HID headlights can cause dazzle if they are dirty or aimed too high so car manufacturers must fit headlamp cleaning and levelling systems. A car will fail if a mandatory headlamp cleaning or levelling system is missing, doesn't work or is obviously defective.

Vehicles fitted with aftermarket HID systems must also be fitted with properly working washer and levelling systems

as will

Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the after market should:

1. be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component.

2. when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place).

3. Comply with RVLR as far as "use" is concerned.

In practice this means:

1. The headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be "e-marked" to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo etc. who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory.

2. Once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have "self-levelling suspension" and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam.

3. The headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly like any other headlamp.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.

In summary it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above.

Please remember that it is your responsibility to ensure that the items purchased are suitable for your vehicle make/model and that the use of said items complies with all applicable laws in your Country. In the UK, fitting an aftermarket HID kit is not technically road legal as you are replacing a halogen bulb with an HID bulb, because of this the HID bulb cannot be E marked, which is a requirement for it to be road legal. Therefore our HID kits are sold for off-road use only.

So today I bought not one, but two bottles of rather tasty Australian Shiraz. I just checked, and there's only half a bottle left!

Using the sleuthing skills learned from Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Seven, I pieced together the evidence:

All doors and widows locked from the inside.
No one in the house but me.
Tannin stains on my lips and tongue.
A half-empty glass of wine in my hand.
A feeling of slight intoxication.

I just can't understand it. I can only assume I've been drugged and robbed by a master villain

So today I bought not one, but two bottles of rather tasty Australian Shiraz. I just checked, and there's only half a bottle left!

Using the sleuthing skills learned from Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Seven, I pieced together the evidence:

All doors and widows locked from the inside.
No one in the house but me.
Tannin stains on my lips and tongue.
A half-empty glass of wine in my hand.
A feeling of slight intoxication.

I just can't understand it. I can only assume I've been drugged and robbed by a master villain

So today I bought not one, but two bottles of rather tasty Australian Shiraz. I just checked, and there's only half a bottle left!

Using the sleuthing skills learned from Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Seven, I pieced together the evidence:

All doors and widows locked from the inside.
No one in the house but me.
Tannin stains on my lips and tongue.
A half-empty glass of wine in my hand.
A feeling of slight intoxication.

I just can't understand it. I can only assume I've been drugged and robbed by a master villain