I like many other detest drivers who go around with their rear foglights on when its not foggy.

I do, however, use my front fogs on particularly dark murky nights and on wet nights as I find they help me see the verge and pick out the puddles when on dipped beam and facing oncoming traffic. I see a number of other drivers doing the same and don't find there oncoming fog lights dazzling, in fact I find driving towards a set of xenons much worse.

I am getting a bit pee'ed of at getting flashed by oncoming cars (or even worse get those idiots that put their lights on mainbeam and leave them there). Fog lights are designed to be used in poor visability not just fog - or am I wrong?

Personally I hate them when around traffic, but if it's very dark on a country road, I will use them along with full beam, but dim them when another car comes along.

During the day with perfect visibilty, really no point at all.

If the visibility is less than 100m, due to fog or any other type of weather, then use them. Apart from that, leave them off.

In normal coniditions, I've found they're not useful on the many country routes I drive; they don't throw light far enough ahead to spot anything at the side of the road and if you're scanning the area where they're shining, you're arguably not scanning the road far enough ahead

Steve

I full beam anyone that uses them in decent driving conditions, rain does not count. As for puddles slow down and you will have plenty time to deal with them...

Edited 26 November, 200916 yr by P13SST

Nay. The key is in the name They're not called "for dark murky country lanes to help you see puddles lights"

HTH

The reason why your being flashed is because in all likelihood your dazzling the oncoming drivers. Using the fogs on dark murky wet nights are exactly when fog lights are going to cause the most problems to other drivers. Just like you they need to see where they are going also. Their vision is restricted the most when you approach them and that might just be on a difficult stretch of road.

I also very much doubt that you will find driving towards original fit HID Xenon lights difficult. These are currently the best and most technological lights available to day. They have the most even and exact control of dipped beam of any lights normally available. Having exceptionally sharp cut offs to prevent all unwanted light from straying above the cut off. They do have a small amount of light above the cut off, this is purposefully allowed for spacial awareness and for lighting road signs. If you are being inconvenienced by other road users with xenon lights, then they are most certainly aftermarket fit, which is not legal. In the main HID bulbs are designed for particular housings as are halogen, it is unlikely that he two are compatible, yes they well may fit but they do not give the same focus nor often the same control of light, so causing dazzle. All, Original Fit HID Xenon lights have by EU law and most probably Law in most other countries around the globe, to be fitted with power wash wipe and auto leveling, again to prevent dazzle.

I like many other detest drivers who go around with their rear foglights on when its not foggy.

I do, however, use my front fogs on particularly dark murky nights and on wet nights as I find they help me see the verge and pick out the puddles when on dipped beam and facing oncoming traffic. I see a number of other drivers doing the same and don't find there oncoming fog lights dazzling, in fact I find driving towards a set of xenons much worse.

I am getting a bit pee'ed of at getting flashed by oncoming cars (or even worse get those idiots that put their lights on mainbeam and leave them there). Fog lights are designed to be used in poor visability not just fog - or am I wrong?

Edited 26 November, 200916 yr by Anthony 1

Personally I hate them when around traffic, but if it's very dark on a country road, I will use them along with full beam, but dim them when another car comes along.

During the day with perfect visibilty, really no point at all.

My thoughts exactly. Mine are next to useless anyway.

And driving with sidelights on and front fogs....... well.............the sign of an idiot.

I like many other detest drivers who go around with their rear foglights on when its not foggy.

I do, however, use my front fogs on particularly dark murky nights and on wet nights as I find they help me see the verge and pick out the puddles when on dipped beam and facing oncoming traffic. I see a number of other drivers doing the same and don't find there oncoming fog lights dazzling, in fact I find driving towards a set of xenons much worse.

I am getting a bit pee'ed of at getting flashed by oncoming cars (or even worse get those idiots that put their lights on mainbeam and leave them there). Fog lights are designed to be used in poor visability not just fog - or am I wrong?

But surely you should be looking into the next corner for potential dangers and not at the side of the road right in front of the car. I find fogs on modern cars pointless as they don't help at all when you have decent set of lights and bulbs. They light up about a foot in front of the car and that is no use as I need to see further than that to drive at night!

