Driving test Theory Q.

WIAWSNB

One of these Qs which provokes a "Well, it shoorely depends?" response…

"What should you do when you are parked up in fog?"

a) Put your parking light on?

b) Leave your fog light and dripped beams on?

Can't remember the other two options.

To cut to t'chase, when asked (by daughter), I assumed that this meant you had pulled over because the fog was too bad to safely drive in, so answered (b).

It's (a).

paul_c123

If I parked at a Motorway service station in fog, I'd not leave my lights on at all. So it mainly depends WHERE you're parked, as well as why you might have pulled over in the first place. For example it could be moderate fog but you needed a poo really badly. Or thick fog at night time and you're tired. Or medium fog and you've arrived at your destination.

Lorian

It's been some years since I had a car with actual parking lights where you could leave the indicator stalk down and the front and rear right side side lights were left on (or up for left side).

Woodstok2000

These questions are almost always a direct lift from the highway code, in this case:

Rule 251

Parking in fog. It is especially dangerous to park on the road in fog. If it is unavoidable, leave your parking lights or sidelights on.

user1977

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81908042#Comment_81908042

Seems odd they haven't qualified that at all depending on the context.

I'm usually parked on the road, sometimes for days at a time - but this is a well-lit street with designated parking bays and a 20mph limit. I doubt I'm meant to pop down to the car to turn the lights on/off depending on how foggy it is.

facade

They are probably suggesting that you make your car more visible if it is at the side of the road by putting on a parking light.

On the topic of fog…

I've never understood the need for rear blinding lights other than maybe on motorways when there are fog banks.

If I can avoid running into the unlit parked cars strewn everywhere then I'm hardly likely to run into a moving car heading in the same direction as me in fog on just its tail lights, if it was slowing down I'd see the brake lights.

In The Olden Days we used to have Proper Thick Fog (full of nice sulphury smoke too), not the whispy thin stuff they give us nowadays. I remember driving back from work once at walking pace, front fog lights on to pick out the kerb and the white line sticking my head out of the window trying to get a better view and dodging the looming dark shadows of parked cars. (There were only a few cars parked on the streets in The Olden Days, you had to keep them in a "garage" to have any chance of starting them in the morning)

Car_54

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81908035#Comment_81908035

But AFAIK those do not comply with the law in the UK. If the law requires parking lights (e.g. when parked on a road where the limit is more than 30 m.p.h.) then both left and right sidelights and rear lights are required, plus the numberplate light(s).

WIAWSNB

Thanks folks.

That makes sens, Woodstok. If in doubt, follow the HCode!

(Are 'lights' excluded from a modern vehicle's battery-savings auto-shut off, I wonder? Mine won't even let me listen to the radio for more than 20 minutes…)

facade

(Are 'lights' excluded from a modern vehicle's battery-savings auto-shut off, I wonder? Mine won't even let me listen to the radio for more than 20 minutes…)

Depends on the actual car, but as a rule-

If you manually turn the sidelights on they should stay on after you turn the ignition off, or you may have to turn them on after you turn the ignition off.

If the lights are on auto, or you turned the headlights on manually when driving they will go off when you turn the ignition off

adrich

Yeah that’s one of those theory questions where real life and the official answer don’t quite line up.

From what I remember, the logic is that when you’re parked, you shouldn’t be dazzling other drivers, so leaving fog lights + dipped beams on isn’t ideal. Parking lights are just enough to show you’re there without blinding anyone. Makes sense in theory, even if in really thick fog you’d probably want to be as visible as possible.

I used this site when I was sorting driving test cancellations, and their revision bits actually pointed out a few of these types of questions where exam logic doesn’t quite match real-world thinking.

Car_54

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81970644#Comment_81970644

As well as "not ideal", parking with headlights or fog lights is illegal.

FWIW, the syllabus for the Theory Test is not just the HC, but includes "Driving: The Essential Skills". In the unlikely event that the student had actually read that he/she would know "Never park on a road in the fog if you can avoid it…. if it is unavoidable, always leave your parking or sidelights on."