I have never owned a car equipped with foglights, but I have talked to alot of people that do. Most of the foglights are all standard equipment on their cars.
Soo my question is this. When is the appropriate time to use fog lights? I know its a safety thing but when is it legal to turn them on? In pea soup fog? Marginal fog? Heavy rain? Smoke from burning grass on the sides of the highway? I could continue but I hope you get my point.
And why do cops pull people over and give them tickets or lectures or both for having them on in fair weather. Its very possible that you could turn them on out of habit or by mistake so why are cops so ready to ticket people for having them on?
Why not pass a law that prohibits car makers from putting foglights on as standard equipment instead of nailing motorists for having them on? Most cars don’t have them anyway.
As I understood the concept behind foglights manny years ago (when they had amber lenses), the idea was to give you driving lights that would generate less vision-obscuring reflection off of whatever (fog, smoke, heavy rain, etc…) happened to be making it hard to see. You probably know from experience that it’s harder to see in a heavy rain with your brights on than with your regular headlights. The idea was to just take it down one more notch with the foglights.
Nowadays, though, I rarely see amber lensed foglights and some of them seem as bright or brighter than regular driving lights. Some folks just seem to like having lights on their vehicles (seems to compliment the heavy bass from the stereo).
when you see fog lights your definitely gonna see some big ass spoiler on the back…more than likely a bunch of stupid stickers stating how powerful there little honda civic is…stop the madness
Speaking of which, what’s the deal with the Accords and Civics with “Powered by Honda” stickers? You mean they’re not powered by Lycoming? Briggs & Stratton? GE?
fog lights? I live in pea soup valley, fog lights should not be standard, bad enough people have them that don’t know when to use them, but then again there are the idiots who don’t even turn their light on!
Using yellow acetate on your headlights wouldn’t help in the least in fog.It’s not mainly the color of the light,but the shape and angle to the road that help fog lights “light the way” in fog.
Fog lights are generally low to the ground and the beam is shaped to illuminate the road directly in front of you,and slightly to each side.If you look at the beam “shape” it is pear shaped,while headlights and driving lights are more conical and light objects further away,IE signs.
As far as cops pulling people over,I’ve found that poorly mounted aftermarket foglights are pretty damn blinding when they are pointing into the sky! Adjust/mount them correctly!
I have yellow foglights mounted in the front side panels of my ‘95 Pathfinder. I use them when I drive thru my neighborhood at 5am each morning. Believe me, they are a godsend if you live in an area of unlit 1-lane roads bordered by ditches. It’s the guys with the big honkin’ spotlights that drive me nuts. Foglights my ass…
Dad was an ower the road Trucker. He used to carry the orange cellophane from a bread wrapper with him. Whole Wheat Bread I think. His truck did not have fog lights so he would get out and tape that over the headlights. Don’t know how well it worked.
Another trick he used and I’ve used is simply rub mud on headlight. Cuts down the brightness. Back in those days you drove in all types of weather.
I’ve seen a metal cover that covered the top half of the headlight and assume that was for fog too.
I’ve seen the metal half-cover (always chrome-plated) before and assumed it was decorative (usually a low-rider thing - low-riders being poor candidates for below-bumper after market decorations).
I hate them…specially assholes that use them in regular weather!
Might as well leave their damned brights on!
When I had them on two of my trucks they remained OFF, never used them unless serious fog is a factor…but then again I am a courteous driver and not a fucking show off like fore-mentioned Honda owners (I have a Honda, but no fog lamps)and no spoiler on the back. No need to “soup up” a four door car, they look like a family car no matter what you so. And for all Civic owners, sorry you can’t make a Civic look any better, it’s still a Honda not a $50,000 Porsche!
Another thing: most fog lights aren’t put on at the dealership, nor are they standard equipment for most cars. Generally, what are usually referred to as fog lights are added aftermarket. Why do police stop people with them on? They don’t, usually. However, some fog lights are extremely bright, and when assholes that put them on don’t AIM THEM CORRECTLY (they are intended to be aimed down, so as not to hit oncoming drivers in the face), they are a big problem. Most people who have aftermarket fog lamps just have them for show.
sigh It seems so simple, yet only a handful of people posting about this have actually used the things.
Our new car has foglights, so I tried a simple test to see how they work. On a foggy night, I turned on the low-beams and looked at the road right in front of me. I then turned on the fog lights to see if that chunk of road was more visible.
With our built-in (read “always properly aimed”) foglights, that chunk of road WAS more easily visible because it was illuminated from behind the glare from the low-beams. The same has held true for smoke and rain. As an added bonus, the road near the front corners of the vehicle was also better illuminated.
Badly-aimed foglights are certainly as annoying as much as badly-aimed headlights. Foglights reflecting up from wet roads after the rain is over are also annoying. During fog/smoke/rain though, I’ll keep on using foglights.
Sure, I’m all for moderation – as long as it’s not excessive.
This is not 100% guaranteed, but I read an article a long time ago in one of my 4wd
Magazines. It gave a brief rundown of each states regulations according to number of
Lights, the mounting, and the use. Most states only allow up to 4 forward facing lights besides the headlights. This means two fog, and two driving lights. The fog lights must be wired with the low beams, and are to be used “in inclimate weather only” This means all the little boys in their souped up Hondas are technically breaking the law and subject to a citation. Also, just to mention a pet peeve of mine, all those little boys with the tires that stick out WAY past the fender are breaking the law. Not to mention the strain they are putting on the bearings and hubs. But I don’t pay their mechanic, so they can do what they want.
For the record–I use my foglights with my lowbeams no matter what the weather. I drive a neon, and the headlights are pathetic. Adding the foglights adds substantially to my nightime visibility without (I think) being a nuisance to anyone else. So is it really illegal? They’re just regular old lights, no fancy colors and not especially bright. Now you’ve got me paranoid.
“I don’t get any smarter as I get older–Just less stupid”
I’ve noticed a trend in the past "few"years.
I don’t think that the drivers ED teachers have taught new drivers not to respond to the oncoming driver by dimming their lights. Many times I have been blinded by the headlights of a vehicle I’m meeting . I’ve flashed them- no responce. sometimes if I have time I’ll flash them once again. most of the time there is no responce. OK maybe my eyes hurt and I’m more sesitive tonight. BUT what really pisses me off is when they wait till there damn good and ready to dim them. I don’t understand the reasoning. Anyone??