Idiots with fog lights on!! GRRRR

[RedRobin]

If your car never had front fog lights as some cars don't, wouldn't you want the person if front of you to have on their rear fogs lights (providing it's foggy of course), so that you could see them from further afield as a safety measure? I know I would.

You're missing my point - I'm saying what is the point in being able to control them independently? If it's foggy, it's foggy, and if your car has front and rear fog lights surely you need both on. When is there ever going to be a scenario when you just need your front ones on?

....Totally logical, Dr. Spock, but all the front lights (except proper dedicated DRL's) are 'active' lights giving a beam, not 'passive' signal lights as the rears are and so it's the rears that need to be stronger to then be seen in fog.

[sub39h]

1) people who drive with dipped lights and fog lights -why?why? I have noticed this more with cars that dont have xenons.. connection?
2) people who use fog lights INSTEAD of dipped lights... why mother of god is this better than using dipped beams??? These are the worse kind of idiots    totally inexcusable!!

1) i reckon the vast majority of cars on the market that have xenons will also have auto lights, which would presumably just be left in auto

2) maybe their headlight is out? not an excuse but that might be the reason!

[andrewparker]

If your car never had front fog lights as some cars don't, wouldn't you want the person if front of you to have on their rear fogs lights (providing it's foggy of course), so that you could see them from further afield as a safety measure? I know I would.

You're missing my point - I'm saying what is the point in being able to control them independently? If it's foggy, it's foggy, and if your car has front and rear fog lights surely you need both on. When is there ever going to be a scenario when you just need your front ones on?

....Totally logical, Dr. Spock, but all the front lights (except proper dedicated DRL's) are 'active' lights giving a beam, not 'passive' signal lights as the rears are and so it's the rears that need to be stronger to then be seen in fog.

I don't get what you're saying - are you saying there is a reason why you can just activate the fronts and not the rears?

[RedRobin]

If your car never had front fog lights as some cars don't, wouldn't you want the person if front of you to have on their rear fogs lights (providing it's foggy of course), so that you could see them from further afield as a safety measure? I know I would.

You're missing my point - I'm saying what is the point in being able to control them independently? If it's foggy, it's foggy, and if your car has front and rear fog lights surely you need both on. When is there ever going to be a scenario when you just need your front ones on?

....Totally logical, Dr. Spock, but all the front lights (except proper dedicated DRL's) are 'active' lights giving a beam, not 'passive' signal lights as the rears are and so it's the rears that need to be stronger to then be seen in fog.

I don't get what you're saying - are you saying there is a reason why you can just activate the fronts and not the rears?

....More a case of being able to just activate the rear foglight and not the fronts.

The rear is much more important to safety and hence why it's illegal (MOT) not to have one or not have it working.

[andrewparker]

Yeah, exactly. I can't think of a situation where it would be appropriate to only have the front ones on, hence I don't understand why fog light aren't simply on or off.

Anyway - what a bloody annoying topic!

[richtung]

1) people who drive with dipped lights and fog lights -why?why? I have noticed this more with cars that dont have xenons.. connection?
2) people who use fog lights INSTEAD of dipped lights... why mother of god is this better than using dipped beams??? These are the worse kind of idiots    totally inexcusable!!

1) i reckon the vast majority of cars on the market that have xenons will also have auto lights, which would presumably just be left in auto

2) maybe their headlight is out? not an excuse but that might be the reason!

1) if its on auto, why the need to manually turn on the fog lights when it isnt foggy?
2) Ive seen this too often for it to be coincedence. Both dipped beam bulbs out at the same time?? i dont reckon so...

[stealthwolf]

^^^Both my dipped beams went out simultaneously a few months back. Didn't realise until I had to drive home. Swapped one dipped with a main beam bulb and nothing. Meant I had to drive with fogs on. Passed two cop cars and neither said anything. Got them changed within 24 hours with new bulbs which worked fine.

Having said that, it seems to be all the rage the past two years that I've noticed it. Either dipped and fogs or sidelights and fogs. I once tried fogs and dipped on a country road and other than illuminating the kerbs, it did nothing else. It is completely useless IMO and people should be pulled over for it.

I've yet to encounter any weather where I've needed foglights in the past few years. When I lived in Dorset, there were roads where patches of mist would be dense enough to warrant it. For around five seconds. The last time I remember dense fog requiring fogs was when I was about 8. Rear fogs were just about visible and everyone was crawling at around 10-20 mph on the motorway.

[Janner_Sy]

What i hate is the retards who flash their lights at me because they think I have fog lights turned on when they are actually DRLs. 

[RedRobin]

What i hate is the retards who flash their lights at me because they think I have fog lights turned on when they are actually DRLs. 

....Agreed, though I get less of it nowadays as people are getting more used to DRLs on cars.

I think your DRLs on your Fabia are exactly the same as mine - Hella 3-LED 'monkey face' lights.

[chrisr763]

I decided to complie a list of cars thismorning without their lights on. It was raining a visibility was pretty poor.

- Ford KA
- Poshe 911
- 3 BMW X3's
- Merc Van
- BMW 3 Series
- BMW 1 Series
- VW Beetle
- 2 Ford Fiesta's

 

[garrardrj]

I decided to complie a list of cars thismorning without their lights on. It was raining a visibility was pretty poor.

- Ford KA
- Poshe 911
- 3 BMW X3's
- Merc Van
- BMW 3 Series
- BMW 1 Series
- VW Beetle
- 2 Ford Fiesta's

 

And mine Edition 30 .... parked in my drive ....as usual

[chrisr763]

Well i almost quoted all the cars in the carpark... But i thought that slightly unfair! 

[gulfstream11]

When did this become legal.A work colleague got fined a few years back for having his foglights on during good weather.I does,nt really bother me to see this but there is a process to activating the fogs,(well there is on all the cars I owned) so the driver must fully intend to use them maybe for safety reasons or just plain posing. 

[RedRobin]

When did this become legal.
A work colleague got fined a few years back for having his foglights on during good weather.I does,nt really bother me to see this but there is a process to activating the fogs,(well there is on all the cars I owned) so the driver must fully intend to use them maybe for safety reasons or just plain posing.  

....You are dead right about the act of switching fogs on being conscious and intentional.

I don't know about the exact legal detail but I remember reading (when I was researching DRLs in 2008) that the UK was initially anti DRLs (now overridden by EU vehicle manufacturing rules) but stated it would accept the use of foglights as an interim if obliged to comply with Europe. Who knows if Police forces services have been briefed accordingly but I guess that many people can't tell the difference and that using fogs in unfoggy conditions has become more acceptable due to the increasing appearance of DRLs.

I bet that there are plenty of motorists out there who think that DRLs are foglights  .

[Kalpsn2000]

When did this become legal.
A work colleague got fined a few years back for having his foglights on during good weather.I does,nt really bother me to see this but there is a process to activating the fogs,(well there is on all the cars I owned) so the driver must fully intend to use them maybe for safety reasons or just plain posing.  

....You are dead right about the act of switching fogs on being conscious and intentional.

I don't know about the exact legal detail but I remember reading (when I was researching DRLs in 2008) that the UK was initially anti DRLs (now overridden by EU vehicle manufacturing rules) but stated it would accept the use of foglights as an interim if obliged to comply with Europe. Who knows if Police forces services have been briefed accordingly but I guess that many people can't tell the difference and that using fogs in unfoggy conditions has become more acceptable due to the increasing appearance of DRLs.

I bet that there are plenty of motorists out there who think that DRLs are foglights  .

I have noticed more people seem to be using them and think this is the reason.