Stopped by the Police

[Gnomeface]

Friday night, heading home after a meal out, we came across a police check point and were pulled over - for illegal use of fog lights! The officer said that he'd seen the right-hand fog lamp on when we rounded a sharp bend in the road, and the left hand one on when we pulled in to the side of the road as directed. There was no fog.

Mrs. Gnomeface was driving (she doesn't drink) and tried to tell them that the foglamps weren't switched on and there was then a prolonged discussion about "cornering lights". It included several references to "idiot VW software designers" and I eventually convinced the officer that I'd already tried to get the system cancelled but that it required manufacturer's specialist equipment to do so; he couldn't believe at first that there was no way for the driver to disable it.

Eventually we were allowed to continue, but the officer reckoned that it was a misleading and dangerous system that could distract or mislead other drivers - which I've been saying since we bought the car (one of its very few faults).

[@Lee]

I like the cornering fogs. I'd say the constable needs to catch up on vehicle developments

[Auric Goldfinger]

I like the cornering fogs. I'd say the constable needs to catch up on vehicle developments

 

Think they should all be issued with every handbook available , hope they have a big Van

[@Lee]

Think they should all be issued with every handbook available , hope they have a big Van

Laptop, Adobe Reader and a few PDF's would do I think

[Auric Goldfinger]

Laptop, Adobe Reader and a few PDF's would do I think

 

F**k "em, Give 'em the hard copies

 

Are you Mullering tonight, I am off till Monday

[Daz716]

Cornering lights are a great feature, and Car Makers have ensured they meet lighting regulations.

I have seen them a on many many cars,and all that's needed is a generic email/memo out to officers bringing this common system to their attention.

Perhaps a polite email to the force in questions Community liaison officers would benefit all.

If the PC is unaware of this feature... How many other lawfull matters is he unclear/wrong about. That should be a worry to his bosses too.

Edited 14 December, 2013 by Daz716

[mikey vrs]

Its a shame they are not stopping the people with lights out.......see loads of cars with lights out & keep seeing the same ones on my way to work with the lights still out. 

[33q]

You can disable them using the maxidot display.

Personally I like them and had my SE enabled by a helpful member of this site.

[silver1011]

Eventually we were allowed to continue, but the officer reckoned that it was a misleading and dangerous system that could distract or mislead other drivers - which I've been saying since we bought the car (one of its very few faults).

 

I reckon he was embarrassed and was one of those coppers unable to admit that they were wrong.

 

"Ah sorry sir, I've never seen these before. Thanks for co-operating and enlightening me. Enjoy the rest of your evening and have a safe journey."

 

How can a serving copper, especially one manning a traffic check point not have seen cornering fog lights in action up until last night?

 

You should have told him to check the traffic cars parked in the same lay-by he was stood in.

[aerofurb]

Don't suppose they were driving an Octavia vRS - with cornering fog lamps were they....?

 

You should have told them that the headlamp bulbs (if Xenons) keep moving as well when you go round corners at speed.

[dcl5ad]

That's almost funny. Did you get his epaulet number? Deserves a phone call to the local plod. Strange how the feature got through type approval and is used on a great deal of modern cars.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kenny R]

You can disable them using the maxidot display..

No you can't , dealer or VCDS to enable or disable.

[Gnomeface]

You can disable them using the maxidot display....

No you can't, only the headlights. The whole issue was about the fog lights. I also explained to the officer that the car has swivelling headlights as well, which are an excellent idea and really work - and you can turn this good feature off through maxidot but not the awful cornering foglights.

I've had a few cars pull out unexpectedly close in front of me at night, almost certainly because these ludicrous "winking" fogs have given them an unintended iindication that it's safe to do so or that I'm turning down a side road, and whilst the police officer may be wrong in his interpretation of the law he's right when he said they are misleading and potentially dangerous.

I realise that many forum members will defend every aspect of the Yeti to the death, but whilst I think it's an excellent car in so many respects, there are several things which are badly designed. Just a single further example - try folding the mirrors at 15mph without peering at the switch to see what position the previous driver left it in, and again to see why they still won't fold (by which time it's all too late).

