UK car alterations.

Senior user Posts : 135 Join date : 2012-09-03

First topic message reminder :

We are driving our Mitsubishi Pajero over from the UK.
Obviously for the journey over we will be using headlight deflector strips. But once resident in BG I
assume that the headlights will have to be changed as will the foglamp ?
We do want to keep our Pajero and register it in BG eventually.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Mega user Posts : 2150 Join date : 2010-02-18

bgbazz wrote:: Isn't that what I just said Tony?

No

Moderator Posts : 1161 Join date : 2012-07-20

Sorry then Tony..I would have thought that everyone tried to drive to keep themselves safe..appears not to be so!

Mega user Posts : 2150 Join date : 2010-02-18

bgbazz wrote:: Sorry then Tony..I would have thought that everyone tried to drive to keep themselves safe..appears not to be so!

This is now so :OffTopic:but to answer you is thus. You are telling me it is safe to drive a RHD vehicle in this Country. I disagree for the following reasons. If you are the sole driver and you need to overtake you have to lean across the inside of your vehicle whilst you are doing this you have no way of seeing in your rear view mirror. Now if you have driven in this Country you will know that the average Bulgarian driver knows only one way of driving that is that they either go at zero or like a rocket, and those that drive supersonic have to be front of whatever is in front of them. Given this criteria can you really convince me it is safe to overtake another vehicle if you have lost your rear view. Oh don't forget that while you are leaning across your vehicle you have now lost all sight of any hazard which may be nearing you, like a pot hole, on coming cyclist, etc UK car alterations. - Page 2 794030042

Also if you now have a person sitting beside you to advise you when its safe to overtake, how on earth can they. They have no understanding of the rate of speed you are doing what gear you are in and what is likely to be behind you. So who is trying to convince who at being safe. You will also have to position your vehicle that some of it will be in the path of the on coming traffic in order for your passenger to see. Is that safe.

I take the point that large vehicles have got the so called height advantage, but even then they have problems when driving behind an artic.

My view will remain the same it is un-safe to drive RHD on left hand drive roads.

Moderator Posts : 1161 Join date : 2012-07-20

Ok, enough is enough Tony. I came here over six years ago and I have never left. I have two RHD vehicles and two LHD vehicles, plus another half dozen or so farm vehicles. In that time I have driven over 50,000 kms using each vehicle as needed and can honestly say that I've never had a close shave due to which side my steering wheel was on. At the risk of repeating myself, I'm going to say again..drive safe, to stay safe! By the way, if you have to lean across to see oncoming traffic, then you are FAR too close to the vehicle in front of you.

Whilst I was writing this, my wife has been checking our vehicle log books and the total distance driven is closer to 90,000kms, not the estimate I originally gave.

I've agreed with you on many posts in the past mate, but not this one I'm afraid.

Mega user Posts : 2150 Join date : 2010-02-18

Quote :: I've agreed with you on many posts in the past mate, but not this one I'm afraid.

If we all agreed on everything that was said we would have no debates. UK car alterations. - Page 2 1536469901

My observations were not pointed at you in anyway but a generalization.

Registered user Posts : 12 Join date : 2013-02-13

If you are driving a reasonable distance from the vehicle in front there is no need to lean over the passenger seat, it is only when you get too close that oncoming visibility is lost.

Senior user Posts : 267 Join date : 2011-07-25

Like many of you I still have the head light stickers on my truck and mine also passed the KAT last July. I would change my head lamps but to be honest I have hardly driven at night .I don't understand what all the fuss is about LH or RH and drive as it has already been pointed out so long as you hang back for better visibilty when over taking in a RH drive vehicle there should be no problem.I don't know about the rest of you but I find it more natural to drive on the right hand side of the road.It's not the over taking so much with drivers from the UK it's turning right or left where some confusion comes in and I for one have been gulity of this mistake when not concentrating and have frightend the life out of my self at such a silly mistake.I am sure many of you have done this at some time or other whether you admit it or not as it is a dangerous but a natural mistake if you have a distraction or your in automatic mode and not thinking correctly.
The reason that we drive on the left in the UK goes back to the days of jousting knights and battles on horse back. Generaly most people are right handed and the scabbard is worn on the left hand side hence drawing sword with the right hand and attacking or charging your opponenant
coming from your right hand side.A little tit bit I read up many years ago as it intrigued me why we drove on the left hand side. America drove on the left for a while when the motor car was introduced and for some reason changed to driving on the right.

Senior user Posts : 267 Join date : 2011-07-25

I also put my vehicle through the KAT last July with head lamp stickers on with no problem.Regarding over taking I agree that if you use your common sense and hang back further than you would normaly do in a RH drive vehicle in the UK giving your self better visability then there should be no problem.The other problem which can be dangerous driving a RH drive vehicle here is turning left or right if you are new to driving on the right hand side of the road. I must confess that I have frightend my self many years ago when having a dumb moment and almost finished up on the wrong side of the road when turning right at a set of traffic lights in Germany ( Dumb koff) and I am sure many of you may have done the same.

Just to go off at a tangent you may or may not know the reason why us Brits drive on the left hand side of the road.It goes back to the days of the Knights jousting and fighting on horse back. I was curious about this being a sad person and found out that most people are right handed and would have the scabbard on the left hand side hence drawing the sword with the right hand placing your on coming opponent on your right hand side with you being on the left hand side. I made that sound complicated but if you think about it it makes sense. America first drove on the left when the motor vehicle was first introduced as you will see if you can find old photo's and for some reason they changed to the right.

Subject: Re: UK car alterations. Mon Feb 25, 2013 8:46 am

I have no problem driving right hand drive cars in Europe, or Left hand drive in the UK , I used to have a Trans-am in the UK and people were always saying how dangerous it was to be on the wrong side of the car.
Driving on the other side of the road I got used to now its easy as I drive more over there than over here

But 15 years or so ago when I first took my old ford cargo over to France.....not so easy

I was fine until I got lost and started getting wound up in the one way system around the Paris exhibition center

I ended up turning a right turn UK style into traffic stopped at the lights just in front of the Eifell tower,
There were loads of police parked on the side watching me as I did a 3 point turn in the lorry, on the wrong side of the road to turn round and go back the other way. The police had seen it all before and ignored it