Fog Lights

Joe_Horner

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

They're both the same power.

Not necessarily.

Brake lights must be between 15 and 36W bulbs but there's no power (or intensity) restriction on rear fogs so they could have a 1kW arc burner in them if you wanted

More realistically, fogs are allowed to have (and generally do) a narrower angle of visibility - 50 degrees horizontally and 5 degrees vertically for fogs compared to 90 degrees horizontally and between 20 and 30 degrees vertically (dependent on the height of the lamp unit) for brake lights.

That means that, for the same total light output, a rear fog can give something like 4 times the intensity for any poor sod behind it.

scheming_gypsy

i knew i wasn't imagining it!!

goonarmy

Its a choice. Personally ive used cars equipped with front fogs and unsurprisingly the field of veiw is greater. Very selfish to rob on coming traffic if theirs though. And as for rear fogs i think people confuse the switch for that of a heated rear window switch. Just a little theory i came up with when working with joe public and their cars.

[Deleted User]

goonarmy wrote: »

And as for rear fogs i think people confuse the switch for that of a heated rear window switch.

That may have been the case years ago, when the fog lamps and heated windows both used illuminated flick switches



but most modern cars have completely different switches, for the two systems.

fivetide

WTFH wrote: »

Is that when they are indicating, by any chance?
Some VWs do that - you put on the indicator and the fog light on that side comes on, or if you turn it will also come on. It only occurs at slower speeds.

All VAG stuff seems to do it and Citroen I think. Those are the ones that stand out.

Not sure how this isn't "inappropriate use of lights" which is what you get a ticket for if plod ever bother to actually stop any of the hundreds of idiots you see driving like this on a daily basis.

I'm amazed plod haven't picked up on it. Would be like shooting fish in a barrel for them.

dibuzz

Sidelights with fogs seem to be the fashion here at the moment but what amazes me most is how many cars are out before 7am with no lights on at all. The odd one I can understand but I see 3 or 4 every morning and am only out for 20 minutes.

goonarmy

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

That may have been the case years ago, when the fog lamps and heated windows both used illuminated flick switches



but most modern cars have completely different switches, for the two systems.

No, my data was collected recently.

Retrogamer

I've always wondered this myself.

Seems to be either:

They had them on when foggy once, and forgot to turn them off so every time they put on dipped lights / sidelights the front fogs come on as well without them realising.

They think that because people have daytime driving lights on when they drive around, this gives them cause to join in with fog lights.

They can't see well at night and think the foglights help them a bit.


Either way, annoys me a lot.

ado

Rear fog lights - drivers forget to turn them off.
Front fog lights - drivers turn them on to look cool!

Either way they are annoying and display a lack of regard for other road users or awareness for what is going on inside their own vehicles.