Fog Lights - What ARE the correct rules?
Discussion
vonhosen said:
Orillion said:
vonhosen said:
Under Regulation 27 of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 it is an offence for fog lights to be used so as to be lit at any time other than in conditions of seriously reduced visibility.
Does this apply to both front and rear fog lights?Also if one takes note of how short a distance 100 m really is, i.e. between consecutive markers on the motorway, then if the vision is so reduced most sensible drivers will be starting to peg it back a bit before then.
Re OP comment about other drivers flashing their fog lights at him, one assumes this was to indicate that they thought he should have them on as he didn't, or have I got the wrong end of the stick, again!
Personally it seems as if in all other vehicles apart from mine the fog light switch is known as "engage Clark SuperMan Kent vision" as putting the fog lights on seems to allow people to barrel into a bank of fog at 85.
Re OP comment about other drivers flashing their fog lights at him, one assumes this was to indicate that they thought he should have them on as he didn't, or have I got the wrong end of the stick, again!
Personally it seems as if in all other vehicles apart from mine the fog light switch is known as "engage Clark SuperMan Kent vision" as putting the fog lights on seems to allow people to barrel into a bank of fog at 85.
Once heard a story from a traffic bib(if he made it up don't blame me!).Call from m/way emergency 'phone; "I'm on the M-, it's thick fog & the matrix signs have not been switched on yet. How the hell do you expect me to drive at 70 without them on?"
Never underestimate the levels of stupidity out there.
Never underestimate the levels of stupidity out there.
Fog lights, the most annoyingly misused pieces of equipment on any car... by far too many drivers... unfortunately often regarded as a 'macho' accessory and often used to intimidate other drivers (pull over and let me past, I've got my front fog lights on!) Sadly front fog lights often part of the Sports specification of many models, only reinforcing their 'dynamic' image.
IMO Fog lights should extinguish automatically above 45-50 mph (can't be really foggy if you're driving any faster than that) and should be accompanied by a constant reminder buzzer, every few seconds, while they are on, so that people don't forget to switch them off when no longer needed.
Truth is, though, that their misuse is really only an annoyance to right-minded motorists, and not really a hazard as such, although they can be distracting and twin rear fogs could possibly detract from application of brake lights. Surely, cars should only have a single centre-mounted rear fog light.
Must admit, though, that I once had a police patrol car pull in front of me in traffic and flash a 'fog lights off' sign at me because I'd inadvertently left them on after emerging from heavy fog earlier in journey, so we're none of us beyond reproach.
IMO Fog lights should extinguish automatically above 45-50 mph (can't be really foggy if you're driving any faster than that) and should be accompanied by a constant reminder buzzer, every few seconds, while they are on, so that people don't forget to switch them off when no longer needed.
Truth is, though, that their misuse is really only an annoyance to right-minded motorists, and not really a hazard as such, although they can be distracting and twin rear fogs could possibly detract from application of brake lights. Surely, cars should only have a single centre-mounted rear fog light.
Must admit, though, that I once had a police patrol car pull in front of me in traffic and flash a 'fog lights off' sign at me because I'd inadvertently left them on after emerging from heavy fog earlier in journey, so we're none of us beyond reproach.
Edited by NBirkitt on Sunday 2nd January 18:24
Some more recent cars-Ford Galaxies and some Skodas I'm sure there are others-seem to have headlights in the low fog-light position. They have these lights on and no others.
Unless you're inside the vehicle-how are BiB to know if they're front fogs or not?
Please tell me I'm not imagining this!
Unless you're inside the vehicle-how are BiB to know if they're front fogs or not?
Please tell me I'm not imagining this!
standards said:
Some more recent cars-Ford Galaxies and some Skodas I'm sure there are others-seem to have headlights in the low fog-light position. They have these lights on and no others.
Unless you're inside the vehicle-how are BiB to know if they're front fogs or not?
Please tell me I'm not imagining this!
I can imagine a Nissan Juke being a nightmare from this perspective - in much the same way as the current Rolls-Royce Phantom, the headlights/sidelights are not the ones you think they are.Unless you're inside the vehicle-how are BiB to know if they're front fogs or not?
Please tell me I'm not imagining this!
standards said:
Some more recent cars-Ford Galaxies and some Skodas I'm sure there are others-seem to have headlights in the low fog-light position. They have these lights on and no others.
Unless you're inside the vehicle-how are BiB to know if they're front fogs or not?
Please tell me I'm not imagining this!
The Skodas are Daylight Running Lamps (DRLs), the Fords probably are as well.Unless you're inside the vehicle-how are BiB to know if they're front fogs or not?
Please tell me I'm not imagining this!
And it's probably only a matter of time before someone posts on here about being fined for having front fogs switched on (when not foggy) when it's actually the DRLs that the BiB has mistaken for fogs.
Putting aside the use of front foglights in clear conditions, (which serve the good purpose of warning other motorists of the cretinous mentality of the perpetrators) I always thought that front fogs were used partly because they are low down and penetrate under the layer of fog, but mainly so that you could switch your headlights OFF to stop the reflection of the headlight beam from the fog particles making it difficult to see.
That was in the days when we had real pea soup fog. The highway code used to say (and I'm not sure if it still does) that in foggy conditions, a pair of foglamps may be used instead of headlights.
This always made me wonder if this still applied during the hours of darkness when it was foggy.
That was in the days when we had real pea soup fog. The highway code used to say (and I'm not sure if it still does) that in foggy conditions, a pair of foglamps may be used instead of headlights.
This always made me wonder if this still applied during the hours of darkness when it was foggy.
jefword said:
Putting aside the use of front foglights in clear conditions, (which serve the good purpose of warning other motorists of the cretinous mentality of the perpetrators) I always thought that front fogs were used partly because they are low down and penetrate under the layer of fog, but mainly so that you could switch your headlights OFF to stop the reflection of the headlight beam from the fog particles making it difficult to see.
That was in the days when we had real pea soup fog. The highway code used to say (and I'm not sure if it still does) that in foggy conditions, a pair of foglamps may be used instead of headlights.
This always made me wonder if this still applied during the hours of darkness when it was foggy.
Yes your thoughts are correct on how front fog lights are supposed to work, and with most cars having a load aligment facility one can wind down the dipped beams, except on HID, so that back reflected dazzle is minimised. By use of this the fog has to be so thick that, as said above, by the time front fogs give improved vision you are typically down to 10 mph.That was in the days when we had real pea soup fog. The highway code used to say (and I'm not sure if it still does) that in foggy conditions, a pair of foglamps may be used instead of headlights.
This always made me wonder if this still applied during the hours of darkness when it was foggy.
Where visibility is seriously reduced then yes you can just use fogs at night, the law caters for that. RVLR 1989 refers.
OctyVrs said:
Despite every post on this thread... they're not called fog lights.
Just sayin' :-p
Er, technically correct as the Oxford dictionary states that they are Lamps not lights, although the Highway Code refers to headlights and fog lights.Just sayin' :-p
Edited by jefword on Thursday 6th January 17:36
insanojackson said:
good, it takes a second to turn them off and a little light on the dash tells you they are on.
Nope, in one of my cars, the telltale lights, for front and rear foglights, are in the switches which are on the o/s lower level of the dash moulding, way below eyesight when looking forwards.Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff