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Fog Lamps When It's Not Foggy


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This evening some wannabe boy-racer in an IS200 was dazzling me with his fog lamps. Odd that he didn't think that driving around with rear ones on (like I suddenly started doing in protest) looked anywhere near as cool! Why wouldn't he want the same wattage back?!? ;)

Can we just get something clear here: fog lamps when you are in traffic, or can see perfectly well, are just for Citroen Saxo drivers and CHAVS!

So if you aren't one, then you must be the other! Next time you're out, check out the sort of people who drive around with them on - you'll soon see what I mean. It's the current equivalent of the backwards Burberry baseball cap. Do you really want to look like that?

It DOESN'T make you look classy or like some sort of dude, it just makes you look like a t!t on the way back to his council estate - oh and by the way, it's also illegal and therefore another thing that the police will use a reason (make that excuse) to pull you over.

Rant mode off.

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i guess it depends what sort of foglights you have, the standard ones are quite bright. but i swapped mine to LED's to match my HIDs and while the light output from the LED foglights matches them perfectly, they produce absolutely no light on the road because they dont give the right light pattern for the type of reflector in the unit. so all they are good for is DRLs, but because of this same reason, id struggle to dazzle anyone unless they were to get on their hands and knees infront of the car. lol

so whats the biggest issue with foglights being on? is it that its hazardous to other drivers because of excessive light? or just because you think it looks naff?

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I HATE the unnecessary use of rear fogs though was once stopped for having front fogs on by Police who gave me a £30 fine. I was really ****** off as i hadn't ever used them before, i think they may have been checked for my MOT the previous day! I fail to see how front fogs can dazzle anyone given the spread and height they are at. But agree with floggit in principal especially with use of mobiles.

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i guess it depends what sort of foglights you have, the standard ones are quite bright. but i swapped mine to LED's to match my HIDs and while the light output from the LED foglights matches them perfectly, they produce absolutely no light on the road because they dont give the right light pattern for the type of reflector in the unit. so all they are good for is DRLs, but because of this same reason, id struggle to dazzle anyone unless they were to get on their hands and knees infront of the car. lol

so whats the biggest issue with foglights being on? is it that its hazardous to other drivers because of excessive light? or just because you think it looks naff?

Unfortunately converted foglights cannot qualify as DRLs because their height above the ground defines them as lights to only be used in conditions of reduced visibility due to fog. Running with either front or rear foglights in clear conditions is illegal - and worse than that lumps you in with those the police would love to persecute and other drivere recognise as nobs.

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I agree witht the rant - foglights in non-foggy conditions are really annoying and a little dangerous. Rear fogs more so than fronts.

When I was a kid I used to think it was cool, like adding mudflaps and other little decorations. There are always some still going through that youngster phase.

It's the gormless ones that don't even know if they're on or when to use them that annoy me more.

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What annoys me is when you see a car with the foglights on and it's a car that you know it's impossible to just switch your lights on and the fogs still be on from last time. For instance in the IS it is possible to leave your front fogs on from the last time you used the car so could possibly be a mistake etc.... But if you see a VAG car (VW, Audi, Seat & Skoda) with it's front or rear fogs on then it can't be a mistake as if you turn front OR rear fogs on in these cars they automatically turn off when you turn the lights off and you then have to turn them back on again when you turn the headlights back on again.

In instances like this as far as i'm concerned the police should be able to give an on-the-spot fine if it's a case that it can be proved the fogs have been turned on intentionally etc....

I think the LED argument is going to be outdated soon too seeing as LED headlights and foglights are now being adopted by manufacturers (Skoda with LED foglights and Toyota / Audi with LED headlights).

Cheers

Dave.

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i guess it depends what sort of foglights you have, the standard ones are quite bright. but i swapped mine to LED's to match my HIDs and while the light output from the LED foglights matches them perfectly, they produce absolutely no light on the road because they dont give the right light pattern for the type of reflector in the unit. so all they are good for is DRLs, but because of this same reason, id struggle to dazzle anyone unless they were to get on their hands and knees infront of the car. lol

so whats the biggest issue with foglights being on? is it that its hazardous to other drivers because of excessive light? or just because you think it looks naff?

Unfortunately converted foglights cannot qualify as DRLs because their height above the ground defines them as lights to only be used in conditions of reduced visibility due to fog. Running with either front or rear foglights in clear conditions is illegal - and worse than that lumps you in with those the police would love to persecute and other drivere recognise as nobs.

hmmmm Manufacturers use the foglight position as DRL's though..... Ford S-Max and New Skoda Fabia vRS come to mind.

Cheers

Dave.

