Lum's guide to proper fog light use

Joe_Horner

photome wrote: »

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

Use of rears in spray that's that heavy is fine.

Assuming the people in front have their sides on (by no means guaranteed), if the spray is so bad that their sides aren't showing from a reasonable distance, that means neither are yours. In that case, fogs will give the inevitable idiots who're still doing close to the limit those few extra yards to see you in before they make doggy-style lurve to your tailgate.

If you're behind and getting dazzled in such a situation, there's a very good chance indeed that you're too close for the conditions.

prowla

Fog lights and spray do not mix.

photome

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Use of rears in spray that's that heavy is fine.

Assuming the people in front have their sides on (by no means guaranteed), if the spray is so bad that their sides aren't showing from a reasonable distance, that means neither are yours. In that case, fogs will give the inevitable idiots who're still doing close to the limit those few extra yards to see you in before they make doggy-style lurve to your tailgate.

If you're behind and getting dazzled in such a situation, there's a very good chance indeed that you're too close for the conditions.

Disagree...fog lights should only be used in Fog, although I see Imp seems to have found a reg that says differently and admittedley i cant find a reg that says dont use them in the rain....but there should be IMO

Whats with having side lights on in those conditions? You should have headlights on, side lights are another pet hate of mine, why does anyone ever drive with just side lights on, it should be headlights or nothing

Joe_Horner

Yes, you should have headlights on. But you won't see the headlights of the cars in front of you and the cars behind you won't see yours. So, if the rear sidelights of the car ahead are disappearing in the spray then it's a very good indicator that yours are as well. So fogs are acceptable to give the numpty behind the best chance of seeing you.

Bear in mind that the term "fog lights" was coined long before we had motorways, or enough traffic to make spray as much of a problem as it is now. Renaming them something like "seriously reduced visibility marker lights" just so people understand that they're not only used in fog would be just plain silly!

Joe_Horner

prowla wrote: »

Fog lights and spray do not mix.

Of course they do.

You're driving along at a sensible 40mph in appalling conditions and someone's fog lights become visible ahead of you at, say, 100 metres. So you maintain that distance, knowing that the road's very wet and you can't see any further than that. Your're safe

Or, they only have sides on (and headlights at the front), you don't see them until you're within 35 metres of them. You maintain that distance so that you know where they are.

Only, now you're following at less than the "dry" stopping distance and, if they brake suddenly (more likely in spray than in good visibility) you're going to be the first shunt in that "no one saw it coming" motorway pile-up.

It's really quite simple. If the visibility is poor (whether that's from fog, rain, smoke, snow, sandstorm, swarm of locusts.....) and you're having problems with dazzle from fog lights, then you are the one at fault for being too close. Back off until they're still visible but not dazzling.

If the visibility isn't poor then it's a completely different matter and those using them should be made to stare into a WW2 searchlight from 50 yds for an hour.

Lum

photome wrote: »

Whats with having side lights on in those conditions? You should have headlights on, side lights are another pet hate of mine, why does anyone ever drive with just side lights on, it should be headlights or nothing

Sidelights are for being seen, though admittedly on some modern cars the sidelights are so crap that they fail at this function.

Headlights are for seeing.

I tend to use sidelights more in the Mondeo as it's grey and blends into the road surface. I can see fine and headlights don't do anything useful, if anything they reflect off the rain more, but I'm well aware that my car is blending into the rain, so sidelights it is. If the car was neon pink I'd probably use them less often.

It used to be commonplace to use sidelights only half an hour either side of sunset and a long time ago it used to be normal to use sidelights only in streetlit areas

Mrs_Imp

photome wrote: »

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

I absolutely do mean the cars in front. If they start to disappear, then it stands to reason that I will be disappearing from the cars behind me, therefore I will put my rear fog on to make me more visible to them. I don't have front fogs, so I won't be dazzling anyone in front of me.

As others have rightly pointed out, fog lights should be used in conditions of reduced visibility. If I'm dazzling you with my rear fog light, it's time to back off, because you're too close.

photome

Lum wrote: »

Sidelights are for being seen, though admittedly on some modern cars the sidelights are so crap that they fail at this function.

Headlights are for seeing.

I tend to use sidelights more in the Mondeo as it's grey and blends into the road surface. I can see fine and headlights don't do anything useful, if anything they reflect off the rain more, but I'm well aware that my car is blending into the rain, so sidelights it is. If the car was neon pink I'd probably use them less often.

It used to be commonplace to use sidelights only half an hour either side of sunset and a long time ago it used to be normal to use sidelights only in streetlit areas

It used to be common place because cars only had dynamos, these days with alternators that doesnt apply. I maintain there is never any need to only use side lights, if you want to be seen use headlights

photome

Mrs_Imp wrote: »

I absolutely do mean the cars in front. If they start to disappear, then it stands to reason that I will be disappearing from the cars behind me, therefore I will put my rear fog on to make me more visible to them. I don't have front fogs, so I won't be dazzling anyone in front of me.

As others have rightly pointed out, fog lights should be used in conditions of reduced visibility. If I'm dazzling you with my rear fog light, it's time to back off, because you're too close.

well it does seem the regs are on your side. As said though I can count on one hand how many times I have used my fog lights in 100s of thousands of miles so I still dont see the need.

Does it matter if the car in front disappears, so long as you are driving to the conditions

mttylad

I dont have a problem with people using foglights.

Its the to$$ers with the high intensity headlights that are a problem, they dazzle you when they are behind you and dazzle you when they are behind and to the side.

Usually large 4x4's, Audis, BMW and other high spec cars.