Foglights on Today FM now

robz150

Got out of my car at the traffic lights last week
and asked the Driver in front to turn off his rear Fog lights.
Wasn't sure what kind of reaction I'd get but luckily he just looked
embarrassed :pac:. Not something I'd normally do but they were burning holes in my eyes. :cool:

tossy

Im convinced there is a type of irish driver that gets into their car and turns on every light possible on it before driving anywhere.

Almost as bad is the driver who turns on their rear fog light in heavy fog (fair play) but then leaves it on when they enter a town or well lit area even though there is traffic relatively close behind.

Rear fog lights in the rain is almost a must and pretty common on the continent to the extent where if it starts to rain heavily you can look up ahead and see the fog lights come on one by one,and when it stops you can see them all go off.

Gryzor

front fogs used to be exclusive, hence attained "cool" status in this country, cars were expensive enough that few people would pay the extra for optional front fogs. Now every second car has them....people just use them for the cool factor...

can't say they've ever overly bothered me, don't find them blinding. I've been blinded far more times by dipped beams pointing skyward...

TheNog

Jesus how I hate foglights

It would be fair to say that a third of people drive with them on and about 2/3 of people realise they are on but don't realise they can be prosecuted.

I stopped a young petrol head and asked him to turn off his foglights. He said "There not foglights, they are spot lights". I honestly couldn't believe he said it.

It BeeMee

The amount of surplus lighting used on a car is inversely proportional to the IQ of the driver.

-Chris-

I'm far more annoyed by rear foglights on than front - I don't find front fogs particularly blinding.
If I'm behind someone driving with their rear fogs on in normal conditions, I actually have to keep reminding myself that they're not braking and I consciously ignore all the lights at the rear except for the high-level brake light.

I shouldn't have to waste concentration/attention span on stupid things like that, I've enough to be keeping an eye on when I'm driving. :mad::mad::mad:

Berty

TheNog wrote: »

Jesus how I hate foglights

It would be fair to say that a third of people drive with them on and about 2/3 of people realise they are on but don't realise they can be prosecuted.

I stopped a young petrol head and asked him to turn off his foglights. He said "There not foglights, they are spot lights". I honestly couldn't believe he said it.

I take it you were on duty otherwise vigilante springs to mind.

Was that the only reason you stopped him? If so, no wonder they feel victimised, young people that is. Would you have chased down and stopped a middle aged man in a suit and a Ford Mondeo if he had his fogs on?

If that was not the only reason the fair enough its none of my business.

I dont have a problem with people using their fogs. They dont affect me ever unless its a Micra or an old shape Almera or a SUV/Jeep or of course an Impreza.

Gregor Samsa

FredH3as wrote: »

Muppet Irish drivers haven't got a clue

You think it only happens here? :rolleyes:

UK: http://www.weeklygripe.co.uk/a249.asp
US: http://www.thepiratescove.us/2008/04/05/top-10-driving-idiots/ (first comment below list)

Henry Ford III

phutyle wrote: »

You think it only happens here? :rolleyes:

UK: http://www.weeklygripe.co.uk/a249.asp
US: http://www.thepiratescove.us/2008/04/05/top-10-driving-idiots/ (first comment below list)

I happens here a lot though.

ednwireland

i actually dont mind front fogs ( or are they driving lights ?) especially on the dark country roads i drive on i need as much light as possible so to all the people i've annoyed sorry

TheBazman

I dont think (most) front fog lights are blinding. I do have front fogs but never use them, but I certainly wont be driving along counting the number of other cars that have them on. I find most aftermarket xenon conversions a lot more blinding.

As for rear fog lights Grrr!! There was patches of fog on my way into work this morning and I just cant see why people "forget" to turn them off when they are past the fog. It's not that much effort. I usually give them a little flick of my own rear fogs when I overtake to remind them but whether the penny drops or not I dont know

Tabnabs

Robbo wrote: »

I think Matt's researchers might dip in here now and then.

Or they just react to the letters page in that days IT

The fixation with fog-lights

Madam, - David Fitzgerald (November 1st) points out the obsession Irish drivers have with using their fog-lights. Part of the problem, I believe, is other road-users' tolerance of this practice. If I were to drive after dark with full headlight beams on constantly, other drivers would rightly flash their lights at me. The same does not happen when fog-lights are incorrectly used, and are blinding oncoming drivers.

