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I'll be driving my car from Belgium to the UK, with plans to then drive around the country.

Like most cars in the European mainland, my car's headlights/headlamps are slightly adjusted to the right side of the road. When driving in the UK, though, this blinds oncoming traffic. That's why there's a type of sticker made to apply to headlights to prevent this problem, and why these stickers are required in the UK for left-hand drive cars.

When I lived in the Netherlands, you could buy them in almost any town. In Belgium, where I live now, few shops sell them.

I'm having trouble finding them, partly because I don't remember what they're actually called. Does anyone know the proper name of these "blocking" stickers so I can search for them on the Internet?

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  • Be aware that questions not too different from this have been downvoted or closed as off-topic as "shopping questions" rather than "travel questions". I think it's a good question though. Jul 13, 2011 at 9:23
  • 2
    I'm actively trying to prevent any more inconsistent behaviour re on/off topic issues like we've seen in the past. This I believe is a productive effort. Jul 13, 2011 at 9:46
  • I'm from Belgium, and while I have driven my car to the UK numerous times already (using the Eurostar), I never heard of those stickers before.
    – fretje
    Jul 13, 2011 at 9:46
  • @Andra: Point taken, and I thank you for making me aware. I was just pointing out that it is something which isn't obvious and clear when driving your car to the UK.
    – fretje
    Jul 14, 2011 at 12:10
  • they're probably just called "headlamp stickers" or "headlamp convertors". I wouldn't bother.
    – Fattie
    Jun 19, 2016 at 1:11

2 Answers 2

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We recently caught the ferry from the UK to Europe and needed to have these stickers (for the other way around).

We bought them before hand from UK car shop Halfords where they just call them "headlamp converters".

We also found find that everything needed for driving in other countries was sold on the ferry. They sold the headlamp converters, the country stickers, the warning triangles etc. We travelled on Norfolk Line, but I imagine they all do something similar.

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  • 1
    I know this, but often they don't have the stickers for every car model.
    – user141
    Jul 13, 2011 at 9:35
  • 3
    Also beware the prices on the ferry are usually much higher than the shop.
    – algiogia
    Aug 8, 2016 at 9:46
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In the end I ended up buying the stickers on the ferry from France to the UK, actually cheaper then any offer online, even excluding the postage. I now still have them in my car unused, since I did not drive at night.

But the stunning thing I would like to mention is what I just read in a brochure of the Dutch automobile association. If you are not able to buy these stickers, a piece of black tape is sufficient. It only takes a bit more preparation. You need to point your lights to a wall and notice the slight deviation to the right (left for UK cars), then try to block this with black tape. It might seems like an odd advice, but I guess givem it is from a reliable source it's worth posting.

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  • I vaguely recall my dad, driving from Ireland to France, not putting stickers on the headlamps but making some adjustment under the hood to change the orientation of the headlights. That was a good few years ago now.
    – TRiG
    Mar 3, 2012 at 23:18
  • right, you just use a piece of old tape. but really most people plain don't bother.
    – Fattie
    Jun 19, 2016 at 1:12
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    The aim of all vehicle headlamps are adjustable. If you are 'switching sides' for an extended amount of time it's probably worth it to simply adjust the aim of the lights. If you are handy with a screwdriver that's usually all it takes. Any decent automotive shop should be able to do it as well. Just a turn or two on the aim adjustment screws...
    – bielawski
    May 22, 2018 at 13:49
  • I don't see what not driving at night would have to do with it; the headlamps would still be lit (albeit much more dimly) even in the daytime, whenever the ignition's on.
    – Vikki
    Jul 10, 2020 at 0:56
  • @Sean If you're not driving at night, you're not going to blind somebody coming the other way with your headlamps.
    – T.J.L.
    Aug 18, 2020 at 17:09

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