[tomas79]

Cornering fogs are on many different car makes nowadays. This is exactly why I have close to no respect for the cops. They waste our time when we don't need them. When we do, they are nowhere to be found.

[JCP]

Cornering fogs-I first came upon these on a lexus soarer-original 1990 model and they are fine -if turning at very low speeds into a darker area they illuminate the foreground and enable avoidance of obstacles or potholes. If you think they confuse oncoming vehicles what speed are you doing? They only come on at 15mph and below. It may be just that your very low speed is hard for others to understand. Why are you trying to fold your mirrors on the move by the way? What is too late?

[33q]

No you can't , dealer or VCDS to enable or disable.

I will check tomorrow. As I recall I had them enabled but they didn't work until I set them on the maxidot......but I will check.

[grr666]

I'd have let him ticket me and then made a visit to his station with the handbook.

Let him argue with his superiors.

[gadgetman]

Must have been a slow night.

It's legal, there's no need to disable them

[silver1011]

You should have reversed a little before pulling back out onto the road.

 

Having both cornering fogs on together combined with a little wave as you left would have been the cherry on the cake

[littleade]

He's probably got a brother who works in an mot station failing vRS' because he thinks they've got no sidelights

[freedie]

Why am I having trouble believing all this? Oh, I know why...

[Gnomeface]

Cornering fogs-I first came upon these on a lexus soarer-original 1990 model and they are fine -if turning at very low speeds into a darker area they illuminate the foreground and enable avoidance of obstacles or potholes. If you think they confuse oncoming vehicles what speed are you doing? They only come on at 15mph and below. It may be just that your very low speed is hard for others to understand. Why are you trying to fold your mirrors on the move by the way? What is too late?

OK, just sticking to facts for a moment - the cornering foglights operate at speeds of 25mph and below (40kph) so they are on and off three times when negotiating a roundabout for example, at a perfectly reasonable speed of 20mph and (when going straight ahead on a busy road) can easily confuse someone who has been waiting for a gap in traffic.

Living in Devon there are lots of narrow lanes and if I'm approaching another car in a tight squeeze I want to fold my mirrors in advance, not have to fiddle with rotary switches when I'm concentrating on whether the other driver (who might be over 100 years old) is going to leave me enough room. The mirrors won't fold above about 10mph! 20mph would be more reasonable, but why put a limit on it??? And such a stupidly low one?

The only reason I can think of to limit its use is to stop you from doing it at high speed, where air pressure might strain the mechanism; my Jaguar won't let me operate the folding mirrrors above 75mph, presumably for this reason - not that I'd want to anyway at that speed.

[Chan110]

Friday night, heading home after a meal out, we came across a police check point and were pulled over - for illegal use of fog lights! The officer said that he'd seen the right-hand fog lamp on when we rounded a sharp bend in the road, and the left hand one on when we pulled in to the side of the road as directed. There was no fog.

Mrs. Gnomeface was driving (she doesn't drink) and tried to tell them that the foglamps weren't switched on and there was then a prolonged discussion about "cornering lights". It included several references to "idiot VW software designers" and I eventually convinced the officer that I'd already tried to get the system cancelled but that it required manufacturer's specialist equipment to do so; he couldn't believe at first that there was no way for the driver to disable it.

Eventually we were allowed to continue, but the officer reckoned that it was a misleading and dangerous system that could distract or mislead other drivers - which I've been saying since we bought the car (one of its very few faults).

If it wasn't that late,

I wondered how other cars came past with cornering lights too!

Btw - Jag XF, niiiiice :-)

[Gnomeface]

If it wasn't that late,

I wondered how other cars came past with cornering lights too!

Btw - Jag XF, niiiiice :-)

I don't see any other cars round here with them, but the road where the police were stopping cars (10:30pm) is infested with "hot hatches" with black windows, blue-tinted headlights and foglights always on.

The XF is a fabulous car, thanks. I still enjoy driving the Yeti though!

[spottydog]

I think you are all missing the point. It's got nothing to do with whether the fog lights are cornering or not. From memory it used to be illegal to have your fog lights on if it is not foggy. Foggy is when visibility is less than 100m, or yards, can't remember. I don't think this law has changed but could be wrong. It's amazing how many people drive with their fog lights on at night and most are very bright and distracting.