Matt Bristol

Tonight I was driving down to the Garage to fill up on some lovely V-Power and I noticed a police car in front of me, So I managed to behave myself and drive sensibly Until...
**Flashing lights** He pulls me over.

He asked me if I knew why he had pulled me over, and I told him that I had no idea. To which he replied " you have your fog-lights on"
at this point I was thinking to myself seriously doesn't this guy have anything better to do than to pull me over for having my fog-lights on?

He said that they were dazzling him, which is a lie because they shine at the ground...

He said that if he was a traffic officer, he would have given me a ticket.

Does anyone know the laws on this? and if it is ok/not ok to drive with the fog-lights on?

Cheers,

Matt

rock181

indeed, he speaks the truth dude, it is an offence, but what a sad git

LoftyMan

iTrader: (1)

It is illegal to drive with your foglights on when they are not needed; i.e, when its sunny.

fortunately it is pretty unlikely that they will pull you for this, but you can get a £60 fine and 3 points so I really would just turn them off.

They will find any reason to give you a ticket so you may of got lucky if he wasnt a traffic officer.

LouisB

iTrader: (8)

Must of been bored. But saying that it ****ing annoys me when people are on my **** with fog lights on and **** HID's etc.

LoftyMan

iTrader: (1)

Audi HiDs are worse than foglights. I dont know how they are not illegal. They look like there always on full beem!!

mouseb

I was driving down the A45 one night and came up behind a marked police car i followed him for a few miles and when i came to my turn of i indicated to pull of and he stopped on the chevrons pulled up behind me followed me for about 5 mins and then lights lol pulled me over and asked if i new why ide bin pulled over like you i said i have no ide to witch he said we wondered why you were following us lmao.

...seamus...

fog light ******* do my nut in

as do full beam biker *****

chopperman

The highway code says fog lights should not be used unless visibility is less than 100m. Don't think its an offence though that could get you fined or points.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Who said fogs point to the ground? I would take another look if I were you, they point (as unlike headlights) forward and can point virtually straight, which can dazzle, so take the 30 (or is it 60 now) quid fine and dont put them on unless the fog really is thick, then you may see why you need them (and no, the copper isnt a sad git, I really HATE people who drive with their front fogs on, it glares/dazzles other road users).

Tony

scooberuni

You say 'fog light *******' but how easy is it to leave them on?
You could easily be driving back from somewhere foggy and leave
the button pressed, not using your car again till the next night.
But people who put them on purposely to make themselves look
cool, yeah, *******!

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

I never use front fog lights (because I don't have any!), but people who do when there's no need to are just ****'s. Yes, it's against the law so leave them off in the future as people will think you're an inconsiderate idiot.

Beastie

iTrader: (2)

I too am very particular about this. Imagine my embarassment to find i had been driving around with my fog lights on too!!!

Reason? my nieces had been playing in the car and had obviously tried every button

wrx9181

iTrader: (2)

Lol
It's his job budd , you were doing something wrong he pulled you ?
This sometimes leads to a drink driver being found out etc etc
Good police work IMHO

zayd

iTrader: (1)

I've seen many a police car with their front fog lights on! This is around the East London area, to be precise.

Jimbob

iTrader: (13)

Take it you`ve never used your car in thick fog, as the fog lights are next to useless as they give no more than 4ft of light in front. And they only really give some extra width to the dipped lights.
The fogs set up correctly should light up the hole left by the dipped beam, from the front of the car to the lower edge of the dipped beam as it hits the road.
For anyone to say they are dazzled by a correctly set up fog light, is reacting to a hatred of fogs being on, rather than being dazzled.

If you want dazzling off a legal light, try Audi`s LED running lights, and some standard fit Xenon headlights with auto levellers. They are truly dangerous at times. Then there are HID`s in Halogen lamps, beam everywhere.

The Rig

iTrader: (13)

i was under the impression on classics anyway,they are not fog lights, they are extra driving lights.

The bulbs in them are not any brighter than headlights so can be used when not foggy ?

Jimbob

iTrader: (13)

Well my switch is the generic fog lamp image, but they also turn on the other sidelights as the first click of the stalk does.
Like this.


