Use Of Fog Lights

[Brian Berry]

In Hampshire last week a nurse going on night duty was flagged down by a wpc in a police car and given a £40 fixed penalty ticket for having her fog lights on when it was a clear night.

Have any Lexus owners experienced any such draconian police methods of so called traffic control?

[ricky_is200]

Good to see Police are taking action.

As detailed in the Highway Code:

201 - You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 211).

211 - You MUST NOT use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced (see Rule 201) as they dazzle other road users and can obscure your brake lights. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves.

(Thanks to Matt for that into)

Everyone seems to have a different opinion on this one, have a look atthis thread

[UltraViolet]

I know someone who also got done with this on the M62 going to work in the morning...... Fog lights on because it was raining

When will people realise that Fog lights on in heavy rain simply means those behind are dazzled and cannot see if you brake!

If meaning front fog lights (as opposed to driving lights) - I think these are a little less annoying, but to be honest, if the conditions are such that they are not required, but are on anyway .... I always assume it is Mr BMW or VW man on a mission to prove he could afford to spec his car up! Not being used as needed, being used 'cos he has paid for them!

[djanderso]

Yup, front fog lights are a real pain - don't understand why people need to use them. It's just a cosmetic thing these days.

[Brian Berry]

Thanks for your input.

I did know the Construction and Use regs as years ago I did the Police Advanced Driving course at Maidstone and spent 7 years as an area car driver on emergency response.

I used the term' draconian' in relation to the way the police dealt with the incident. I consider a word of warning to the night duty nurse would have been sufficient rather than a £40 ticket which hard up nurses can ill afford to pay!

[ricky_is200]

I don't believe people who drive with their front fog lights on will stop doing it unless they are fined. Most people seem to believe they will at most just get a telling off so continue to do it.

[Matthew_McNally]

In Hampshire last week a nurse going on night duty was flagged down by a wpc in a police car and given a £40 fixed penalty ticket for having her fog lights on when it was a clear night.

CLAPS LOUDLY, STAMPING FOOT AND CHEERING!!!

bout time.

would like to see a lot more of this - I am fed up of not being able see where I am driving because of the morons on the other side of the road / behind me driving with fogs / head lights too high.

[Matthew_McNally]

(Thanks to Matt for that into)

Ricky

was just going to look that thread up to quote it - you beat me to it!!!

:D :D

[Brian Berry]

What a hard bunch you are!!!

My feelings are still with the nurse.The red tape and petty officialdom currently being displayed by enforcement agencies is sending this country to the dogs.

I rest my case.

[Monster-Mat]

i agree with you brian......it wouldnt supprise me ,if only that morning the shift officer had told the shift....."today ppl we need to collect more Fixed penelties"

it seems stupid to me that a £40 fine was issued for that..............

and for all those that say it was right,im sure theres things you do that technically by law you can be fined for....so stop being so perfect,we live in a world were peoples priorities are not there bleeding driving lights...........i think the police should be concentrating on a tad more serious things like .....well do we ned to name them

[Brian Berry]

Thanks Supercharged IS200 I feel better for that reply. I can add that when I was serving I had a few speeders mainly BMWs . They were followed and were not using their mirrors otherwise they would have seen the Police Volvo immediately. They were doing 55-65mph in a 30 zone.They were NOT let off!!

[Monster-Mat]

its ok...........speeding is something that can be taken for what it is or argued till the cows come home........

personally,and from experiance,the way you get delt with in a speeding scenario is the way in which you react to the ppl around you............

if your speeding,see the police and slow down,you may just get a good tickig off..........dont notice them,well what else could you have not noticed

however having lived and driven in germany,where they keep strict 50kmh laws in towns,i find it hard to stick at a speed limit on a free open,clear motorway at 2.30am

in towns or at accident blackspots the rules should be stuck to like glue.....but allow for conditions outside of this.......and as for bloody cameras,dont get me started on those things

[Brian Berry]

I agree Supercharged IS200. Most motorists saw you in their mirror and slowed down . A warning was given if the incident of speeding did not appear to endanger anyone or anything and if they did'nt heed the warning next time they were booked. This was all in the days ( 1970's) well before speed cameras where the British principles of fair play prevailed. I am not talking about incidents in the middle of the night but during the daytime when pedestrians including children were around. Sorry to say its a different ball game today with the dreaded speed cameras with all the money going into the police coffers.

[Matthew_McNally]

i think the police should be concentrating on a tad more serious things like .....well do we ned to name them

I agree Mat - but fog light / head light abuse is one of the more serious matters.

Only lately, I have been driving home, from Warrington, throiugh roads I do not know very well.

It gets dark early now - and I am driving down unlit roads I do not know.

Shouldn't be a problem.

Except for the fact that I simply cannot see the road (or any pedestrians) because of all the fools with their headlights too high, and / or the fogs on.

Simply the sheer volume of light coming from the traffic driving towrds me, and the cars behind me in my rear view mirror, means that I simply cannot see the road or any pedestrians crossing it.

pretty serious situation.

so yeah - book ev eryone who has incorrectly adjusted lights. You don't have to get a fine - its so easy to avoid one.

