Lum's guide to proper fog light use

poppasmurf_bewdley

If I had my way, every time a fog light is switched on a large light would flash continually on the dash saying "FOG LIGHT", whilst at the same time a klaxon would sound every two seconds. That way, they would soon be switched off when not absolutely necessary.

By the way, all the above do not apply to BMW drivers, or those cars with go faster stripes, who do seem to be the major offenders in this area.

epninety

I still don't understand why, when all new cars are computerised, the foglights aren't linked to the engine management?

If you want to drive faster than 30mph, you probably don't need you foglights switched on, and vice versa

sunshinetours

Its the rear ones that IMO are the most dangerous when used inappropriately. It hugely increases the time it takes to see the brake lights (assuming they are working of course!) and become very tiresome on the eyes, especially in town driving when I can think of probably one or two times ever in over twenty years these would have been actually needed

However probably more worrying is the apparent number of people with varying degrees of night blindness. get your eyes tested if you are finding you are struggling with bright lights all the time rather than blaming the lights, it may be an eye condition that needs correcting or treating

System

prowla wrote: »

Rear lights are a right pain in the backside; they should make it a law that they all cancel when you turn off the engine

That used to be standard on Vauxhall Cavaliers. The switch stayed in the ON position but the latching relay dropped out. You had to switch them off then on again to get them to work again. Why they then ditched it for later models is beyond me.

vikingaero

Fog lights should be like a tarts knickers - on, off, on, off.

If you can see the lights of the car/streetlight a couple of hundred metres ahead then you don't need your foglights on.

You don't need foglights on in urban traffic where you are constantly queuing.

Foglights on in inappropriate conditions and spray can desensitise drivers to your brake lights.

NBLondon

TrickyWicky wrote: »

I've been driving for 5 or 6 years and only ever actually needed to use my foglights genuinely 4 - 5 times.

I've been driving (pause to count on fingers) 27 and a bit years and have needed to use fog lights less than 10 times - always in rural parts of the North (Peak District, North York Moors, Cumbria).

I've been driving in London for the last 15 and have only ever used them to tell a [EMAIL="w@nk£r"]w@nk£r[/EMAIL] they've left theirs on :mad:

mattyprice4004

SLITHER99 wrote: »

I just turn em on all the time. My car looks way cooler that way!

Wrong, you just look like a tool. Don't be a willy, get them turned off.

photome

Mrs_Imp wrote: »

Sometimes it's unavoidable. I did the Snake Pass one winter's night. Halfway over, we hit thick fog. It wasn't safe or practical to stop. I ended up driving at walking pace with DH looking out of the side window watching the edge of the road, I kept a close eye on the centre white line, while watching for oncoming cars. Not my favourite journey ever. It wasn't helped my the idiot who raced up behind me, then didn't like that I was going so slowly, so he bunged his full beams on. I had to stop completely, as all I could see was his light reflecting off the fog in all directions.

I do use fogs in heavy spray on the motorway if I find the cars in front of me disappearing.

Wrong ! especially if you mean rear, and if you dont mean rear why do use the front ?

reeac

photome wrote: »

I have been driving for 30 plus years doing over 30000 miles a year for a lot of that time and havent used my fogs many more times than you.

Problem is none of the w@nk£rs (as you put it) will be reading this thread

My Jag. has foglamps and in nearly 11 years of ownership I've tried them once in fog and found still dipped headlamps to be better. It would require a really dense fog to make them advantageous.
I think that it all goes back to the days of the old Lucas 7 inch "sealed beam" lamps which had a rather poorly defined dipped beam with lots of back-scatter in fog. Once the so-called Continental sharp cut-off dipped beam came in in the 1970's dipped headlamps became useable in all but the densest fog.

Imp

photome wrote: »

Wrong ! especially if you mean rear, and if you dont mean rear why do use the front ?

I hate to stick up for the Mrs, but I did a quick look through the regulations referenced in the original post (The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989), and they do not mention fog, except with reference to a fog lamp. Fog lamps should not be used except "in conditions of seriously reduced visibility." How the visibility is reduced is not mentioned.

Therefore, you could legitimately use fog lamps in fog, smoke, heavy spray from other vehicles, snow; I have even been in rain which was so heavy I slowed down to about 30mph on a motorway and came off at the next junction because I couldn't see more than about 50 yards in front of me.

So the test you should be making is "is the visibility seriously reduced?", not "is it foggy?"