Fog Lights v Driving Lights ?

Anan1

Sundy wrote:

Cant say fogs have ever blinded me, but i guess if your vision is really poor it might.

I would not assume that, because fogs don't dazzle you, your vision is good. They probably don't dazzle Stevie Wonder either.

Mojito

I think the only way you will get divers to turn off there fog lights is if the Garda were pulling people over and handing out fines for having their fog lights on.

I think they have more important things to be doing than that. Like catching people driving to close to the car in front and using there mobile phones to take pictures. Isn't that right Gatster.

oleras

Anan1 wrote:

I would not assume that, because fogs don't dazzle you, your vision is good. They probably don't dazzle Stevie Wonder either.

LMAO....:D and i thought i nit picked......:D

and i think we should agree to disagree......looks like its one of these that wont be sorted....EVER!!...... till the next fog light discussion, adios !!

Sundy

Anan1 wrote:

I would not assume that, because fogs don't dazzle you, your vision is good. They probably don't dazzle Stevie Wonder either.

Well im not actually assuming anything i was guessing.

endplate

Well if it's ok for the garda to use their fogs then it must be ok for the rest of us:D. Front Fogs don't dazzle rear fogs and xenons do. Nothing we can do about xenons but all drivers please switch off your rear fogs in clear conditions

Gatster

like catching people driving to close to the car in front and using there mobile phones to take pictures. Isn't that right Gatster.

Crawling in traffic on the M50. I can manage talking a photo and driving an Automatic car whilst going <3mph...

Mojito

Gatster wrote:

Crawling in traffic on the M50. I can manage talking a photo and driving an Automatic car whilst going <3mph...

I wasn't having a go at you Gatster.

Jimoslimos

endplate wrote:

Front Fogs don't dazzle rear fogs and xenons do. Nothing we can do about xenons but all drivers please switch off your rear fogs in clear conditions

Hmmm...so because rear fogs cause problems for you in clear conditions we should switch them off.:rolleyes: Personally I've never been dazzled by rear fog lights, yes they have more of a glare than than normal rear lights but I'm never approaching a car in front of me so fast that it would cause me any trouble.

As for xenons, yes they do dazzle a bit but I think part of the problem is that in most modern cars headlights can be adjusted depending on laden/unladen weight. Xenons that are dazzling are probably set for a fully loaded car where there is fact only the driver.

Just My View

joeblogg1 wrote:

every night I have to gesticulate wildly

You are much more likely to be go blind from too much gesticulating than you are from fog lights.

Wishbone Ash

Jimoslimos wrote:

Xenons that are dazzling are probably set for a fully loaded car where there is fact only the driver.

It would be the opposite. A fully loaded car will raise the front lights thereby dazzling other motorists. The lights should be lowered if the car is loaded.

peasant

Let's look at this the other way round ...through your windscreen.

What difference does it make to your vision of the road and its condition in front of you, if you have your front fogs on?

- in city traffic ...none whatsoever

- on the motorway / a good open road ...again, none whatsoever

- on a windy little backroad ...you might see the edge of the road directly in front of you slightly more clearly, but this still has no impact on your safety, because anything that's lit up by the fogs is irrelevant at normal speed anyway because it's too blody close for you to react to it anyway.

- in a real peasouper of a fog ... that's where thy make a difference. Without them you would be disorientated, crawling along through a milky soup with no idea where you're going. With them on, you're still crawling but at least you're able to see the edge of the road and therefore won't end up in the ditch.

So why ...other than for "look, look my car has foglights" ..would you want to use them when it's not foggy?

Mojito

Why have lights on during the day peasant?

peasant

Mojito wrote:

Why have lights on during the day peasant?

Two of them, Mojito ...not four, or six ...or a whole battery of them.

You're driving a car, not a FLAK battery

Wishbone Ash

peasant wrote:

Let's look at this the other way round ...through your windscreen.

What difference does it make to your vision of the road and its condition in front of you, if you have your front fogs on?

- in city traffic ...none whatsoever

- on the motorway / a good open road ...again, none whatsoever

- on a windy little backroad ...you might see the edge of the road directly in front of you slightly more clearly, but this still has no impact on your safety, because anything that's lit up by the fogs is irrelevant at normal speed anyway because it's too blody close for you to react to it anyway.

- in a real peasouper of a fog ... that's where thy make a difference. Without them you would be disorientated, crawling along through a milky soup with no idea where you're going. With them on, you're still crawling but at least you're able to see the edge of the road and therefore won't end up in the ditch.

So why ...other than for "look, look my car has foglights" ..would you want to use them when it's not foggy?

That's the best post I've read on this subject so far. Nail and head peasant.

Alun

peasant wrote:

Two of them, Mojito ...not four, or six ...or a whole battery of them.

You're driving a car, not a FLAK battery

Exactly ... two dipped headlights is plenty enough to be seen in bad conditions. Adding an extra set of lights, fogs or otherwise, to the equation in those circumstances is just plain unnecessary and just adds to the amount of glare oncoming motorists have to deal with, regardless of any arguments about being blinded or not. "Because I can" isn't a good reason for lighting up the front of your car like something from a Mad Max movie.

Mojito

peasant wrote:

Two of them, Mojito ...not four, or six ...or a whole battery of them.

You're driving a car, not a FLAK battery

It BeeMee

Jimoslimos wrote:

Personally I've never been dazzled by rear fog lights, yes they have more of a glare than than normal rear lights but I'm never approaching a car in front of me so fast that it would cause me any trouble.

Actually, it's more of a problem when you're sitting behind the other car for a while. (And you've obviously never been behind a new Honda Civic, that has 2 very bright fogs towards the centre of the car.)

