Fog Light Use...
 

I'm on the verge of totally flipping out and putting a claw hammer in my car.

What is the deal with the number of complete and utter morons who insist on driving around with their damn front foglights on all the time? I would love to blame this idiotic use of the things on young drivers, but the majority of people who do it appear to be well into their middle ages. I don't get it, is it because you think it looks cool? Is it because your so senile you don't understand what the little light on your dash is? Or are you just a complete ****er?

If I don't calm down soon about it, I'm going to start following these idiots home and removing their ability to blind other drivers with the previously mentioned claw hammer.

Mind you, they do get upset when I put my full beam on and refuse to dip my lights regardless how many times they flash.

:mad:

I hate drivers who use their fogs all the time!!! Its bad enough when idiots forget to turn off their main beam. Your struggling to see the road ahead, and almost hit that barrier, and swerve into that ditch!!
I never drive around with my fogs on unless it is FOGGY!!

Also...

TURN OFF YOUR REAR FOG LIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!

:nono: :nono: :nono: :nono:

Couldn't agree more. Drives me mad as well.

Rear fog lights left on are worse then front ones. Also, doesn't anyone use a handbrake anymore at traffic lights? Cars these days have high level brake lights and when you're sitting behind someone at the lights you get blinded at night when sitting in traffic.

Some of you need to calm down.

It's a set of front lights, how does it hurt you?

Rear ones can be annoying, but fronts ones dont dazzle me, why would that upset you?

Chill!

i have 8000K HID headlights.... i am thinking about getting a set just so i can see.....

Its a £30 fine if plod catch you with em on,if its not foggy:rolleyes: I agree its not as bad as approaching a car with its full beam on tho.:mad:

depends onthe fog lights, the car, etc! some can be very bright...far brighter than full beam...well bar HID's as they just irritating period.

I always put my full beam on to try and persuade them to turn em off.

AFAIK the law about using them refers to poor visibility not just foggy conditions.

I sometimes use my fronts in exceptional rain during the day - my view is the more light you have on the more chance of people seeing you and not pulling out on you etc.

What really p's me off is people driving with no lights during the day when its raining/foggy etc. Their attidude is why do i need lights I can see where I am going - sod everyone else!! :cuckoo:

This really pi$$es me off too!! :mad:

Seem people round my way use their front fogs to substitute having a headlight not working. May be OK as a temporary fix, but I see the same cars doing it everyday.

there seem to be a lot of people that have to use their main beam on the motorway/dualler simply because their eyesight is too bad to see without it!!! shocking!!!

Although the standard lights on my classic are shocking,its like driving by candlelight.

Gosh - if its OK for you then it must be OK. perhaps, possibly, they *do* dazzle other people ?

Try driving round in a low sportscar in rain when some idiot in a 4x4 approaches with full fogs on.

They're not "rain" lights or "mist" lights but fog lights for Seriously reduced visibility.

I agree its irritating but is it any excuse to smash someones car to pieces with a claw hammer.

I use mine on country lanes when it's chucking it down as I get a better view of the roadsurface.

On the open road, it's strictly in dense fog only.

I think some people think fogs make their cars look "classier"

Oh dear.

From highway code:


211: You MUST NOT use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced (see Rule 201) as they dazzle other road users and can obscure your brake lights. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves.
Law RVLR regs 25 & 27

Sounds like you need to go on some anger management courses :)

Everyone hates it when people do this, and middle lane drivers etc.. So where on earth do they all come from?!

I've never once heard anyone agree with any of the above :confused:

I suspect they're all the people that vote.

East Ayrshire Council: Advice For Road Users - Driving In Fog

has some info on fog lights and their use. In general, you are only permitted to use fog lights when visibility is less than 100m (ie you can't see anything at 100m, not that something at 100m away is slightly duller than on a bight sunny day ;)).

The worst offendors are those who have their fog lights on when it's raining or has been raiing and the ground is wet, especially at night. Fog lights by design tend to aim towards the ground to illuminate the area about 2 - 7 metres in front of the car (ie it's only really of use if you are driving quite slowly). For oncoming vehicles, this means that much of this light will be reflected back off the road surface, into the eyes of the driver. Not so much a problem on a wide dual carriageway or motorway, but on a typical A or B road, the driver can't really divert their eyes away from the road.

It's much worse at night on emptier roads, as you will have been driving along with full beam on. With an oncoming car you have to return to dipped beam, meaning you can't see nearly as well. If you are then temporarily blinded by some idiot with their fog lights on (with the reflected light off the road - made much worse if they are driving uphill towards you!), when you pass them, you eyes take a few seconds to adjust to the new lighting conditions.

It's similar to being in a darkened room, walking out into bright sunlight, you have to squint for a second or two. If you then go back into ther dark room again, you won't be able to see anything for a few seconds.

On the road, you could easily misjudge a corner, not spot something on the road like a pothole, mud, verge etc, and have a serious accident. All because the idiot coming the other way wanted to see slightly better. If they were driving at "normal" speeds, then they should be looking well ahead in the road, and beyond the limited range that fog lights can help with.

John

... which will consist of stalking the streets with a claw hammer and smashing to pieces foglights that are lit in contravention of HC rule 211 until you are 'cured' of your anger .... :D

Dave

PS: I have a Passat and you can only turn the fogs on IF the headlights are on as well. That means, lights out, fogs out. Should be compulsory for ALL new cars that IF you turn the lights off OR turn the ignition off then the fogs go off and MUST be explicitly turned on again. That would sort out half the problem. The other half needs the claw hammer!

It's odd because I saw a DBM classic on Saturday as I was driving back home at about 11am. Side lights and front fogs blazing away. "Tw@", I thought to myself :lol1:

Never felt the need to rush off and arm myself with a claw hammer though! ;)

I must concur with most of the above!
But rear fogs that are on just because its been raining really gets my blood boiling. LOL.
I don't carry claw hammers, only a portable insult making machine that can be instantly packed away in case of trouble!
It consists of either one or more fingers placed in a suitable pose! Lets just say it can be the one handed version of this:- :hjtwofing
But you already worked that out :D

Exactly when you shouldn't use them, as it will dazzle oncoming vehicles who could potentially crash into you or go off the road.

Everyone would have a much better view of the road surface if they used full beam and/or fog lights at all times, but it's not very considerate towards other road users.

John

Exactly my idea. :lol1:

Look at it this way - I'm doing them a favour - obviously they don't know where the switch is so I'm just turning them off. Permanently.

Your right about the rear brake lights as well.

What has amazed me in the past are the people who have their fogs on and one of the bulbs is faulty. If I was a copper I'd take great pleasure in awarding them 6 points!

Surely this applies more at night ??

why can they come on with sidelights only?

that has always puzzled me TBH

Thats probably part of the problem - if they only came on with dipped it would stop 1/3 of the idiots I see with them on..

Although they'd probably just drive around with their dips on in the middle of the day then..