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[bob.dent]

.....
Surely if you are on the motorway, its hammering down with rain and cannot see the car in front because of spray, if he had his rear fogs on you would see him. ..... BE SEEN. .....

NO! They are for fog not bloody rain! All they do in rain is dazzle the poor bugger behind you!!    If it's raining that hard you should have already slowed down. If you were in front of me you'd have my main beam in your mirrors - Yes! I know 2 wrongs etc etc

There not actualy, they are supposed to be used during periods of limited visability.....fog, rain, snow etc....cant remember the distance quoted (which I should)

High intensity rear lights in my opinion are of use (sorry Mr Wood), next time there is limited visability look and see how much easier it is to see high intensity rear lights than normal ones....

Its front fogs I find useless.....even in thick fog.....and on many of the latest car designs and pretty much all 4x4's, they are so high off the ground they can never function as a true fog light whcih needs to be low enough so as to shine under the fog and along the ground!

I would generally agree that rear high intensity lights are useful when visibility is REALLY poor i.e. when you can't see more than 20-30 yards in front of you. However, I do occassionally find the front "driving lights" (as I believe they're called) useful occassionally on dark wet winter nights if you only have standard headlights rather than HID's. Some of the roads I use to and from work are out in the country and are unlit and no cats eyes. With my old Omega with standard lights I couldn't see a damn thing without using the driving lights.

[TheBoy]

There not actualy, they are supposed to be used during periods of limited visability.....fog, rain, snow etc....cant remember the distance quoted (which I should)

100yrds...

[TheBoy]

There not actualy, they are supposed to be used during periods of limited visability.....fog, rain, snow etc....cant remember the distance quoted (which I should)

100yrds...

Which, incidentally is about 1.5 telegraph poles on a country lane.  Not a tiny bit of mist  

[hotel21]

Personally, I have not read so much tosh about a serious road safety issue in ages......  

Correct use of rear fog lamps save lives.  End of argument.    

Incorrect use of front or rear foglamps causes frustration.

Either should be used only when road conditions dictate.

Legislation - http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1989/Uksi_19891796_en_4.htm#(Tiii)27restrictionuselampotherthanthosewhichregulation24refer

Whats seriously reduced visibility? - Not just fog, not just rain, not just snow, not just smoke blowing across a motorway from a nearby fire, not just wind whipping up dirt from the next field, its ANY AND ALL of these plus any others not on the list which seriously reduces visibility to less than 100 metres.

Check the Highway Code.  Always a good stick for a prosecution counsel to hit you with in Court....

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/21.htm

see rules 201, 210 and 211.

safe driving all...  

[hotel21]

Bob - 'driving lights'....  another emotive subject.....  

You get front fog lights and you get auxiliary headlamps (front spots).  No such animal in legal terms as 'driving lights'.

Front fogs use is as per above.  Auxiliary headlamps are wired to main beam.  Anything else is naughty.  

[bob.dent]

Bob - 'driving lights'....  another emotive subject.....  

You get front fog lights and you get auxiliary headlamps (front spots).  No such animal as 'driving lights'.

Front fogs use is as per above.  Auxiliary headlamps are wired to main beam.  Anything else is naughty.  

Thanks for the education Broocie

I think some of the manufacturers refer to them as "driving lets" in their advertising blurb :-?

[Big Rod]

I agree with MarksDTM on the 4x4 front fog light comments. It never occurred to me before I bought one, but they do seem a bit pointless really.

Front fogs on a Cavalier did save my life one time though. I'm waiting to get flamed for admitting this, but one time during February a number of years ago, I was driving up the M74. Just after I passed Gretna it started to snow very very heavily indeed and within minutes it was white out conditions. As it was late at night, there were few cars on the road and visibility got dreadful. My headlights were making things worse, so I had to turn to sidelights and switch the fogs on. Much better! I had to keep going, 'cos the slip roads were blocked with either deep snow or abandoned cars and I couldn't stop on the carriageway or I'd never get going again and freeze or suffocate to death. Made it all the way to Hamilton at about 25 MPH. When I got there, the snow miraculously disappeared as quick as it had set upon me, so I switched my headlights back on....................Nothing!  :-? So I pulled over to see what was afoot. I swear there was about a foot thick of snow on the front of my carwith only a hole int he front where the grille was and two holes under the bumper with the fogs shining out!!  

As far as use of brighter tail lights during periods of diminished visibility is concerned, I'm all for them providing they're used conscientiously.

