New driving regs for 2026

[Spectrum]

How I wish the French would use catseyes.

Not invented here ..... Percy Shaw wasn't French !! Yes, I agree, cat's eyes were a wonderful safety invention.

Again, I don't know what driving in the UK is like today, but the blatant disregard for speed limits here is hallucinant. Then there are those who whinge about the height of speed humps. There is no uniformity - some might just as well not be there - but there are some that are much higher and clearly taken too fast. People whine about how uncomfortable they are - well, there's a simple solution to that : SLOW DOWN !!!

Street lighting can be very bad, no wonder many people don't like driving at night.

Percy was from Halifax West Yorkshire, if the cat had been facing in other way he would have invented the desk mounted pencil sharpener! Dont have a problem with driving at night but the new breed of EVs seem to have very slim and wide high up lights, DRL are ok so perhaps all "headlights" should be below the bumper or certainly lower down, also the problem is after market LED bulbs been sold to want to be Nigel Mansell's and badly made and badly fitted.

[Wilbro]

One of my work colleagues in the early 1960's lived up the road in Halifax where Percy Shaw lived. He told me that when his mother was young and single Percy Shaw asked her to marry him (before his inspired invention) and she turned him down. Mind you as Percy never budged from his original house, was socially pretty inactive and preferred his ale I doubt she'd have lived the millionaire, champagne lifestyle.

[MAD87]

I'm glad I no longer drive!
However, life as a pedestrian could be short - my last brush with death was a few metres from the house on a pedestrian crossing when 2 speeding lycra-clad cyclists bore down on me and nearly made me strawberry jam, whilst roaring "attention!!". They'd already swerved around the speed bumps...
Oh yes, there's a long way to go!

[Blaze]

on a pedestrian crossing when 2 speeding lycra-clad cyclists bore down on me and nearly made me strawberry jam, whilst roaring "attention!!"

I've never been part of the anti-cyclist brigade, but the comportment of some does not help their cause. Some seem to think they have right of way everywhere

Road markings can be a bit confusing and from a car it's impossible to see the little green cyclist sign painted on the road until you're right on top of it. Pedestrian crossings normally give people on foot right of way and unless there is a little green painted man, vehicles are not obliged to give way to a cyclist riding his bike.

The evolution of e-bikes and e-trotinettes has been so fast that sensible road traffic laws haven't been able to keep up. Decisions as to who can do what seem to have been made willy-nilly. The idea of an electric bike or trotinette doing 25kph along the same path, often narrow, as a pedestrian is crackers. En outre, the e-bikes creep up on you and most riders don't ring their bell (assuming they have one).
Trotinettes in the dark on the road without lights are a nightmare but what can you do ? You have to hope that the over-bright headlights pick them up in time before they become strawberry jam.

I can only assume that whoever makes some of the road safety laws or who designs road layouts/sign placement etc has never visited the spot and probably doesn't drive.

[Hotrodder]

I have read a few articles lately addressing the headlight issue. It is claimed that part of the problem is that headlights are often poorly aimed, and that the recent popularity of taller SUV-type cars that have the lights much higher exacerbating the problem. Also statistically the SUVs are a greater risk to pedestrians due to poor visibility (near-vehicle blind spots).

[exile]

My understanding is that the SUV argument is a myth. Legally lights have to focus at a fixed distance from the front of the vehicle, so a higher headlight dips down more steeply than a lower one. LEDs however do seem to be brighter than older types except perhaps for the Xenon lights of a few years ago. I wonder if the perceived increased brightness is due to a bluer light than older types.

[Hotrodder]

After reading through a several page thread on the subject I have a bit more to add. Back in the days of simple incandesant bulbs and sealed beam headlamps, the standards for vehicle lighting were limited by specified wattage. For example a car might be limited to 55 watts at 12 volts. That was used as a maximum possible brightness under that specification. Since the advent of Halogen filled bulbs, HiD, and LED headlights there is pretty much unlimited brightness available from 12 volts and an available 55 watts. An exponential increase in brightness with much lower power requirement. The only way to get a reasonable control of the situation would be to limit the output to a set figure of lumens, the actual measure of brightness. There have been complaints of SUVs tailgating (so common here in France) with correctly angled LED lights causing massive glare inside the vehicle ahead via its mirrors and reflective surfaces. But hey, ho! They're great for the SUV driver if total Hell for everyone else.

[Blaze]

There have been complaints of SUVs tailgating (so common here in France) with correctly angled LED lights causing massive glare inside the vehicle ahead via its mirrors and reflective surfaces

If I find a vehicle behind dazzles me, I adjust my rear view mirror and make a small adjustment to my wing mirrors, job done.

[RobertArthur]

And then there is another point that has been obscured by all kinds of fake news and a lack of understanding that there is a difference between proposals from Brussels, accepting them, and ultimately transposing them into national legislation in the EU Member States.

What is it about this time? The Contrôle technique, these Inspections will not become annual after 10 years.
The European Commission has been proposing this measure since April 2025. However, France is firmly and officially opposed to it. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot reiterated this position in June 2025 before the European Council. France therefore supports maintaining the current system. The first inspection takes place after four years. After that, inspections become mandatory every two years.

Read all about it from a reliable source.

[OTBC]

Blaze wrote...As for the one-eyed monsters .....

They are everywhere! Why? Car designers.

We have two French cars, a Peugeot 208 & a Renault Clio 3. I changed a bulb on the 208....took 5 minutes. Had to change a bulb on the Clio a couple of months ago...took 4 hours! Why? On the Clio, unless you're ET, you can't get your hand in to change the bulb! You have to remove the front bumper to get to the light unit ! (plenty of angry videos on you tube!).

We were going on a visit to the UK, so I was going to go to Halfords & get them to fit a new bulb. They say they will do this for a nominal fee, the same as wiper blades, ha ha ha!. I spoke to a friend in the UK who works in a garage, he said Halfords will refuse this service on several types of cars as it's a big job. So, car in the barn, front of the Clio removed, bulb changed, front re-installed.

The designers could've made the gap bigger behind the headlight unit but that would've had to increase the length of the car....by two inches? !!

I'm lucky I suppose, I'm an engineer, got the tools & got a barn!

So, loads of French drivers (actually, not just French), will leave the "one eyed monster" until the CT is due, as it's going to cost a fortune to replace the bulb...4 hours work at garage rates? Good job modern bulbs last a while....unless you get a "duff" one!