Why Do Drivers Use Their Fog Lights When It's Foggy?

[Fox 3]

Why is it that drivers automatically turn on their fog lights as soon as there’s any fog? I followed somebody back from York yesterday whose fog lights were so bright that I couldn’t see their brake lights!

 

Don’t drivers make the connection that if they can see the car 400 yards in front that has only their tail lights on, the person behind them can see their car without needing to be assisted with fog lights? The time to put your fog lights on is when there’s no one visible behind you so that the idiots who drive at 80 mph in fog can see you appear out of nothing and take evasive action before wiping you and them out!

[RossD 43]

Mainly, because they don't actually think about what they are doing. Either that or they are just thick. This is my conclusion after several years of careful research and analysis of being blinded by rear fog lights as I follow cars through the lightest of mists! (My personal view is the latter with the majority of drivers!)

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

It's push-buttonitis. There's a button there on the dashboard that they don't get to use for 360 days of the year, so the moment there's the slimmest excuse to push it, it's on. Happy days

 

I like Jeremy Clarksons suggestion - when fog lights are engaged an automatic speed limiter comes into force, limiting the car to something sensible like 30mph. Not actually a bad suggestion when you think about it

[Cameron 16]

I was behind some monkey on the M3 Friday night who had his rear fogs on despite it being perfectly clear, so I gave him a quick flash as I came up to overtake then blinked my rear fog to let him know what I meant, this didn't persuage him to turn them off though. The next guy to come up behind him wasn't so polite and sat on his bumper with his full beams on for a couple of miles, he still didn't turn them off! My guess is he's one of these invalids who likes to have his front fogs on because it looks pretty, but doesn't realise the rears are on the same switch.

 

Anyway, 100% agree.. I'll turn my fogs off as soon as someone is close enough behind me for them not to be needed. I think that's too much like concentrating on the job in hand (i.e. driving a car) for most people and I expect they resent the fact that their fog lights don't switch on and off automatically.

[tri_longer 25]

Almost as infuriating as the bellends who drive in fog/adverse conditions with no lights on or just side lights.

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

In the highway rules, the fog light should only be used when visibility is less than 10 metres.

 

It boils my piss when people use them when its clear.

[matt.f 16]

^^^^^^ agree,winds me up when people have their front fogs on when it's clear!!!can only think they think it looks smart ha.I flash mine at them and do see a few turn them off so they obviously know what they are doing!

[Anthony 1,000]

I don't mind so much when people have them on and it's merely misty - it's when they're still on for the subsequent three months because they're too stupid/ignorant to turn them off again that is more than a touch irritating

 

(self-reseting fog light switches that turn off once the ignition is cut should have been standard many many years ago!)

[Tom Fenton 1,528]

You have to remember many of the motoring public simply are clueless about the controls on their vehicle.

 

A few years ago a mates GF was stopped by the coppers on the M1 on a clear night as she was driving along with her rear fog light on.

 

Even though the car in question had a bright yellow light on the instrument panel, she had no idea.

[jeremy_spoke_in 2]

Completely agree with the above comments, its one of the most annoyint things for me. I believe if you confronted someone about this when its clear, they'd argue that it was foggy a few hours ago. I'd then say, well maybe turn your fog lights off a few hours ago.

[Baz 421]

It is bloody annoying, as if there isn't a light on the dash reminding them it's on. And of course when you tell them they argue as if they're doing the right thing even though their breath is causing more fog...

[pug_ham 242 3 Cars]

(self-reseting fog light switches that turn off once the ignition is cut should have been standard many many years ago!)

 

Fully agree, I'm shocked that on the 306 with the fogs on the same stalk as the lights that they don't auto cancel when you switch the rest of the lights off so you have to select them on again & can't claim ignorance if you get stopped for having them on. It also annoys me that I can't just select the rear foglight.

 

Last time I followed someone with their rear foglights on I flashed the front fogs on my car & she turned them off & gave me a thanks wave back.

 

Surely thats a logical addition to the switch & just needs someone in the manufacturing side to have the brain wave?

 

What I found more shocking last week driving home from work for the first time since the clocks went back was how many cars has just one headlight working, not just missing main beam but both main & sidelight!!

 

g

[toodumbtosmile 1]

I guess its the same halfwits who put their rear fog light on when its raining hard.

[Baz 421]

 

(self-reseting fog light switches that turn off once the ignition is cut should have been standard many many years ago!)

 

They were, on Volvo's like alot of 'new' amazing ideas that other mfr's are only more recently starting to adopt.

