Fog lights and Fog

[Harrison]

Why is it that the idiots drive around all year with their front fog lights on (and some with their rears), but as soon as we get heavy fog they don't turn them on at all? And some don't even put their normal headlights on!

The other day it was really foggy coming back from work, to the point where I couldn't see parked cars and lamp posts suddenly appeared out of the fog a few meters in front. But there were still loads of drivers without any fog lights on at all, and I don't think they realise you can't see them at all with just the standard rear lights on.

The following morning (Friday) it was still really thick fog, but now light, and half the drivers didn't have any lights on at all. WTF? :wooha::double

Why do people think cars are fitted with fog lights?:nuts:

 

[johnim]

I know mate I ride a honda125 without fog lights but have my lights on all the time but as you say cars have none on I have had a few near misses due to not seeing them silly ****ers

 

[Arnie]

I had some numpty with front fogs on, rear fogs off, overtaking me in thick fog just to gain a car space :nuts:

 

[Buzzfuzz]

It's really quite simple here in the Netherlands.
Front: Less than 200 meters even in heavy rain.
Rear: Less than 50 meters.

Although you need to have on your car and working (if you don't you will fail an MOT anyway), it's not mandatory to have it on and you can't be fined for it.

However if I were to pop over the border to Belgium then it becomes different.

Front: Fog/snow/rain, no minimum, but only in those conditions.
Rear: Fog/snow/rain, less than 100 meters mandatory!

Germany is the same as us, but do pay attention to only using them when it really is the case, because Germans hate it when fronts are on for no reason and certainly when back is on for no reason.

For those of you who don't know, Germany has a point system also for foreign drivers!
They will disappear after 2 years, but if you come in the range of 3 or more you could lose your license!

(gilt auch für 30 km-Zone !)
bis 10 km/h 15,- EUR
11-15 km/h 25,- EUR
16-20 km/h 35,- EUR
21-25 km/h 80,- EUR, 1 Punkt
26-30 km/h 100,- EUR, 3 Punkte
31-40 km/h 160,- EUR, 3 Punkte, 1 Monat Fahrverbot
41-50 km/h 200,- EUR, 4 Punkte, 1 Monat Fahrverbot
51-60 km/h 280,- EUR, 4 Punkte, 2 Monate Fahrverbot
61-70 km/h 480,- EUR, 4 Punkte, 3 Monate Fahrverbot
über 70 km/h 680,- EUR, 4 Punkte, 3 Monate Fahrverbot

 

[roy_bates]

this is nearly as bad as the idiots who drive ten feet behind someone else on a motorway at 70 mph in heavy rain let alone good conditions and i see that all the time.icard

what makes these fools think they can stop in time?....numpties.

 

[mjnurney]

a pet hate ....

Grrrrrrrrrrrr

fog lights - not using indicators and xenon headlights (the blue things)

horse whipping !! hangings too good for em!!!

sometimes i wish i was a traffic cop.

 

[stephenfalken]

Sadly its the young drivers today thinking that front fog lights are a fashion accessory and must be on at all times. Even in a clear day!

They really wind me up.

The thing that really ****es me off though are people on their phones while driving. (holding the phone I mean, not hands free). I live in Blackburn and drivers round here must be the worst in the country for it, for some reason they just keep getting away with it!

The other day I was waiting at a red light and what do I see coming the other way? A young female driver LOOKING DOWN at her phone as if sending a text! No wonder her car was wobbling from side to side!

I tell ya I could make a fortune as a freelance traffic officer if I got commission for each one I catch!

My other pet hate is illegal number plates, as in they are deliberately spaced incorrectly or in the wrong font. Why does the ANPR not detect these and send them a fine?

Regards

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Arnie]

this is nearly as bad as the idiots who drive ten feet behind someone else on a motorway at 70 mph in heavy rain let alone good conditions and i see that all the time.icard

what makes these fools think they can stop in time?....numpties.

I travel along the A47 to work and back and it has a couple of 40/50mph zones. I keep to these speed limits but it seems to activate a magnet in my rear bumper which pulls numpties closer. Sorry numpties

 

[rkauer]

In Brazil front/rear fog lights must be used only in heavy rain and fog (captain obvious).

Using front or rear fog lights outside those conditions generates a fine.

Too bad stupid people insist in keeping those damn lights on all the time!

 

[Harrison]

In theory the same is true in the UK, however you hardly ever see people pulled over for it. It amazes me how oblivious most are to having their rear fog lights on at the wrong time.