There's already a thread on this called "Since when did it become acceptable...........".I'm one of the flashers whenever I'm dazzled by foglights. They are there for one reason only and that's the same as the rear ones - to holp other drivers see you in thick fog. That's why they are illegal except when visibility is less than 100 metres due to fog or falling snow. Anyway in all other situations dipped headlights are the best except when you can use main beam.

I dont like people who use front fogs at all. Like others here, I find the dazzle my vision and anyone coming the other way with front fogs on gets a blast of my main beam. They are called "FOG" lights for a reason, and like the rear light should only be used when foggy and when visibilty is below 100 yards or so.

They are not designed to help you see where you are going, but are designed to pierce the fog so that drivers coming the other way can see YOU, thats why they dazzle other drivers.

Its even more annoying now a fad seems to be spreading, that driving with sidelights and fog lights on even in darkness. How on earth these drivers can see where they are going I have no idea. I overtook a car the other day driving slowly on an unlit road, the reason was obvious on passing. Yep the fogs were on with the sidelights, so the road in front of their car was unlit, and they could hardly see anything.

Oh, and when you activate your main beam lighting regulations state that the fogs switch off, so with your front fogs on and mainbeam you get mainbeam only.

While I find anyone using front fogs when it's not appropriate annoying, I do find that some FFs are much worse than others. Sometimes they are just small spots that are no big deal at all and little more than cosmetic, but some cars have big ones (and I'm talking OEM here) that are quite blinding.I only flash people if their FFs are actually causing me a problem, but then I normally give them both FB barrels :)I think part of the problem is so many people use them inappropriately, that many people assume you're an idiot if you have them on in anything other than a clear-cut case of "need".As Anthony 1 said to slider; you're probably being flashed because you're dazzling oncoming drivers. In the conditions you think you need FFs, this is when FFs are most likely to cause problems to others.vRS G60; well said, sidelights+FFs is the sign of a moron!Another problem is they are called "fog" lights (this paragraph is directed at fog lights generally rather than FFs). This means that some people use them the moment there is even a wisp of fog even with good visibility, but not when visibility is poor due to other reasons (e.g. road spray, rain, etc)! They should be called "low visibility" lights IMO. For RFs, I've often found them appropriate during heavy rain/spray because it can be hard to see a car in front of you even just 50-100m ahead, but RFs help a lot. I base this on how well I can see cars in front of me with RFs activated.

(Sorry, I did have paragraphs when I typed that last lot!)

Yup I bang on the full beam for wallies driving around on a clear night with front fogs on. It's a British thing though. As soon as there's the slightest hint of fog/rain/snow we all love to panic! It seems like most people think "ahhar, an excuse to use my fog lights and forget how to drive"! It only takes a few metres of light fog to spurr everyone into emergency mode, and they all whack on their front and rear fogs instantly! Seems us Brits love a bit of drama!!

The good old Volvo 480 would confuse people though! It had sidelights, pop-up headlights, long range driving lamps (not fogs!) and lower front fog lamps. Trying to put all of them on in one go normally blew the fuse in my 480! Incredible lighting power though!

Oh, and when you activate your main beam lighting regulations state that the fogs switch off, so with your front fogs on and mainbeam you get mainbeam only.

Either I've never owned a car with legal standard fit fog lights (3 of 4 owned), or this is ******.

Your wrong.

Fog lights + main beam are a waste of time and should not be lit simultaneously.

When foglights are used as they are intended, they should only be used without main beam. If the weather is clear enough to permit main beam to be used without causing you to see a white sheet in front of the car then the fog lights should not be on as it is not foggy enough to dictate their use.

I found this on another site,

1.Fog lights are not for use in clear weather

2.Fog lights are not for use in average rain (this is somewhat debatable, but even light low to the ground will not help illuminate wet pavement — in fact, it will probably just reflect it into some other poor sap’s eyes)

3.Fog lights are not auxiliary headlights so that you can illuminate the 100 yards in front of you like a baseball stadium

4.Fog lights are not ornamental. Leaving them on doesn’t make you look cool, it makes you look like an inconsiderate idiot.

5.Fog lights are for .. are you ready? .. FOG!

This is a quote from a well known internet forum.