Jimoslimos wrote:

Hmmm...so because rear fogs cause problems for you in clear conditions we should switch them off.:rolleyes:

Perhaps you could explain: if conditions are clear, what exactly is the benefit of having rear foglights on?

Jimoslimos

It BeeMee wrote:

Perhaps you could explain: if conditions are clear, what exactly is the benefit of having rear foglights on?

I wasn't condoning the use of rear fog lights in clear conditions (that roll-eyes smiley was there for a reason!). My intention was to highlight the flaw in endplate's argument, i.e, he feels it is ok to break laws that apparently don't affect him (front fogs in visible conditions) yet wants people to observe another one (rear fogs in visible conditions) which does affect him.

endplate

Jimoslimos wrote:

yet wants people to observe another one (rear fogs in visible conditions) which does affect him.

And even the front fog haters

Jimoslimos

Might be going a little OT here but does anybody know why front & rear fogs don't run off the same switch like front & rear driving lights do?

Wishbone Ash

Jimoslimos wrote:

Might be going a little OT here but does anybody know why front & rear fogs don't run off the same switch like front & rear driving lights do?

In most vehicles I've driven, they have. Pull out one notch for front, pull out two notches for rear.


EDIT: Oops, sorry, I see what you mean - why don't they come on together which might discourage people from using them unneccessarily.

Panda Moanium

Slightly OT, but I'm currently testing the new Ford Galaxy and there are a couple of interesting features regarding lights.

Firstly, when you turn a corner, an extra bulb on the main beam lights up on the nearside throwing more light into the corner (i.e. as you turn left, the bulb on the lhs lights comes on and vice versa). It goes off when you straighten out. Works very well in helping you see around corners.

Secondly, the Galaxy Zetec I'm driving is equipped with foglights and pretty powerful one too, but what is interesting is that when you turn on the main beams the fogs also come on, albeit at very low power like parking lights. Not sure what purpose they actually serve unless to address those folks who like to put their fogs on 'to look cool'.

kluivert

Get over it, you see no one complaining about the lights from Jeeps.

If you have a problem with fog lights get your eyes tested because they are just as bright as the main lights, if they where any stronger you would have a hard seeing through the fog. You might be more sensitive to lights than others and should consider wearing glasses with a tint on them to help you with night driving.

I wear glasses and I got a tint on them and found no problem with fog lights or fulls no more.

Wishbone Ash

Panda Moanium wrote:

Works very well in helping you see around corners

Just like what Citroen were doing 40 years ago.

Panda Moanium wrote:

Not sure what purpose they actually serve unless to address those folks who like to put their fogs on 'to look cool'.

But they would go off as they would have to dip the main beam when they meet anyone so no one would know how cool they are!.

PS - Love the Username!

Panda Moanium

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Just like what Citroen were doing 40 years ago.
But wasn't the Citroen system based on actual swivelling lights as against an extra bulb lighting up?

But they would go off as they would have to dip the main beam when they meet anyone so no one would know how cool they are!.
I've just doubled checked it again. Its actually that the parking lights are located in the fog lamp cluster so they are always on regardless of whether the main lights are on dipped or full beam. They are bright enough to be seen by approaching vehicles though.

Mojito

Panda Moanium wrote:

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Its actually that the parking lights are located in the fog lamp cluster so they are always on regardless of whether the main lights are on dipped or full beam. They are bright enough to be seen by approaching vehicles though.

You'll still get the same old people moaning.

Wishbone Ash

Mojito - you have mis quoted me. Those ain't my words.

KeRbDoG

Why can't people learn that if its not foggy, yea don't need you fog lights on!
Lots of people out there think they have spot lights and not fog lights.
So an easy way to tell what you have,

Spot lights should turn off when you dip your main beams! If those aux lights stay on, you have fog lights and all your doing is dazzling on coming traffic!

Also, if yea see this on your dash or this switch lumated yea have your fogs on!

Some %@$ing muppets out their think their s#%te-mobile looks better with them on? The main offenders who seem to keep their fog lights on are Ford Focus drivers and Nissan Micra drivers.

/EndOfRant

want2play

I had a Ford Mondeo Guarda car behind me at lights today at 12.30pm foglights on, would the moaners here have got out and told them they were breaking the law?

There was a check point Tuesday night coming from Shannon and a Guarda jeep (landcruiser) was parked FACING oncoming traffic with parking lights and fog lights on.

The anti fog light people here are over reacting, with so many idiots speeding and overtaking with oncoming traffic Id put 20 lights in the bumper if It would make me more visable, if dazzling was an issue why is it never mentioned by manufactures or a sticker in the car or manual warning they might blind oncoming traffic in clear conditions?

Rear fog lights are a different issue because 90% of them are at eye level.

Are there not way more important issues to debate here than a few amateur drivers who cant stop themselves staring at the front of cars and blinding themselves to check if they're fog lights are on so they can moan about something.

KeRbDoG

want2play wrote:

I had a Ford Mondeo Guarda car behind me at lights today at 12.30pm foglights on, would the moaners here have got out and told them they were breaking the law?

There was a check point Tuesday night coming from Shannon and a Guarda jeep (landcruiser) was parked FACING oncoming traffic with parking lights and fog lights on.

The anti fog light people here are over reacting, with so many idiots speeding and overtaking with oncoming traffic Id put 20 lights in the bumper if It would make me more visable, if dazzling was an issue why is it never mentioned by manufactures or a sticker in the car or manual warning they might blind oncoming traffic in clear conditions?

Rear fog lights are a different issue because 90% of them are at eye level.

Are there not way more important issues to debate here than a few amateur drivers who cant stop themselves staring at the front of cars and blinding themselves to check if they're fog lights are on so they can moan about something.

Just because guards do it doesn't make it right.
Why if your passing guards like that yea cant stop and tell them off?
Front fogs are as bad as rear fogs IMO