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Before i start my rant in reply i dont use my front fog lights at all never have done. drive to road conditions,including vision and you dont need them.

Ok whats the problem with properly set front fog lights being on. Front fog lights are designed to light the road UNDER the fog, therefore point directly outwards/forwards and not at all upwards. If they point upwards they as much use as putting your main beam on in the fog. Therefore unless you drive with your chin on the floor they shouldnt dazzle you.

I would like to see where it says front fogs are illegal, ilegal on what grounds.Cant be illegal on the grounds they dazzle , have you drove with the new Range Rover behind you? try driving a mazda mx5 with a Range Rover behind you. The Range Rover headlights are direct inline with your interior mirror and dazzle like hell. So does this make it illegal to drive a Range Rover?? Properly adjusted lights dont dazzle no one i see loads of cars with them on they dont dazzle me.

As for leds being used it doesnt matter what bulb is in the lamp a light below the bumper is a fog light thats why its below the bumper to light the road under the fog thats the whole point in putting them as low as possible.

Front fog lights are NOT in the mot test I pretty sure if it was illegal to use them they would have some method of testing them to make sure they work correctly!!!

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So in answer to your "dont otu your head lights on when its light" comment. what you going to do in the new year?? when law dictates all new cars have to have day time running lights??. you going to cut the wires to yours ??? Afterall in your words "dont have your lights on when its light" well in the very near future mate all cars (new) will have exactly that lights on when its light!!!!!!

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So in answer to your "dont otu your head lights on when its light" comment. what you going to do in the new year?? when law dictates all new cars have to have day time running lights??. you going to cut the wires to yours ??? Afterall in your words "dont have your lights on when its light" well in the very near future mate all cars (new) will have exactly that lights on when its light!!!!!!

I wont cut the lights to mine as my car already exists and so wont be a new car.

However theres a difference between Daytime Running Lights (clues in the name) and Headlights.

The point however is that you will look like a ***** driving round with your foglights on when its not foggy and there not needed.

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Like my original post i dont use my front fog lights,but then again i dont really care if people do either. Day light lights disprove your point about having lights on when its day light, the new law dictates you have to have lights on when its day light. Theres no need to have day light running lights on either when its day light

SO why make a big deal about people having fog lights on when its not foggy??. front fog lights properly adjusted dont bother anyone thats my point why bother to make a big deal about it if people put them on or fail to turn them off. Personally cheesey christmas lights all over the front of peoples houses bother me but i dont rave on here about it. AS for your cap on backward ( who ever posted that) its a fasion thing,probably just like having your front fog lights on i guess.

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AS will everyone driving round with daytime running lights on, and everyone else who buys rows of leds to look like they have daytime running lights on. Anything that makes you more visable to padestrians and other road users is ok with me. Must be ok with government as well hence making it law to have lights on all the time.

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Before i start my rant in reply i dont use my front fog lights at all never have done. drive to road conditions,including vision and you dont need them.

Ok whats the problem with properly set front fog lights being on. Front fog lights are designed to light the road UNDER the fog, therefore point directly outwards/forwards and not at all upwards. If they point upwards they as much use as putting your main beam on in the fog. Therefore unless you drive with your chin on the floor they shouldnt dazzle you.

I would like to see where it says front fogs are illegal, ilegal on what grounds.Cant be illegal on the grounds they dazzle , have you drove with the new Range Rover behind you? try driving a mazda mx5 with a Range Rover behind you. The Range Rover headlights are direct inline with your interior mirror and dazzle like hell. So does this make it illegal to drive a Range Rover?? Properly adjusted lights dont dazzle no one i see loads of cars with them on they dont dazzle me.

As for leds being used it doesnt matter what bulb is in the lamp a light below the bumper is a fog light thats why its below the bumper to light the road under the fog thats the whole point in putting them as low as possible.

Front fog lights are NOT in the mot test I pretty sure if it was illegal to use them they would have some method of testing them to make sure they work correctly!!!

Like some other motoring laws, that regarding fog-lights could seem a bit irrational, but it is an offence under the Road Traffic Act to use them in clear conditions - just as sounding the horn in a stationary vehicles or leaving a car on the road with the engine running also is. People can get fined for incorrect use of foglights and regularly do. The real question is why would you want to use them? Fog lights have to be of limited power and must not have a mirrored reflector - although that could help by providing beam cut-off. They shine under fog with an uncontrolled beam that only reaches out 2-3 meters supposedly to enable you to creep along in a pea-souper & contribute nothing whatever to normal driving. Without an indicator in the car, you would have to get out to tell if they were on. The real problem is that many who use them all the time also convert them to HID or higher wattage sources to match the headlights, ensuring they dazzle as many as possible when their intention is just to look "cool" and bravely risk breaking the law. They are today's illegal equivalent of go-faster stripes. Doubtless when DRLs become common, the same sad people will find ways to make them a nuisance too.

