of cleaning device specified, nor how effective it must be. So, retro fitting an ordinary washer style jet system on a relay with the windscreen washers may be suitable for the purpose should you have a vehicle which already has adjusters and your choice if you want a washer system but must work if already fitted. But if it's not fitted it can't fail.
Fog lights are only of any use in thick fog were you can only travel safely at near walking pace.
and, of course, that's the only time they can be legally turned on.
In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes
Would you please come and tell that to all the tossers round here who insist on switching them on regardless.
Good point. I suspect that very little of the philosophy behind these changes is evidence driven (what *has* caused accident or injury). It seems to me more like a classic risk assessment approach (what *might* cause accident or injury).
Socket testing cam in a while ago. 13 pin is becoming more common and has been standard on caravans for a while now.
Are fluffy dice included?
Mine seem to have stopped attracting the chicks.
AB.
This is true, IIRC the same rules apply to front fog (aka "driving" lights) as to rear fogs. Not to be used unless visibilty less than 100 m, doesn't stop wazocks driving around with them on all the time though.
It has to be *very* foggy for front fogs to come into their own, ie when dipped headlights produce too much glare and it's better to switch those off and use the front fogs only. Even up here with the hill fog it's a pretty rare occasion.
Doesn't help if you can't actually see the line or side of road illuminated by the front fogs though. But front fogs should really only illuminate 20 odd feet in front.
It is indeed. Which makes you wonder why so many cars are fitted with them.
That is *not* a "risk assessment". That is risk *identification* only. The next step in order to have a proper *assessment* is risk
*measurement*, that is to determine how *likely* it is that the identified risk turns into an incident. If that is low, then *that* is what should be reported.Like that welsh postie who was told to cease going over a style and across a field to deliver the post, because the style was "dangerous". As he'd been doing it for 20 years with no incidents, one can immediately conclude that the *danger* is negligible.
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