Anti-Foglight Brigade

In a heavy downpour I prefer that people use their fog lights and I will use mine too.

If fog lights are dazzling you in daylight and through the mist of heavy rain, then you are either too close or need your eyes checking.

Perhaps it's you who needs their eyes checking if you don't find them dazzling, you probably have cataracts.

Fog lights are for use in fog when visibility is poor enough.
 
IIRC fog lights must not be used when visibility is greater than 100m and must be on when visibility is lower than 50m.

They dazzle other drivers, because while they are low on the car they are not dipped. That and the light reflects off the road surface, particularly when it's wet.

You shouldn't have had your fog lights on. That's why you were flashed.

Really? According to Magicboy's research "Front fog lamps provide a wide, bar-shaped beam of light with a sharp cutoff at the top, and are generally aimed and mounted low."

There was no glare off the wet road surface because spray at that level made such reflections impossible. Besides, as noted before, the ambient light was enough that there was not enough contrast to make them dazzle others.

As someone who actually drove through Dartford this afternoon/evening, including on the M25/A282, there were points where visibility was very very bad and fog lights would have assisted.

Thank you. I dont think some people hear are quite grasping the conditions Im trying to explain, so Im glad someone else knows what Im talking about.

Visibility so bad you need fogs but you still did 50mph..confused

Firstly, I said 50MPH was the maximum speed you could do if you were lucky. Secondly, the visibility was at no point so bad that I needed fogs to see further. Nowhere in this thread have I stated that the visibility was so bad that I could not see where I was going.

What I have said repeatedly is that I used the fog lights to make my own car more visible, and I could see the benefit of others doing so. I wasn't using them to illuminate other cars or the road ahead, but other cars with their fog lights on were much easier to discern through the spray. Which is why I turned mine on.
 
True. Only problem is that most cars won't let you turn on your rear fog(s) without also turning on the front fogs. But I suppose looking like a prat is better than getting rear ended.

Still, what the other guy said about the rear fog being mistaken as a brake light is just as valid.

Remove the front bulbs then :)

It was me that said about mistaking rear fogs as brake lights :)
 
In a heavy downpour I prefer that people use their fog lights and I will use mine too.

If fog lights are dazzling you in daylight and through the mist of heavy rain, then you are either too close or need your eyes checking.

Arrogant self-centering like this could make you rich one day (if you aren't already ;)). But in the mean time it's not going to be winning you any admirers on the road.

PS: You can't control how closely some idiot with his fogs on is following behind you.
 
There was no glare off the wet road surface because spray at that level made such reflections impossible. Besides, as noted before, the ambient light was enough that there was not enough contrast to make them dazzle others.

Obviously there was glare, you dazzled someone, you got flashed. But you won't listen when you are told; you shouldn't have had your fog lights on.
 
Remove the front bulbs then :)

It was me that said about mistaking rear fogs as brake lights :)

Good thinking bat man. I don't have that problem on my main car, they're driving lights linked to the main beam. So I can control my rear fogs independently. Worthy mod for the Polo winter hack though.
 
If the Mk3 MX-5 foglight is anywhere near as bad as the MK1 then i don't blame him. Brightest thing ever! :eek:
 
Right - let's clear a few things up, shall we?

Rear fog-lights - very very useful to vehicles who approach you from behind. Rear fogs give a good, advance warning to following vehicles. Turn them off when the vehicle is sufficiently close enough so that the high intensity lights are not confused with brake lights.

Front fog lights - a complete, total and utter waste of space, time and resources. If you really think that having a silly, wide angled light at the front of your car will give you either A: Better visibility or B: Better visibility to others, then I respectfully suggest you spend a little more time learning roadcraft.

The only reason front foglights came into Vogue was car manufactures jumping on the sport/rallying bandwagon. I've driven at least 10 cars with front fog lights, in the fog, and in all 10, not one gave better viewing illumination with the front fog lights on as opposed to the front fog lights off. If you somehow think that having a front fog light makes you more visible, then I'm sorry to inform you that it doesn't.

HTH

:)
 
Obviously there was glare, you dazzled someone, you got flashed. But you won't listen when you are told; you shouldn't have had your fog lights on.

No, not "obviously" at all. I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe he was dazzled by my rear fog. Unless he had some crazy sensitivity to light. He was not close enough to be dazzled by a single rear fog light.

And I am listening, but I disagree with you. You obviously just have an innate hatred of fog lights brought on by dickheads in hatchbacks who use them to light up whatever one way system they are racing around, and therefore cant bring yourself to accept the fact that they might have a legitimate use sometimes.
 
If you can see the car behind in your mirrors, then you shouldn't have the rear fog on. Because he can see you too already.

Height/stance of the car, dirty windscreens, drivers that wear glasses or have eyesight conditions, or perhaps need to get their prescription revised. People with tired eyes. People that have sat in front of a screen all day. All these things can affect how bad glare is from other vehicles. They have just as much right to be on the road as you.
 