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just to clarify, i wasnt saying i use mine as DRLs. just that its all they would be good for now, and making them useless wasnt the point of me fitting LEDs, that was just to make them match. :(

but someone said they couldnt be DRLs because of the height? i drive past a new mercedes every day which has LED strips at the bottom of the bumper in a sort of sideways 'L' shape right next to its foglights.

and my opinion is, that i do think on certain cars it looks good. but in general, im not really bothered unless they're blinding me, otherwise, its up to the driver if he wants to chance it with the law.

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"Fog lights have to be of limited power and must not have a mirrored reflector - although that could help by providing beam cut-off. They shine under fog with an uncontrolled beam that only reaches out 2-3 meters supposedly to enable you to creep along in a pea-souper & contribute nothing whatever to normal driving."

Thank you for confirming my point fjcfarrar.

What next headlights modded to hids illegal?. the law should be "any mod to a car that causes problems to other road users should be illegal". like you point says "contribute nothing whatever to normal driving". So again i add properly adjusted fog lights bother noone. Well except those that just genrally get bugged by what is only a fasion statement of sorts.

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"What next headlights modded to hids illegal?" well now you mention it.... you will actually fail an MOT as of Jan 2012 if you have aftermarket HIDs fitted. :(

although there may be certain exceptions with the IS200 which Ormi noted because it has both headlight washers and headlamp levelling fitted. who knows though.

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"What next headlights modded to hids illegal?" well now you mention it.... you will actually fail an MOT as of Jan 2012 if you have aftermarket HIDs fitted. :(

although there may be certain exceptions with the IS200 which Ormi noted because it has both headlight washers and headlamp levelling fitted. who knows though.

Who told you that about the hid upgrade?? thats an email i havent had yet.And we all know that al lthat will happen is people will just put the standard bulbs back in whilst it goes for test and plug the hids back in the minute they get home.

So even if it does come into mot testing it wont stop it getting on the road. I know a guy who has a number plate wrongly spaced, it has stick on letters ,he just moves them when he goes for test and moves them back before he even leaves the car park. Afterall an mot test is valid only for the time the car is in the station

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I cant remember, there was a thread on here not so long ago about it. Which was then confirmed by various members 'in the know'. But yes your right, and I for one will be switching the bulbs back to standrard and then plugging my HIDs back in as soon as I leave the MOT station. lol Taking it to another level... P.Lindblom actually has to remove his supercharger every year because it will fail an MOT with one fitted! (lives in Sweden)

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I cant remember, there was a thread on here not so long ago about it. Which was then confirmed by various members 'in the know'. But yes your right, and I for one will be switching the bulbs back to standrard and then plugging my HIDs back in as soon as I leave the MOT station. lol Taking it to another level... P.Lindblom actually has to remove his supercharger every year because it will fail an MOT with one fitted! (lives in Sweden)

"in the know" lol. i am an mot tester and you be suprised how much people "in the know" dont know. i posted some mot questions on here months ago and one of the mot testers on here got a least 2 wrong. Again if it is coming into mot law VOSA dont normally inform you until alot nearer the time and i dotn recall seeing the notice already.I am at an mot seminar in March where they announce lont term future plans maybe i will hear about it then

Yes mot test over seas is more stringant (if thats how to spell it) than over here. I have a place in spain and the test over there you can fail of you take things off that were standard. Like bull bars and such like. Also they have an mot test for trailers of any kind including caravans. Now that does sound right to me.

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I wont cut the lights to mine as my car already exists and so wont be a new car.

However theres a difference between Daytime Running Lights (clues in the name) and Headlights.

The point however is that you will look like a ***** driving round with your foglights on when its not foggy and there not needed.

Not if you own a Volvo V70 without xenons there isn't.

My dad has a 59 plate one and the only difference between the normal all on volvo style lights and the DRL's on his car is that the tail lights don't light up when set as DRL's. The DRL's on the V70 are actually the normal dipbeam headlights. :winky:

Cheers

Dave.

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Before i start my rant in reply i dont use my front fog lights at all never have done. drive to road conditions,including vision and you dont need them.

I assume you've never driven at night in dense fog then.... By dense fog i mean visibility of around 5-10 yards or so and not the kind of stuff we've had this last week.

Anyway i have done and have actually had to use them as designed... sidelights and foglights only... and wasn't the only person on those occasions to be doing so either. Mind you we were all doing about 30mph max on the M18 at around midnight so that probably tells you how foggy it was. :winky:

Cheers

Dave.

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