In many cases, it can feel tempting to import a car from abroad. However, this can come with a range of potential issues, and left-hand drive is just one such example. In line with this thought, today, we’re looking at what UK drivers need to know about left-hand drive cars. This should help you decide whether these will work for your driving needs, too.
But remember: driving a left-hand model’s much different than many of us are used to. As such, always weigh up carefully whether this is right for your needs.
Why Might a Car Be Left-Hand Drive in the UK?
If a car has a left-hand drive in the UK, this is most likely due to it being an import. Indeed, grey imports from outside of the EU are often most likely to be the cause. Indeed, cars outside of the UK are not always designed for driving on the left-hand side of the road.
In contrast, since we drive on the left at home, our cars are right-hand drives; sitting on the right of the car and driving on the left of the road makes it significantly easier for us to judge the distance of oncoming vehicles. Thus, if your wheels on the left, it’s easy to see why this could cause a problem on UK roads.
To find out if a car has been imported, you can try a vehicle check. This will reveal the date of import along with other details, such as where it was imported from and how many owners the car has had since then.
Can I Drive a Left-Hand Car in the UK?
UK cars feature the steering wheel on the right. However, this doesn’t mean it’s technically illegal to drive a left-hand car. In fact, there’s nothing to stop you from purchasing a left-hand model and importing it into the country. Of course, that’s assuming that the car meets the main safety requirements.
Making Modifications to an Imported Left-Hand Car
With that in mind, you may need to consider that left-hand-drive cars may have higher insurance premiums. Indeed, given the greater difficulty with judging the distance of oncoming cars, it’s easy to see why insurers charge more. Thus, you will need to declare the left-hand nature of the car when taking out an insurance policy.
In addition, your left-hand car may require slight modifications before you can drive it on UK roads. One of the most obvious changes you may need to make is in terms of the vehicle’s headlights; indeed, foreign manufacturers design these to not dazzle other left-hand drivers, but they may not protect UK road users. Thus, you may need to install headlight adapters as well.
Furthermore, be sure to consider whether your chosen vehicle measures speed in km/h or mph. You don’t necessarily need to change this on the car. However, it’s vital you know how to convert km/h into mph in your head; otherwise, you could risk breaking speed limits. Naturally, this could leave you endangering other road users and getting points on your licence – or even banned.
Now, if you’re buying a left-hand vehicle that’s already in the country, these changes will hopefully have been made already. However, this isn’t guaranteed, so always double check carefully. Don’t forget to run a car history check to ensure the vehicle hasn’t been in any collisions or crashes, too!