[welshpug 1,629]

In the highway rules, the fog light should only be used when visibility is less than 10 metres.

 

ok if youre doing 20 mph....

 

Fully agree, I'm shocked that on the 306 with the fogs on the same stalk as the lights that they don't auto cancel when you switch the rest of the lights off so you have to select them on again & can't claim ignorance if you get stopped for having them on. It also annoys me that I can't just select the rear foglight.

 

I found that weird when I drove a phase 2 saxo, same stalk, not the case on a phase 1.

 

I guess its the same halfwits who put their rear fog light on when its raining hard.

 

when it rains hard enough visibility is severely reduced, so I don't see the problem?

[Cameron 16]

when it rains hard enough visibility is severely reduced, so I don't see the problem?

 

This - when you get bounce and / or spray off the roads visibility can be worse that when it's foggy!

 

Fog light rule is visibility below 100m, but personally I would put them on if it was poor visibility and I couln't see headlights behind me. As soon as someone's close enough to see their headlights clearly, off it goes.

[cRaig 265 1 Cars]

I'll agree with the annoying foglight in the rain, I was on the M5 last week, and in dark, rainy conditions, the extra glare from people having their fog light on, reflecting off the spray/road and windscreen certainly made it more difficult and dangerous to drive. Its called a fog light not a rain light for a reason!

[tri_longer 25]

You have to remember many of the motoring public simply are clueless about the controls on their vehicle.

 

 

No kidding, I was on the way home and pulled up at a set of lights with a big Merc behind me with the main beam on full. I ending up getting out and asking her to turn them off, "it's a hire car I'm not sure how to do it". I subsequently had to lean into the car to do it for her.

[tri_longer 25]

I guess its the same halfwits who put their rear fog light on when its raining hard.

 

I'm grateful if they do when on the motorway and it's bouncing down that hard that you can't see much even with the wipers on full whack. Fog lights are for reduced visibility conditions not just fog.

[Fox 3]

Not just me then!

 

I've given up flashing people with front fogs on now, that many new cars have bright daytime running lights, its not worth bothering!

[GLPoomobile 958]

Fog light rule is visibility below 100m, but personally I would put them on if it was poor visibility and I couln't see headlights behind me. As soon as someone's close enough to see their headlights clearly, off it goes.

 

I thought it was 100m. 10m is a very short distance if you think about it, so you certainly wouldn't want to leave the fogs off until visibility got that bad!

 

 

No kidding, I was on the way home and pulled up at a set of lights with a big Merc behind me with the main beam on full. I ending up getting out and asking her to turn them off, "it's a hire car I'm not sure how to do it". I subsequently had to lean into the car to do it for her.

 

Now this REALLY boils my piss! 2nd thing I do when hiring a car (the first being to thoroughly check it for damage etc) is to spend 5 minutes sat in it to find out where all the important controls are. So that excuse is totally unacceptable. Further more, despite modern cars getting more complicated, they don't tend to vary massively when it comes to the stalk controls for dipped and full beam, so she was clearly being a lazy retard.

Edited November 21, 2011 by GLPoomobile

[GLPoomobile 958]

I'm grateful if they do when on the motorway and it's bouncing down that hard that you can't see much even with the wipers on full whack. Fog lights are for reduced visibility conditions not just fog.

 

I'm kind of on the fence with this one, and I guess it comes down to personal preferance as to whether you feel it benefits YOU as a driver in those conditions. Looking at it logically, a fog light is simply a much brighter light due to the fact that fog has a shrouding effect, making everything almost invisible. Whereas rain, even when it's at it's heaviest, does not shroud objects and make them invisible, it has a scattering effect that makes visibility more challenging as your eyes are trying to adapt to the way the rain scatters all light. For me, I don't think that the use of a brighter light is any good in those conditions, as it's just another scattered light source for you to try and focus on. I'm one of those people who are very affected by light (photosensitive eyes), so I wouldn't appreciate following someone with their fog light on in heavy rain.

[tri_longer 25]

, so she was clearly being a lazy retard.

 

She was tidy though

[Tesstuff 222]

One of my utterly shameful incidents happened because of fog lights.

 

Stuck in a gridlock traffic jam it became vaguely misty during the time we sat there and the car in front of me put huge glaring fog lights on.

 

I lasted about 10 minutes before I got out, walked up to him and asked him to switch them off, we were gridlocked and they were highly inappropriate.

 

His reply and subsequent action forced me to react the way I did, so I am innocent

Edited November 21, 2011 by Tesstuff

[Cameron 16]

How did you react? You can't leave the story like that!