In Europe, it is a legislative safety standard that fog lights switch off when high beams are turned on. This is to ensure that the driver's eye focuses at infinity, rather than on items perhaps 5 to 10 feet in front of the car that are illuminated by the fog light. The idea behind this - I think it is a very sensible idea - is that if the driver has switched on the high beam lights, then there obviously is no fog remaining - hence no need for the fog lights - and the driver wants to look for items that are a long way away. Leaving the short-range fog lights on in these circumstances would be counterproductive and impair long distance vision.

Despite the amount of driving I do and the various styles of roads/tracks, I've never seen a need to use my fog lights and regulaly flash people who see it necesary to use them when ever its raining as the light reflects up from the wet road/puddles and dazzles (especially on the motorway)

Fog lights + main beam are a waste of time and should not be lit simultaneously.

When foglights are used as they are intended, they should only be used without main beam. If the weather is clear enough to permit main beam to be used without causing you to see a white sheet in front of the car then the fog lights should not be on as it is not foggy enough to dictate their use.

I found this on another site,

1.Fog lights are not for use in clear weather

2.Fog lights are not for use in average rain (this is somewhat debatable, but even light low to the ground will not help illuminate wet pavement — in fact, it will probably just reflect it into some other poor sap’s eyes)

3.Fog lights are not auxiliary headlights so that you can illuminate the 100 yards in front of you like a baseball stadium

4.Fog lights are not ornamental. Leaving them on doesn’t make you look cool, it makes you look like an inconsiderate idiot.

5.Fog lights are for .. are you ready? .. FOG!

This is a quote from a well known internet forum.

I suggest you do a site search to find my views on the general case of using fog lights other than in dense fog or falling snow.

In the specific case of my cars, all of the cited cars were of continental European assembly, so either your "well known forum" is wrong, or major car manufacturers are in the habit of making cars that do not conform with vehicle lighting regulations.

Oh and incidentally, in daytime fog you should use every watt of light you can whilst out of visual contact with other traffic. You won't dazzle yourself or anyone else as long as you dip when in visual contact, but you will burn your lights further though the fog so other people see you sooner.

I cannot believe what I am reading on this thread!!So this idiot/wally is driving towards you with his fog lights on, in your opinion the weather conditions do not warrant the fog lights being on. So what do you do stick your main beams on to blind the poor b**ger, so not only is the guy with fog lights on a wally/idiot but so is the guy coming towards him with his main beam on must, by definition, also be a wally/idiot.Needless to say, the main beamer and the fog lighter are both exhibiting a condition known as bad driving!Get to grips lads, driving is about showing consideration for other road users not venting your spleen over a pair of bl**dy fog lights.As for this being a British thing, God help us!!

I cannot believe what I am reading on this thread!!So this idiot/wally is driving towards you with his fog lights on, in your opinion the weather conditions do not warrant the fog lights being on. So what do you do stick your main beams on to blind the poor b**ger, so not only is the guy with fog lights on a wally/idiot but so is the guy coming towards him with his main beam on must, by definition, also be a wally/idiot.Needless to say, the main beamer and the fog lighter are both exhibiting a condition known as bad driving!Get to grips lads, driving is about showing consideration for other road users not venting your spleen over a pair of bl**dy fog lights.As for this being a British thing, God help us!!

Did anyone else fall asleep half way through that?

Did anyone else fall asleep half way through that?

Poor attention span as well eh

But surely you should be looking into the next corner for potential dangers and not at the side of the road right in front of the car. I find fogs on modern cars pointless as they don't help at all when you have decent set of lights and bulbs. They light up about a foot in front of the car and that is no use as I need to see further than that to drive at night!

point is I do a lot of driving on narrow B roads with little traffic and need to drive very close to teh verge when I meet oncoming cars.

But take the point made by the majority of posters and will mend my ways.

Fog lights + main beam are a waste of time

QUOTE]

Point I was trying to make was that they help me when on dipped beam, but as said in another reply this practice obviosly bothers a lot of other road uses so I will mend my ways.

Front fog light dazzle doesn't bother me am I therfore assumes it wouldn't bother others - which was why I created this thread - to find out

I have never found any situation in 14 years of driving many miles where I have needed to use front fog lamps. If you need them to see where your going, your looking in the wrong place