The Garda seems also to be blind to the illegality of the practice. Perhaps the Road Safety Authority could mount a TV advertising campaign which would show the warning light on the dashboard (which, for those who don't know, consists of a headlight symbol with zig-zag patterns through the beam) and emphasise that if it isn't foggy, this light should not be on. - Yours, etc,

DAVID POWER, Grange Manor, Lucan, Co Dublin.

© 2008 The Irish Times

tw0nk

Joy Loud Upstart wrote: »

I really struggle to see why people have such a problem with front fogs. They are not blinding by any stretch of the imagination and I dont know how people can handle glare on a sunny day if they are so blinded by fog lights. Any extra light no matter how minimal should be used. I always have my dims and fogs on day and night if for no other reason but to annoy people who dont like it!:D:D

They are blinding at nighttime compared to low beam lights and you can wear sunglasses during day for glare. But yeah other posters are right, your "cool".

regedit

Joy Loud Upstart wrote: »

I really struggle to see why people have such a problem with front fogs. They are not blinding by any stretch of the imagination and I dont know how people can handle glare on a sunny day if they are so blinded by fog lights. Any extra light no matter how minimal should be used. I always have my dims and fogs on day and night if for no other reason but to annoy people who dont like it!:D:D

Ban!

regedit

ksimpson wrote: »

I don't think a fine is the answer. The Gards should be allowed smash them with a hammer if they are being used in the wrong circumstances. That would sort it.

+1

ksimpson wrote: »

There's a guy around Donabate who has done a xenon conversion on his old model Celica on both the headlights and similar sized fogs on the modified bumper. A plane will land on his car one of these days. It is absolutely blinding and every car he passes must flash him. But hey, it looks cool.

Mother of God!

Quint

MYOB wrote: »

I'm spoilt by Italian idiot-proofing some times. Lights go off when engine goes off. Foglights and beams cancel when car is restarted but dips don't. Foglights are two seperate buttons on the centre console.

I always wondered why all cars don't do this. It would stop 90% of flat batteries too.

andrewh5

Joy Loud Upstart wrote: »

I really struggle to see why people have such a problem with front fogs. They are not blinding by any stretch of the imagination and I dont know how people can handle glare on a sunny day if they are so blinded by fog lights. Any extra light no matter how minimal should be used. I always have my dims and fogs on day and night if for no other reason but to annoy people who dont like it!:D:D

Twat! It is illegal for starters! Try reading the ROTR.

tw0nk

tw0nk wrote: »

They are blinding at nighttime compared to low beam lights and you can wear sunglasses during day for glare. But yeah other posters are right, your "cool".

I have never spoken to a person in the real word(outside the internet) who finds front fogs blinding. I was actually telling it to someone this morning who wouldnt be a boards user how people get so worked up about fogs and he started laughing. He couldnt understand how people had such an issue with them.

Im only posting my opinion and I really cant see how they bother people cos they sure dont blind me and as I said before any extra bit if light should be used on a car in my opinion.

Also the bit at the end of my last post about annoying people was a joke;) so no need for calls to have me banned or name calling.

Anan1

Joy Loud Upstart wrote: »

I have never spoken to a person in the real word(outside the internet) who finds front fogs blinding. I was actually telling it to someone this morning who wouldnt be a boards user how people get so worked up about fogs and he started laughing. He couldnt understand how people had such an issue with them.

I'd have to agree that most front fogs don't dazzle. The real problem with front fogs is that they mess with our perception of distance. Because fogs are closer to the ground, the car appears at first glance to be further away than it really is. I'm sure you can appreciate how potentially dangerous this is. Now that you know, will you turn yours off?:)

andrewh5

Look lads, the simple fact is that it is illegal to use front foglights unless it is fog where the visibility is less than 100 metres or in falling heavy snow.

The gardaí should be enforcing the law end of.

Tropheus

It should be a penalty points offence. The take would be big enough to offset the current tax shortfall.

andrewh5

ksimpson wrote: »

It should be a penalty points offence. The take would be big enough to offset the current tax shortfall.

I agree.

Biro

Front fog lights don't bother me at all, I bearly notice them. It's the rear ones that should be banned altogether. I see no use for them. Even in thick fog you only see the car about 20 metres further away with them and even at that if you were travelling in fog so quickly as to rear end a car then you were bound to crash anyway! Everyone turns on their rear fog lights at the slightest sight of fog. I'm behind someone, they pass through a small foggy patch and on with the fog lights. WTF? I'm behind them. I know they're there. I'm convinced people think that rear fog lights serve to make the fog go away quicker.

lightening

The front fogs don't really bother me, you can usually guess the age and sex of the driver before you see them though! It smacks of inexperience on the road.