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If you can see the car behind in your mirrors, then you shouldn't have the rear fog on. Because he can see you too already.

BUT HE CAN SEE ME THAT LITTLE BIT SOONER IF I HAVE A REAR FOG LIGHT ON!!

What on Earth is so wrong with that? If he discerns me even half a second quicker because he makes out the brighter like through the spray quicker, it could make the difference between braking in time or not, should the worst happen.

Height/stance of the car, dirty windscreens, drivers that wear glasses or have eyesight conditions, or perhaps need to get their prescription revised. People with tired eyes. People that have sat in front of a screen all day. All these things can affect how bad glare is from other vehicles. They have just as much right to be on the road as you.

It really feels like you are making me out to be some sort of selfish *****, simply because I chose to use a foglight in poor visibility.
 
^^^
Errrrr - mirrors? Use them, maybe?

Have rear fogs on, by all means, but turn the damn things off when the vehicle behind has no need for them.

FFS - is it really that difficult :mad::mad:

Learn some road craft and some courtesy for other road users.
 
BUT HE CAN SEE ME THAT LITTLE BIT SOONER IF I HAVE A REAR FOG LIGHT ON!!

What on Earth is so wrong with that? If he discerns me even half a second quicker because he makes out the brighter like through the spray quicker, it could make the difference between braking in time or not, should the worst happen.

:confused:

That makes no sense as a response to the quotation of me.
 
Consider this, somebody in front of me flicks on a fog light, I will start braking.

On older cars its fairly obvious its a fog light, on newer ones, its often easy to think it could be a brake light (with one side out) hence my instinctive braking action.

Thing is, on a busy road, this sets off a chain reaction.

Also...

The thing that puzzles me most about people turning on fog lights is the fact that you can often see the normal tail lights of cars 7 - 8 vehicles in front.

I can only assume the drivers turning on their fogs in this scanario fail to process this in their brains...?

People don't drive, they merely operate vehicles. see a bit of fog / rain (or clear sky for that matter!) and they reach for the fog lamp switch on auto pilot....

It Beats the **** out of me tbh! :o
 
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But you might have been dazzling the **** out of him for miles :confused:

Precisely. Once the car has "latched on" to your tail. You must turn the rear fog off. As it has served its purpose of preventing rear endage. If you then subsequently lose the tail car, then of course turn it back on.
 
Fuggeddabout fogs and beams, im finding theres a lot of people out there with normal lights that are frankly blinding if people drive behind me with them on. Particularly those on landrovers where the lights are rediculously high up and sit level with my rear view mirror but a a lot of newer luxury cars are now coming with HID lights as standard and they are all incredibly distracting

If your lights are illumnating the cabin of my car to the point where i can see a shadow of my head being cast then its too damn bright

I find your reasoning for needing fogs poor, if your saying your fogs are pointed down then they were not helping you see cars up ahead, if they lighting up cars ahead of you then its a distraction to the guy in front and if you need them because you cant see far enough ahead.. drive slower

Rear fogs in heavy rain is also inexcusable, when you have rain like that and wipers on full pelt already distracting you really dont need the added glare of all the water on the screen being lit up and refracting light all over the place, in addition to the fact that if the traffic is slowed down the cars behind you might not be that far away and are having to sit looking directly are your brightly lit rear lights... there is a reason your lights are not that bright to begin with, because it can be somewhat blinding, i dont care that you want to be the most visibile thing on the road.. there ARE more things than you i need to pay attention to if im to be able to drive safely, like cars in other lanes, what the traffic is doing further ahead... anyone who drives only focusing on the back bumper of the car ahead WILL have an accident

Short version, you were being an inconsiderate nobend.. dont do it again
 
^^^
Errrrr - mirrors? Use them, maybe?

Have rear fogs on, by all means, but turn the damn things off when the vehicle behind has no need for them.

FFS - is it really that difficult :mad::mad:

Learn some road craft and some courtesy for other road users.

What are you talking about? Use my mirrors? The point is about being seen, not being able to see.

Why would you turn them off when the vehicle behind is too close? That would make it worse! Someone was talking about not knowing the difference bwteen brake/fog lights - if you start turning your fog light on and off it would only increase confusion!

And don't start lecturing me on road craft and courtesy to other road users. That was exactly my motive. I joined a busy traffic stream where spray was hindering visibilty and decided to take steps to ensure that my vehicle was as visible as possible to other road users.
 
It really feels like you are making me out to be some sort of selfish *****, simply because I chose to use a foglight in poor visibility.

I think you're taking this too much to heart. People are saying that in general it is very rare that fog-lights are actually useful and in most cases are actually a distraction to other road users.

You were the only one of us here on the road and in the car at that time so you will have an opinion of whether or not the conditions suited fogs. However, it seems that other road users found your use of them more of a hindrance than a help and as such you maybe should have taken that hint at the time and turned them off ;)
 
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