{"id":10287,"date":"2023-06-19T12:07:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T12:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/?page_id=10287"},"modified":"2023-09-07T05:50:29","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T05:50:29","slug":"new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/","title":{"rendered":"New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>HEADLAMP ALIGNMENT<\/strong>: The typical &#8216;quick check&#8217; performed at most testing stations for correct headlamp aim is gone.<\/p>\n<p>You will now see big changes as a result of this year&#8217;s Ministry of Transport (MOT) modernisation.<\/p>\n<p>They are part of the new Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) laws in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>The Vehicle Testing Station (VTS) council member volunteers trialled and oversaw the results. They were then verified at Loughborough University by the Vehicle Safety Research Centre.<\/p>\n<p>The changes are akin to those introduced for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) in 2015. There have been significant decreases in the test failure rates since then.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Why Change MOT Headlamp Rules?<\/h2>\n<p>The main reasons for the changes seem to relate most to the testers themselves. MOT inspectors have proved to show <strong>inconsistency in the accuracy of their assessments<\/strong> of headlamp aim. That is according to an MOT compliance survey.<\/p>\n<p>New headlamp alignment changes aim to reduce test errors. They should increase the general consistency of annual vehicle safety checks. The MOT modernization widens the tolerance band for European &#8216;E&#8217; beams with headlamp centers up to 850mm.<\/p>\n<p>They have also introduced an amended requirement to test the &#8216;<strong>image break<\/strong>&#8216; point for all European &#8216;<strong>E<\/strong>&#8216; beams.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2>1. Headlamp Horizontal Cut-off<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"MOT Headlamp Alignment Rules from March 2016\" style=\"float:right\" style=\"float: right\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/mot-headlamp-alignment-test.gif\">Methods for checking the aim of the horizontal cut-off remain unchanged. But, the lower limit for headlamps (up to 850mm) has changed to 2.75% (2.0% before).<\/p>\n<p>A <strong>headlamp will now fail<\/strong> if its horizontal cut-off is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Above the upper limit of 0.5%<\/li>\n<li>Below the lower limit of 2.75%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<h2>2. Headlight Dazzle Zone<\/h2>\n<p>UK <a href=\"\/rules\/driving\/mot\/\">MOT testing rules<\/a> in the past needed to find the &#8216;image break point&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>It had to check that its alignment complied with a small margin of the headlamp beam tester screen. Headlamps would fail the test if the &#8216;break point&#8217; was outside of this small box. Testers will not need to check that any longer from the 24th of March 2016.<\/p>\n<p>The new method checks for &#8216;<strong>white light<\/strong>&#8216; in the area formed by the 0% vertical and the 0.5% horizontal lines for all European &#8216;E&#8217; beams. They call it the &#8216;dazzle zone&#8217; because the beam is likely to dazzle oncoming vehicles if it gets aimed in this area.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: White light falling into this mark would result in the headlamp failing the test on that occasion.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<h2>3. Visible Kick up<\/h2>\n<p>The final part of the headlamp accuracy test is ensuring that there is a &#8216;<strong>kick up<\/strong>&#8216; visible on the screen (where required). Not all vehicle headlamps have kick ups. Some lights have flat tops and some get fitted with beam deflectors. In simple terms, if a kick up is required, the unit only fails the test if it does not show up on the screen.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<h3>MOT Inspection Manuals<\/h3>\n<p>Ministry of Transport inspection manuals will get updated accordingly. They will include the new testing standards of headlamp alignment and dazzle for driving accuracy and safety in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-inner-block\">\n<h4>ALSO IN THIS SECTION<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/\">Articles about Homes and Family Life<\/a>: News stories about rules for home and lifestyle regulations.<br \/>\n    <a href=\"\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/autonomous-vehicle-technologies-competition\/\">British Transport Competition<\/a>: Autonomous Vehicle Technology companies compete to win \u00a330 million.<br \/>\n\t<a href=\"\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/car-driving-test-change-planned-to-improve-road-safety\/\">Driving Test Rules<\/a>: DVSA unveil a handful of changes to the car practical driving test.<br \/>\n\t<a href=\"\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/learner-drivers-to-get-lessons-on-motorways\/\">Motorway Lessons for Learners<\/a>: Motorway driving instruction part of learning to drive a car from 2018.<br \/>\n\t<a href=\"\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/cars-splashing-pedestrians-law\/\">Splashing Pedestrian Laws<\/a>: Cars splashing pedestrians with puddles is illegal in the United Kingdom.<br \/>\n\t<a href=\"\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/dft-new-traffic-sign-regulations\/\">Traffic Sign Regulations<\/a>: DfT launch the new Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"updated-data\">\n  <strong>New Headlamp Alignment and Dazzle Test in the United Kingdom<\/strong><br \/>\n  <time datetime=\"2016-01-01\">Article First Published 2016<\/time>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HEADLAMP ALIGNMENT: The typical &#8216;quick check&#8217; performed at most testing stations for correct headlamp aim is gone. You will now see big changes as a result of this year&#8217;s Ministry of Transport (MOT) modernisation. They are part of the new Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) laws in the United Kingdom. The Vehicle Testing Station&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":1900,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation - UK Rules<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation - UK Rules\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"HEADLAMP ALIGNMENT: The typical &#8216;quick check&#8217; performed at most testing stations for correct headlamp aim is gone. You will now see big changes as a result of this year&#8217;s Ministry of Transport (MOT) modernisation. They are part of the new Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) laws in the United Kingdom. The Vehicle Testing Station&hellip; Continue reading New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UK Rules\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-07T05:50:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/\",\"name\":\"New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation - UK Rules\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-19T12:07:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-07T05:50:29+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News Articles and Stories about UK Rule and Law Changes\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"News Articles on Home and Lifestyle Rules and Regulations\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"UK Rules\",\"description\":\"The UK Rules\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UK Rules\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/logo-white.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/logo-white.svg\",\"width\":191,\"height\":23,\"caption\":\"UK Rules\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation - UK Rules","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation - UK Rules","og_description":"HEADLAMP ALIGNMENT: The typical &#8216;quick check&#8217; performed at most testing stations for correct headlamp aim is gone. You will now see big changes as a result of this year&#8217;s Ministry of Transport (MOT) modernisation. They are part of the new Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) laws in the United Kingdom. The Vehicle Testing Station&hellip; Continue reading New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation","og_url":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/","og_site_name":"UK Rules","article_modified_time":"2023-09-07T05:50:29+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/","url":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/","name":"New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation - UK Rules","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-06-19T12:07:44+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-07T05:50:29+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/new-mot-standards-test-headlamp-alignment\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News Articles and Stories about UK Rule and Law Changes","item":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"News Articles on Home and Lifestyle Rules and Regulations","item":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/news\/homes-and-lifestyle\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"New Headlamp Alignment Test Seen by MOT Modernisation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/","name":"UK Rules","description":"The UK Rules","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#organization","name":"UK Rules","url":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/logo-white.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/logo-white.svg","width":191,"height":23,"caption":"UK Rules"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10287"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10287"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22113,"href":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10287\/revisions\/22113"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}