If I ever feel I need to use them, I always guage the visibility around me by how visible other cars with lights on are. If I can't see any other cars or they're barely visible, then I'll switch them on, similarly, when passing a lorry with a lot of spray, I'll switch them on while driving through the spray and for a little while afterwards until I see the following car emerge from the spray, then I'l switch them off.

Using the fogs when there's absolutely no need to or forgetting to switch them off after the visibility improves is tantamount to middle laning IMO.

[Kevin Wood]

From highway code:

You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off

That sums it up, IMO. MAY use them, MUST switch them off.

.. and I didn't want to imply that they are totally useless, just that on balance they do more harm when left on inadvertently than they do good when on for good reason. In 20 years of driving I have probably used a rear fog light half a dozen times. We don't exactly see the worst of the British climate in Hampshire, however.

Kevin

[Andy B]

.....

Correct use of rear fog lamps save lives.  End of argument.    

Incorrect use of front or rear foglamps causes frustration.

 .......

Da dah! I agree completely with you!  
The CORRECT use of lights .... but how often have you ever been on any kind of road & not been able to see 100 metres/yards? Not very often I bet. People see a bit of rain ... they're on a m-way and so the 'rear fogs' go on.

[hotel21]

In essence, fog lamps (front or rear) should be used in the same manner as your main beam.  Switch them on where there is a need, switch them off when theres no need or a reason not to.  Simple, really....  

[Jimbob]

I use the extra lights when the visability needs it. (and turn them off when not).

As for the 6 times ever, round here it can be 6 times a week at certain times of the year, we are near a river and marsh land, and visability is often 20-30 yrds, but only in a sort of 2 mile radius area.

I also remember the next bloke's eyesight may not be as good as my own, and would rather he saw me than hit me.

[bob.dent]

.....

Correct use of rear fog lamps save lives.  End of argument.    

Incorrect use of front or rear foglamps causes frustration.

 .......

Da dah! I agree completely with you!  
The CORRECT use of lights .... but how often have you ever been on any kind of road & not been able to see 100 metres/yards? Not very often I bet. People see a bit of rain ... they're on a m-way and so the 'rear fogs' go on.

I agree, many motorists use them uneccessarily and then never switch them off which is a real pain in the ar*e if you happen to be behind them, especially at night

Maybe the motor manufacturers should add sensors to cars to switch them on/off automatically in bad visiblilty and take out the manual switches. :-/

[hotel21]

.....

Correct use of rear fog lamps save lives.  End of argument.    

Incorrect use of front or rear foglamps causes frustration.

 .......

Da dah! I agree completely with you!  
The CORRECT use of lights .... but how often have you ever been on any kind of road & not been able to see 100 metres/yards? Not very often I bet. People see a bit of rain ... they're on a m-way and so the 'rear fogs' go on.

Good Grief!!  Mark the calender!  AndyB agrees with me!      

How often been on a road needing fogs?  Quite often, actually.  Dunno what weather is like round your way but we get a fair bit of fog and rain and snow and stuff.  You may remember from being up this way.  Also, working shifts.  It often gets foggy approaching dawn then clears before most folk get up for work.

 

[Kevin Wood]

I think it also requires you to put yourself in the position of the guy behind you. If there's no-one behind you and the visibility is sufficiently bad, the fog lights have to go on, in case someone comes up behind you and doesn't see you until too late. Once that person is safely foillowing you, close enough to see the tail lights, the more important issue becomes him responding to your brake lights so, IMO, the fog lights should go off.

So, I think Brucie's analogy with the main beams is spot on. They should be used dynamically as the need arises rather than turned on with the first patch of fog and off again in the spring  

Kevin

[megaomega123]

As I'm sure most people know, seeing the car in front is not enough for safe driving.

It is important to be able to see what is going on with the car in front of that and the car in front of that etc etc. People who drive in the rain with their high intensity rear fog lamps on cause so much glare that it is impossible to see past the car with them on, thus impairing the view of those behind and not improving matters.

If it is raining and you feel the need to show these lights perhaps it is time to pull over until driving conditions are safe
enough to continue.

May I be as daring to suggest that if you are employing the correct stopping distances plus a bit for the conditions, that you would be far enough away from the leading vehicle that any glare would have dissipated by the time it reached your eyes.
I don't think the use of lights is the problem, I think it is people driving too close to the vehicle in front. A foglight at 60 yards causes me no problems with glare and allows me to have a clear view of the road ahead.