1 - its REALLY easy to adjust your headlights.

2 - fog lights are turned OFF when you get the car. It requires a conciou decision to turn them on. Is it foggy? No? Then don't turn your fogs on.

It might be your wife / child / cat I run over because I cannot see.

[ricky_is200]

Well said Matt...

[Monster-Mat]

well im not going to get into a tennis match of words......

here where i am,the use of "driving lamps" is recomended when the conditions dictate......if you have driven in germany out of major towns and cities,you will know what the roads are like.....

now,if a car is fitted with "driving lamps" these will not dazzle oncoing users by there design...however front fog lights will because of there design....

however some ppl dont know what there car is fitted with.......Lexus fit driving lamps on the front of there cars,as do Rover and VW,BMW however fit fog lights

i agree that ppl driving with incorectly adjusted lights should be presented with a vehicle defect report and be given a producer.........fineing isnt the solution to everything

[Matthew_McNally]

here where i am,the use of "driving lamps" is recomended when the conditions dictate......if you have driven in germany out of major towns and cities,you will know what the roads are like.....

what is the difference between driving lights and fog lights?

not playing semantic games - are they different types of light?

In the UK, lexus fit fog lamps, third bullet point

[Monster-Mat]

fog lights.....point light directly ahead....with peripheral light to the sides

driving lamps....point light downwards towards the roads surface and out to the side

the idea being that foglights have variying wattage types and use this power of beam,to shine through the fog below eye line iluminating the base of the fog layer and not allowing the "white out effect" found with main beam lights

driving lamps are solely for the illumination of the road surface directly infront of your car.

if your lexus lamps are fog........go switch them on.....tell me how far infront of the car the "hot spot" falls......less than 5 meters...a driving lamp

more than 5 meters and no defined hotspot......fog light

[julian2002]

on my ls there is no indicator light to tell you if the front fog / driving lights are on or not. so it's really easy to turn them on when conditions dictate and then forget to turn them off.

my understanding of the difference between fog and driving lights is that fog lights are below the bumper's horizontal center line whilst driving lights are above. e.g. the old 80's xr2 / xr3i had driving lights whilst bmw drivers have foglights with the switch superglued to on.

i'm with those who think that a fine for this kind of thing is a good idea. i drive up to birmingham on a regular basis and in the rain some sections of the m6 are a nightmare. no road lights, rain, and idiots with fog lights on. i can hardly see the road infront of the car never mind accurately judge the distance to other cars. they are FOG lights not drizzle, rain or pose lights.

cheers

julian.

[ricky_is200]

Doesn't UK legislation say that driving lights have to be wired to the full beam so that they switch off automatically when you turn off the full beam? That was certainly the case last time I looked at the driving lights box in my local boy racer store.

[Monster-Mat]

lol.......id just like to point out that im not a habitual driver with fog lights,im only pointing out that there are other times that auxillery lighting is needed and that some ppl mistake the difference btween fog and driving lamps.......

julian,yes the old ford xr2/3/4 lights infront of the bonnet were driving lamps,however due to modern car ergonomics its unpractical to possition lights there......so some manufacturers place them instead of "fog" lamps.......as i stated earlier

[Matthew_McNally]

lol.......id just like to point out that im not a habitual driver with fog lights,im only pointing out that there are other times that auxillery lighting is needed and that some ppl mistake the difference btween fog and driving lamps.......

of course there are times when auxillary lighting is required - but in my experience those times are few and far between.

Meanwhile - I'll bet you as much money as you like - that I will not get more than a mile from my home tomorrow, without seeing a car driving around with fog lights on.

Irregardlesss of the weather, or light conditions.

In fact the original poster (stirrer up of hornts nests!!! :D :D ) said

n Hampshire last week a nurse going on night duty was flagged down by a wpc in a police car and given a £40 fixed penalty ticket for having her fog lights on when it was a clear night.

clealry no additional lighting required

[ricky_is200]

lol.......id just like to point out that im not a habitual driver with fog lights,im only pointing out that there are other times that auxillery lighting is needed and that some ppl mistake the difference btween fog and driving lamps.......

of course there are times when auxillary lighting is required - but in my experience those times are few and far between.

I agree, but why do people drive with their front fogs on yet only have their side lights on?? That goes against all the justifications above!

[jim]

Going through the posts it looks like most people object to others driving round with fog/driving lights on. But there is a point in the original post, why was one driver hit with a £40 fine.

Like Matt I am sure that tommorrow morning I will be dazzled by both fog lights and mis-aligned headlights, and that is before I leave Liverpool on my way to Warrington. What will also happen is that there will be someone driving without any lights at all.

[Matthew_McNally]

I agree, but why do people drive with their front fogs on yet only have their side lights on?? That goes against all the justifications above!

thats 'cos Mat is justifying the proper use of driving lights .

whereas I am deriding the use of fog lights in inappropriate conditions.

sadly, a large number of people in this country think their car looks cool with fog lights on, and that is their only justification for using them.