Hi All,

 

I have a brother in law who works in the Czech Republic as a translator. Yes, he does do work for Skoda and a lot of the UK brochures you see were translated by him.

He's currently working on some documentation and has asked me about the more common phrases used in the UK.

 

Full Beam / Dipped Beam

or

High Beam / Low Beam

 

What do you guys tend to use? High/Low feels more American to me and I tend to use Full and Dipped.

I just know Bastarised English (American) does tend to creep into our language and wondered what people tend to say.

 

Cheers all.

Full beam and dipped beam.   

 

But High beam and low beam is easily understood.

I'd agree with George but tbh most people would understand either option.

As others above.

Just to add a different opinion, I've always used Main Beam / Dipped Beam

Wot Dave said!

1 hour ago, PetrolDave said:

Just to add a different opinion, I've always used Main Beam / Dipped Beam

 

1 hour ago, J.R. said:

Wot Dave said!

 

Wot J.R. and PetrolDave said !

 

 

Edited 19 February, 20206 yr by Auric Goldfinger

If the barsteward forgets for long enough to dip their full beam, just as they pass they get Full Beam, Fog Lights, and maybe even the LED Light car.

1 hour ago, Auric Goldfinger said:

 

 

Wot J.R. and PetrolDave said !

 

 

Me too!

What Root and Asp and Ken and Dave and JR and Auric and NJ said....!!  

 

But to add some of my own personal seasoning:
Consider also the vehicles' Left Side/Right Side versus the Nearside/Offside... especially since the latter changes depending on which side of the road your country drives on!  

 

 

3 hours ago, Ttaskmaster said:

Consider also the vehicles' Left Side/Right Side versus the Nearside/Offside... especially since the latter changes depending on which side of the road your country drives on!  

Even using Left Side/Right Side doesn't remove confusion, because even though most people (correctly) assume it's from the perspective of sitting in the drivers seat there are some who (wrongly) regard it as when standing in front of the vehicle looking back at it.

23 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

Even using Left Side/Right Side doesn't remove confusion, because even though most people (correctly) assume it's from the perspective of sitting in the drivers seat there are some who (wrongly) regard it as when standing in front of the vehicle looking back at it.

My point exactly... which is mainly to create even more fun and confusion. I could also add in Driver's/Passenger's side, to give three sets of references that can be changable and need a lot of explaining!

 

Port and Starboard? 

20 hours ago, Wino said:

Port and Starboard? 

 

The term starboard derives from the Old English steorbord, meaning the side on which the ship is steered... which, in the case of cars, again depends which country you're in! 

Add it to the list... :D

I don 't know many Old English speakers, but to be fair, plenty of non-nautical/aviation people would struggle to understand and apply the elegant simplicity of the port/starboard system.

 

As for headlights, I'd name the two settings Full and Dipped, I think, though I barely ever use full beam.

In French they are feux de route and feux de croisement.

 

Literal translations being "road lights" and "crossing lights" crossing meaning crossing the path of/with oncoming vehicles.

 

Side lights / parking lights are known as feux de position no translation needed.

@J.R.  Did you pass your driving test in the UK and read the Highway Code?

  They are Side lights / Position lights.   Parking lights might use a front and rear sidelight with the ignition off.

Sidelights are really not 'Parking Lights' in the UK. As in you should not sit stationary and parked with Sidelights on.

 

Any Owners Manual writers and translators need to be clear on the Sidelight / Parking light thing in different countries and languages.

 

When parked with 4 lights on and no engine running they will not stay on long, like the old days of as big battery and a Side Light plugged into the cigarette lighter socket.

Hence the indicator down and the offside sidelights on these days as 'Parking Lights'.

 

EDIT. Sorry my bad. 

Well they are still 'Parking lights' in the outdated Highway Code.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/driving-advice/parking-lights

 

 

........................................................................................................................................................

 

The pretty recent new technology with headlight has drivers believing that the car can do the headlight control and they need not dip.

The ones on New Vauxhalls intellilux really are crap in my experience of letting the lights do their thing on a New Astra.  

After a couple of full blasts of full beam i just went back to manual dipping of the lights.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 21 February, 20206 yr by Roottootemblowinootsoot

So, there seems to be three different parties...

 

1) Full beam and dipped beam.

2) High beam and low beam.

3) Main beam and dipped beam.

 

I tend to use number 3, but thinking about it 'main beam' could easily be confused for dipped beam, as dipped headlights are used more often and therefore assumed to be the 'main' lights.

Full beam and dipped beam for me

1 hour ago, Roottootemblowinootsoot said:

They are Side lights / Position lights.  Parking lights might use a front and rear sidelight with the ignition off.

Sidelights are really not 'Parking Lights' in the UK. As in you should not sit stationary and parked with Sidelights on.

 

Any Owners Manual writers and translators need to be clear on the Sidelight / Parking light thing in different countries and languages.

I've always called them side lights.

 

VAG do offer 'parking lights' - with the ignition off, move the indicator stalk to the left or right position and the front and rear 'side lights' on that side only will illuminate.

 

So IMHO side lights are at all 4 corners of the car but parking lights are when those lights are illuminated on one side only.

Edited 21 February, 20206 yr by PetrolDave

2 hours ago, Roottootemblowinootsoot said:

@J.R.  Did you pass your driving test in the UK and read the Highway Code?

 

 

Yes (2 weeks after my 17th birthday) and almost certainly No to the second question.

 

No money, never bought any books until forced to do so for college, there would not have been one in the household as my father never took a driving test (bought license at post office) and had zero input into my gaining a license aside from on learning that I had passed immediately changing his car insurance from any driver so that I could not drive his car.

My mother never failed when ever she could to remind my father that he never had to sit or pass a test even though he drove the coal lorries from being at school.

She was and probably is still proud that any accident she had in the car was the fault of a wall or what ever being in a stupid place..