http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps

They obviously aint that bothered as my car passed it's MOT with a Kit in.

If it becomes a problem I'm sure i can revert to H7 bulbs and then replace the kit afterwards ;-) (hypothetically speaking of course as i would not advocate breaking such an important and sensible rule )

They obviously aint that bothered as my car passed it's MOT with a Kit in.

Currently the type of headlamp/bulb is not part of the MOT test - only that it is functional and correctly aligned

Unfortunately, it would appear that there is an increasing possibility that it may become part of the MOT test in the future - however this has not been confirmed or any timescale put on this (as far as I know).

At the end of the day 99% of us are aware and understand that aftermarket HID kits are not road-legal and take this in to consideration when deciding whether to fit them. There are plenty of people on here that would happily birch you to within an inch of your life for fitting an aftermarket HID kit - however these same people would probably quite happily break the speed limit

Yup i have had the "You do know that's illegal" plenty of times

As i always say people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

Yup i have had the "You do know that's illegal" plenty of times

As i always say people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

Exactly - I am an adult and I will make my own decisions as well dealing with any consequences if required

Exactly - I am an adult and I will make my own decisions as well dealing with any consequences if required

Whilst not being a member of the "birch 'em" brigade I must say that some laws serve a good purpose and the requiements for vehicle lighting in general is one of those pieces of legislation.

I'm sure yours are properly set up (?) but it isn't always the case. The driver doesn't suffer the consquences of their badly fitted HID's it is every other poor sod on the road who has to drive into their "dipped" beams or with one behind blasting light into the rearview mirror because they don't have auto levelling and forgot to manually adjust the height.

Bring back acetylene lamps; that's what I say.

I just took mine to a dealer and got them to align them for me

Seeing some of the CorsaFiestaClio kids with dodgy HID conversions makes me wonder if some kind of rules should be brought in -or the Police should target them more. A badly adjusted HID light really hurts if it's set to hit you in the eyes.

Phil

It's also the people with bloomin fog lights on that are the current scum I'm my rear view mirror.

No they are not DRL's you plank!

I even saw one last night with just foglights and sidelights on when 99% of other drivers had their dipped lights on. To say it's dangerous is an understatement.

Should HID's be illegal? Not if correctly aligned IMO

The reason for this is that the existing lens and reflector are designed around a Halogen filament bulb, working to very precise tolerances. If one places a HID "burner" (bulb) in the headlamp, the beam pattern will not be correct, there will be glare in some places and not enough light in other places within the beam pattern.

Mmmm - same lens and reflector in both HID and Halogen for the Octy??

So, the only bit were you are likely to fall foul is the self levelling. Kufatec do an aftermarket self levelling kit for about £300 including all the original VW controllers and wiring loom. If this ever does get enforced (seeing as the notice is over 4 years old) then you have the choice of going back to Halogen or fitting self levelling and headlamp washers.