Front foglights are designed to cut through dense fog and snow.

Their strong light interferes with indicators, ie; cancels them out. They also interfere with perception and distance as mentioned before.

The are not "driving lights" or "spot lights" or "auxiliary lights" They will not help other people see you better, they don't look cool, they don't make you see better.

It's against the rules of the road to have them on unnecessarily for a reason. If you do have them on unnecessarily you are proving yourself to be an incompetent driver!

dloob

What about cornering lights? My Fiat Bravo has them.
Below about 40Kmh I think, if the indicators are on or the steering wheel is turned a certain amount the front fog light on the relevant side comes on.
It's supposed to help illuminate the turn but doesn't seem to make that much difference to me.
They do make it look like I have a blown fog light when waiting to turn :pac:

Wertz

faceman wrote: »

Aside from fog and snow, I would argue there are times in torrential rain on motorways/dual carriageways, when fogs are necessary when visibility is poor.

There are those who'll argue that using them in rain is even more blinding than in the clear....but that said on mways at mway speeds, the spray that can be thrown up is a lot like dense fog...if I'm overtaking lorries who are throwing upo spray I'll stick on my rear fogs until I'm clear of the spray cloud...if it stops some clown accelerating into the back of me then it's all good.

Front fog use is only starting to annoy me since the winter set in...didn't bother nme during summer much but the trail of idiots behind me on the roads mean I get dazzled in the rear view (even though it's auto chroming)...whoever made a point about sunshine etc :rolleyes: You can wear shades to cut out glare from sun...what would you have us wear at night then?
Whilst we're oin the subject something that annoys hell out meis people who stand on their brake pedal whilst stopped at lights, when it's obvious it'll be more than a 10 seconds. Can these people not use a handbrake? Some car's brake lights, especially the high one are every bit as bliding as rear fogs.

As for why people do it, I think Stekelly has it spot on...in any car I've driven the switch is a selector at the end of the stalk, with 3-4 positions...I think a lot of offenders simply turn it the full way on or off, not realising there is an in-between. It would indeed be a good idea to have them sepoarate from the main lighting system...

Anan1

Wertz wrote: »

Whilst we're oin the subject something that annoys hell out meis people who stand on their brake pedal whilst stopped at lights, when it's obvious it'll be more than a 10 seconds. Can these people not use a handbrake? Some car's brake lights, especially the high one are every bit as bliding as rear fogs.

The great thing about being stopped is you don't have to keep looking at the car in front.;)

Berty

Wertz wrote: »

As for why people do it, I think Stekelly has it spot on...in any car I've driven the switch is a selector at the end of the stalk, with 3-4 positions...I think a lot of offenders simply turn it the full way on or off, not realising there is an in-between. It would indeed be a good idea to have them sepoarate from the main lighting system...

Worst offenders. Drivers of Ford Cars to my best experience and I drive over a 1000k a week. I had a 05 focus and know how easy it is to switch it all the way over.

Not noticing the red light is another story. Idiots.

Wertz

@ Anan1
No? How do you know when the lights change then? I'm not taken to staring out my side windows or whatever whilst stopped...I'm anticipating the traffic moving off and making sure I'm ready to avoid getting caught by them changing back...for the most part that entails hvaing my eyes front and centre...and bein dazzled by not just one fog light but 3 brake lights. Like I said, why can't they use a handbrake?

[edit]

quirke_folder wrote: »

Not noticing the red light is another story. Idiots.

That might be a case of people just not getting what the symbol is. I used be fascinated with the symbol when I was a kid (we had a Datsun sunny that had the switch for fogs but no actual fogs )...I used think it was a crescent moon with a wavy line through it and could never figure out what it meant. It was only years later that i realised it's a representation of a headlight with some fog in front of it. pehraps some people still haven't figured that out....especially since there are stilll so many that haven't figured out that you need to turn on your lights after 4pm in this country in the winter...

Biro

Wertz wrote: »

No? How do you know when the lights change then? I'm not taken to staring out my side windows or whatever whilst stopped...I'm anticipating the traffic moving off and making sure I'm ready to avoid getting caught by them changing back...for the most part that entails hvaing my eyes front and centre...and bein dazzled by not just one fog light but 3 brake lights. Like I said, why can't they use a handbrake?

If they're as bright and blinding as you say then you'll notice when they've gone off even if looking away.
And I don't agree with turning on your foglights when overtaking a truck. The mist is never so bad that a car completely disappears in it.