Another is people driving at night and not realising their headlights are not on. Are there lights so bad they can't tell the difference? Oh, and people with no working brake lights (how do you alert them to this?), or their brake lights stuck on!

And I get people tailgating me all the time. Especially when the speed limit slows down. Right by the turning into the lane where I live the speed limit goes from national to 40, so I slow down and do the speed limit, but cars zoom right up behind within inches of the rear. It's always quite amusing to then indicate for my turn early and slow right down before needing to turn. That must really frustrate them.

This evening I saw the end result of, an idiot in a BMW, tailgating. The car shot past me in the 4th lane of the M27 just past Portsmouth, inches from the car in front, heading at over 90 towards the point where the road merges back into 3 lanes. Seconds later all of us in the 3rd lane had to slow to a crawl. As I reached where it merged I had to drive around a rear bumper lying in the middle of the lane... and there was the BMW with his front smashed in and the car in front of him with his rear bumper missing. Will they ever learn? Why don't the police ever prosecute these people for careless driving?

 

[protek]

I don't have fog lights by default so I've been thinking of installing DRLs in their place.

 

[Collz69]

I must admit, in my younger years I was known to ride around with my front fog lights on in all weather, it was cool back then :roll:

I lost count of the times I was pulled over by the police for it!
Once a police van chased me for half a mile to pull me over to "b@%%0%k me" for having them turned on whilst chasing me he ignored a speeding motorbike & a car with no lights on at all
obviously im older & wiser now. lol
but having said that, having front fog lights on is hardly dangerous.

Texting while driving though! icard
Whilst walking the kids to school last week, we were waiting to cross at the lollipop man, when a woman (who was texting) failed to stop, the lollipop man had to dive out of the way!
another driver was beeping at her to warn her but she was oblivious!
:nuts:

 

[Buzzfuzz]

This evening I saw the end result of, an idiot in a BMW, tailgating. The car shot past me in the 4th lane of the M27 just past Portsmouth, inches from the car in front, heading at over 90 towards the point where the road merges back into 3 lanes. Seconds later all of us in the 3rd lane had to slow to a crawl. As I reached where it merged I had to drive around a rear bumper lying in the middle of the lane... and there was the BMW with his front smashed in and the car in front of him with his rear bumper missing. Will they ever learn? Why don't the police ever prosecute these people for careless driving?

That is why I have dashcams, I had 2 of them, 1 in the front and 1 on the rear, but since my new car has completely blinded rear windows, I can only use the front.

I'm looking for a rear version that can be mounted on the outside, for instance near the rear number plate.

People are really backing off when they see that or if someone throws their car from the right lane on to the left without looking or deliberately obstructing me on the left lane (which you can loose your license for).

Cameras are really powerful things, certainly when you are driving :laugh:
But it really is sick that we have to use them, cause a bunch of people think we can ignore the basic rules of driving.

 

[Ed.D]

You would think by now some clever clogs would have invented auto fog lights, activated by some kind of beam technology sampling the visible light and contrast (or something like that).

 

[Harrison]

Problem with that is that even automatic headlights don't always come on when it is just foggy, especially in the daytime, as the sensors only know how light it is.

I do however think front fog lights should only work if headlights are on. I see loads of people driving at night with only their side lights on and front fog lights. That definitely isn't legal or giving them enough light to see.

Also it would be better if all manufacturers designed lights so the fog lights have to be manually turned on each time you drive the car. In all by Peugeot's you turn the fog lights on via an inner dial on the light switch, but when the headlights are turned off it automatically resets the fog lights to off, so they are not on next time you drive. With quite a few cars the fog lights are on a separate switch.

 

[Buzzfuzz]

Also it would be better if all manufacturers designed lights so the fog lights have to be manually turned on each time you drive the car. In all by Peugeot's you turn the fog lights on via an inner dial on the light switch, but when the headlights are turned off it automatically resets the fog lights to off, so they are not on next time you drive. With quite a few cars the fog lights are on a separate switch.

Volkswagen already has this, but if you keep them switched on like I do, that won't work either.
They turn off automatically anyway, when I take the key out.

A simple hygrometer/sensor would do the trick for fog or heavy rain.

 

[Kawazu]

In Sweden 3 out of 10 cars you encounter during night driving is using fog lights with the combination of normal lights.
And ofc that combination is not allowed in Sweden.

I usually flash them with my head beams a couple of times because I find it annoying so face a wall of light and if that does not help I turn on everything I got.

2x xenon lights at 35w
2x head beams at 55w
3x extra head beams at 55w

345w of love coming their way.