Is there a need for headlight deflectors on modern cars? I’ve bought some stickers for this but the van isn’t listed in the bumf.
what bumpf???
@Stella a list of about 500 vehicles which came with the packaging.
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Yes, you should ensure that your lights won’t dazzle, when driving on the continent…
Some modern cars do sometimes have a switch adjustment (under the bonnet/wherever) for lights when travelling abroad…
But, you’ve presumably not found anything in the van documentation which tells you about adjusting the lights for travel abroad… or you wouldn’t have bought the beam-benders… 
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Yes your correct nothing found in the handbook, I’ll have to have a go at it and try the beams see if they change direction.
You are quite correct regarding not dazzling oncoming drivers but but I’ve yet to find the mythical LHD/RHD switch device on any of the cars I have owned.
Unfortunately as a practical proposition is it essentially impossible to modify the beam with external add-ons, either beam “benders” or blockers as there is no longer a single source of light involved and, although you’d think modern cars with matrix headlights which cleverly adjust the output pattern to avoid dazzle would be LHD/RHD agnostic and work whatever side of the road you are driving on the Audi owner’s manual seems to be quite specific that the system as fitted to a UK vehicle will not work on the continent.
I am, and remain, flabbergasted that this is the case.
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Interesting, I’d read similar on a transit owners forum where the recommendation was to adjust the dipped beam to zero with the dash switch.
you’ve obviously not owned enough cars…
Did You Know That Headlights Point Right in Europe? : Automotive News by ABD.co.uk.
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Our Ford Kuga has programmable lights for LHD/RHD, we assume it works as we’ve not been flashed yet.
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You would think by now this issue would have been resolved. I’m with Billy on this one but would never buy beam blockers because they are just sticky tape. Putting sticky tape on headlamps to supposedly block out any offending glare would take a lot of experimentation to get anywhere near correct. With a beam bender (Fresnel Prism) there is at least a chance of directing the light better but again on modern cars experimentation required. Fresnel prisms at least work on lighthouses to keep the beam where they want it.
As has been thrashed in another thread… the correct “thing” (call it what you will) properly stuck onto headlights can allow one to drive on the continent… and is acceptable by the CT examiners too. But, it must be the right product and properly fitted or it can be a rather dangerous waste of time and money.
I already know, from personal experience, that some Mercedes and Peugeot models have “switches” and now we can add Ford to the list… (cheers @tim17 )
Driving on the continent is nothing new… and I would certainly expect modern UK cars to have full information about their lights, clearly stated in the Handbook…
@Stella, god forbid that a driver knows so much about the vehickel he owns. When I threw out the owners manual for the volvo it went faster and did more mpg. On another note when i went to Ireland I lined up the xc at night and put black tape where the kink went up on the right hand side to prevent blinding the locals. Worked well and was accepted by the MOT guys.
You daft bat … you sound like OH…
OH only looks at the manual as a last resort… me, I’m the opposite… I read the manual as carefully as a cookery-book… 
Especially before laying out any money…
Seriously though… before buying any vehicle, isn’t it better to know the in’s and out’s of said machine… especially anything “lacking” which might cost me money in the future…
(Some folk spend a fortune changing headlights etc etc… )
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We see the alleged MPG of a car as a challenge, the Kuga is meant to achieve a maximum of 60.1 but driving it back from the UK last month we averaged 64 for the 1000 km drive.
Oe can take a test drive, of course, but it’s difficult to get to know a vehicle well unless you actually manage one of the 48 hour ones (also mythical as far as I’m concerned, and I’ve certainly tried to organise extended test drives where offered but there always seems to be some block in practice).
This is especially true with modern vehicles where the nuances are often down to the software implementation which is incredibly complex these days and there’s no way you can explore all the features and see how they pan out day to day in a half hour test drive. For instance the S3 traction control beeps incessantly - which is really quite annoying.
checking about headlights and anything else appertaining to driving on the continent… if one intends to do that… doesn’t actually need a test drive…
Personally, the most important thing for me has always been… am I comfortable in the driving seat, can I comfortably reach the pedals etc etc…
Once I’ve got the seat properly adjusted for little me… can I now reach all the necessary switches… are the dials still clear for me to read or is the steering wheel now blocking something (yes, it happens)… is there any annoying bright light on the dashboard which irritates my eyes… (yes, that happens too…)
This might all sound daft, but I know what works for me… and what doesn’t !!
Many a hopeful salesman has been crushed at the speed with which I can dismiss the car on offer as a possible contender… … without even moving it…
I had an interesting discussion with two Gendarme one night in Rouen, they were obviously bored and stopped the Elgrand which I had just bought, you have no beam deflectors on, I don’t need them I said, you do need them in France, no I don’t and have checked with Nissan France as the AFS Elgrand has totally flat beams and the headlights swivel with no kick up as they follow the road when you go round a corner, so they have no kick up for the beam deflectors to work on.
They didn’t believe me so put the Elgrand up against a building and watched the beams swivel from side to side, O right well we will let you off this time, go on your way, I didn’t ask what they were letting me of with though 
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Thinking about it… the very last car I bought was indeed the result of a “test drive” in a pal’s lhd car of the same make/model as the rhd one OH had shortlisted for me …
I was the passenger and my pal took the car through its paces…
finally, I was able to test the driver’s seat… (albeit not driving)… and found that all was well…
after that, it was a quick flit to UK and the deal was done…
Our pal was aghast to find that the UK car had gone one better than his though… as “mine” had heated seats which I gently explained away as perfectly normal for any UK car… “essential for those wet and awful British winters …”
and, yes, the car did have “that switch” for the lights…
Some VWs have a setting
and sometimes the GPS handles it.
PS Thanks to the OP, I’ve now checked and, buried in the system, there’s a setting for LHD and RHD.
Now to start using it … 
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My RRS has a lever on the outside of the back of the headlight unit to move to left or right side of the road driving, even though it has headlights that change direction with steering. Trouble is my hands are too big so I have to lift the units out to do it!
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