Fog lights on or off during the day/twilight/evening?

[edgejedi]

I get kinda paranoid that if I put my fog lights on I will be blinding someone with them if they are genuinely not needed (ie. no fog!)!!!

I know some people like to have them on for 'the look' when driving...what do other people do?

Is it safe/acceptable road user friendly to have your fogs on during the day?

 

[Will]

Nope - they are only to be used in thick fog where visibility is greatly reduced.

That's why they're called fog lights

Not trying to sound nasty there but it's in the highway code, and people who drive around with foglights on when they shouldn't can normally be stereotyped quite easily.

 

[Howard]

No.

Only the worst type of Barry drives with their foglights on during the day .... makes the car look 'ard .... innit.

 

[BTB 500]

As above, it's illegal unless visibility is under 100 metres.

 

[Oli]

I remember getting told off by a Traffic Cop for having them on when I was 17 and haven't done it since, I now actually find it irritating when people do it in normal driving conditions.

 

[A210AMG]

I use them so little I often forget what I have to do to turn them on....

Did you have a bmw before the merc (joking...)

What annoys me is people with them on in the rain....

they would be called Day lights or Rain lights if that were the case

 

[Aoraki]

As all the above, they're called FOG LIGHTS, they're for FOG, end of.

 

[edgejedi]

As all the above, they're called FOG LIGHTS, they're for FOG, end of.

I do concur! I see loads of people however who have them on in addition to normal lights - in the Daytime!!!

Who is this Barry bloke anyway?

I can just hear myself now saying 'there goes another Barry!' now lol

 

[martin_a]

Does my nut in. Worse though the idiots who put the rear one on as soon as it gets a bit misty then fail to take it off again. ARRRRRRGH!!!!!

Punishable by the Police of course but cameras tend not to spot these things.

m.

 

[HR17]

I got told off as a yoof too. Asked me if I knew which law I was breaking. Let me off when I finally managed to identify it was foglights without it being foggy. I've only ever used them a few times since in over 20 years of driving when they really have been necessary. Seems daft to drive with them on all the time - just another excuse for the cops to pull you over. Also can be dangerously blinding on wet roads in the dark - probably why its illegal to use them.

 

[Howard]

I do concur! I see loads of people however who have them on in addition to normal lights - in the Daytime!!!

Who is this Barry bloke anyway?

I can just hear myself now saying 'there goes another Barry!' now lol

Barryboys.co.uk :: Home

 

[Stratman]

Easy checklist

Is it foggy? Yes, use foglights. No, don't use foglights.

Is there falling snow? Yes, use foglights. No, don't use foglights.

 

[Aoraki]

Easy checklist

Is it foggy? Yes, use foglights. No, don't use foglights.

Is there falling snow? Yes, use foglights. No, don't use foglights.

I hate to see them used in snow, you just get a massive red blob that's hard to tell brake lights from fog's etc.

 

[Spinal]

I make it a point to turn on the Shogun's "off road use only" roof lights (4 sets of 150W bulbs) and high beams (2 65W bulbs) when I see someone coming in the opposite direction with foglights on if it isn't foggy...

Note that I only do this if there is no-one else around...

Dangerous? Check!
Immature? Check!
Makes me feel better? Check!

An eye for an eye.... (at least the lights only blind us temporarily...)

 

[MOCAŠ]

Only the worst type of Barry drives with their foglights on during the day

Although various Mercedes-Benz models can often be found with just one illuminated. Enough to drive you round the bend, so to speak.

 

[Howard]

That's a bit different , they only come on round corners for a few seconds.

I saw a clown round here the other night as i was going to work , driving at 10pm with just his sidelights on , using his foglights as his headlights.

 

[Rory]

As above, it's illegal unless visibility is under 100 metres.

There's no fixed distance anymore. It's just "reduced visibility".

Front fogs being used incorrectly has annoyed me for years, but now we have DRLs, which on some cars (noteably Audis and MBs) are probably even brighter than the fog lamps.

 

[HR17]

I saw a clown round here the other night as i was going to work , driving at 10pm with just his sidelights on , using his foglights as his headlights.

I see that regularly - its a bit of fashion round here. Looks like some have even wired their fogs up to come on independently of their sidelights for an even chavvier look.

 

[StevenN]

The Highway Code says you should use headlights if visibility is down to 100 metres during fog.

I seem to remember that the old recommendation was to only use foglights if visibility was down to 100 feet.

Are these people that shortsighted that they need the things on when it's not foggy?

I bet they are the same lot who turn main beam on just before passing oncomming traffic.

 

[mbenz76]

Off unless foggy. Like many I suspect I used to have fogs on all the time when younger. Now find it very annoying though.

The worst are those who use then in the rain as it seriously dazzles. Got stuck behind someone in stand still traffic a few weeks back who had their rear fogs on and was blinding me. I flashed my lights (can't flash the fogs on the 212) and tried gesticulating. Nothing. Finally got alongside some time later and shouted out the window "turn your fog lights off" to be met with a rather angry "it's raining". You just have to wonder how some people passed their test.