But with all these daylight running stupidly bright led things going on, and HID/Xenons, its a bit rich to say that they are they dazzle when set up correctly.

But they are fog lights, unless they are real driving lamps (different beam pattern) and they should ONLY come on with main beam.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

The ones on MOST classics are, indeed, fogs, and worse than useless.

Only the RB5 and the P1 got driving lights as standard, but there are many running round with driving lights now, as there were/are lots of kits.

If driving lights are wired correctly they will ONLY come on with main beam.

Foglights aren't meant to light the four feet in front of a car at all. They are meant to have a wide, flat beam, mounted low down, which throws as far forwards as is possible, so as to try and shine UNDER fog, and show obstacles in/on the road.
The beam width allows you to see kerbs for road positioning etc.
Allegedly

CREWJ

I wish more police would pull people over for having their fogs on. Really does my nut in with everyone leaving them on/putting them on on purpose.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Considering that I had my first car with fog lights back in 1993, I have probably never needed to use the front fogs more than 5 times between then and now, thats 19 years and I live up in the hills where the general visibility drops far more than it does elsewhere.
As for the use of fog lights, yes they give out light but useless? No they are not, but you have to use your brain and decrease speed so they are effective
Fog lights also give a beam directly in front of the car, this is their major issue in good conditions, they do not come under the MOT rules so do not have to be tested for direction, which makes every muppet that uses them in decent conditions a potential hazzard to other road users.
Xenons can glare, ive seen some that do and some that dont, as per the MOT they are suppose to be pointing in towards the left hand kerb, now with the other hid kits (hence why they are on the list to be come illegal) is that they are not suited to alot of cars that run/ran halogen bulbs due to the crap way they distribute light, sooner those are banned the better, but fog lights should only be used when the visibility is less than 100m, most people seem to think thats either a sunny day or visibility in excess of 500m and they can maintain their speed and not slow down

Tony

Lagamorph

iTrader: (12)

Yup, fog lights in daylight, true sign of a bell end imo . Accidentally leaving them switched on the night before is no excuse either as all bulbs should be checked before starting a journey. I doubt any of us actually bother though.

Flagged down a traffic officer on thursday to tell him his Headlight was out he was not impressed and got very defensive haha.

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

Driving with fog lights on makes you look like a ****! dont do it.

CharlySkunkWeed

iTrader: (7)

Front Fogs are only supposed to come on with your full beam , so if u have them on during the day (on a seperate switch) the cops know you are being a div . Thats why when you buy them, the kit comes with a relay to be wired with the full beam. MOT picks this up , how its been missed i dont know.

apac

iTrader: (2)

The poor old OP got heat from the Fuzz and now gets flamed on the forum!

Blue by You

iTrader: (23)

Another vote here for the anti fog light brigade.

However as said this bobby wasn't a traffic cop, so maybe his time (that we pay for) could have been better served catching some proper villains.

As annoying as it might be to see people running with fogs on in clear conditions, it's not exactly up there with burglars and child molesters, is it?

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

Nope.
Every car I have had is able to have fogs on without the need for main beam. Infact, I find main beam useless in thick fog. Low beam and fog lights is far better.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

nah, you are getting driving lights and fogs mixed up
Fogs are independent and can be switched on with the side lights on, driving lights come on with the full beam to give extra light

Tony

CharlySkunkWeed

iTrader: (7)

On further investigation on MOT rules on front fogs , i give up ! Turns out they arent a necessary light , so arent included in the test ( if they are , the tester is wrong)

So ignore me !

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Hi mate, unless you are confusing "full beam" with "Dips beam", you are wrong.

Foglights come on only if sidelights are selected. They are SUPPOSED to be used WITH dip beam.

It's driving lights that come with a relay and only come on with full/main beam, going off when dips are selected again.

Galifrey

iTrader: (3)

Same, people who are unaware they still have them on by accident or those that put them on deliberately are just as bad as one another imho.

Even when driving in fog patches I turn mine on and off as required by the visibility.

Day after or even a week after some fog you see idiots who STILL have front and rear turned on, and the offence is allowing your lights to dazzle other road users, the same offence for improperly adjusted headlights, sitting at dark traffic lights with your foot on the brake, not dipping your headlights when required etc etc, all of which has a marked effect on your night vision.