Foglight Morons

[TW]Fox · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:10

Yes chaps, its what you've all been waiting for, OcUK 'People with foglights suck' Thread Number 34!

Now, I used to think people who had foglights on when it wasn't foggy did so becuase they were stupid chavs who thought it made their car look cool. Generally, every time you saw such a car, it was a crappy ricemobile with a stupid spoiler.

But these last few months, it's been different. It seems a growing number of normal, every day motorists see it get dark and think...

'OMG ***!!! IT BE DARK!! TURN EVERY LIGHT SWITCH IN THE ENTIRE CAR ON, QUICK!' and on go the foglights. I've even started to see BUSES with front foglights on in totally clear conditions, and there are just as many reps in Mondeos, mothers in Clios and old people in Yaris Versos driving around with their foglights on just becuase it's gone a bit dusky.

Why are these people so stupid?

I nearly got out of my car to knock on the window of the car I met coming down a single track hill who had to reverse out of my way to say TURN YOUR GOD DAMN FOGLIGHT OFF I CANNOT SEE A THING.

Conscript · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:15

Couldn't agree more. I regularly see complete idiots driving along with foglights on. Granted, it's usually the aforementioned Chav nobbers, but occasionally you get other ****wits doing it as well.

I get just as livid as you. They are annoying as hell when someone comes barrelling toward you on a narrow road and all you can do is hope you don't career off the road as your blinded by the poxy things. I always make sure I flash them with my own full beam, although they usually have the cheek to flash back. Hopefully one day the message will get through.

Am tempted to strap a load of those rally-style lights along the front of my Focus just to turn on when I see one of these prats next time Im on the way home at night :/

Oblivious · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:16

For some reason it makes me really mad when I see it. But I have given up moaning or shouting or flashing for fronts. They arent that bad really unless im in the Elise. So common now too.

Rear fogs however

Is the crime of the century. I will quite happily flash/rear fogs as I go past. Which is usually met with either a dumbfounded look or angry hands.

-westy- · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:16

I know what you mean - I've seen a LOT of people driving around with only one headlight working properly, and with their fogs on. Why not just get the light fixed? :confused:

Conscript · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:19

Oblivious said:
For some reason it makes me really mad when I see it. But I have given up moaning or shouting or flashing for fronts. They arent that bad really unless im in the Elise. So common now too.

Rear fogs however Is the crime of the century. I will quite happily flash/rear fogs as I go past. Which is usually met with either a dumbfounded look or angry hands.

I've been using my single rear fog light lately....but that's because it was actually foggy. I don't think they are as bad on the Focus though, as they are very low down on the rear bumper, not with the main light cluster. which means you cant really confuse it with the brake lights, and in traffic, its so low it wont blind the driver behind.

Perhaps Im just jealous because when I was crawling home through the country lanes at 15mph the other night, I was cursing the visibility which had literally dropped to 3 metres and wishing I had front fogs of my own....even though Im told they don't really do much except make you more visible

CypherPunk · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:20

I’ve noticed a huge increase in people driving around with their fog lights on recently, presumably they turned their fog lights on last week when it was foggy, but forgot to turn them off.

On a thirty minute drive yesterday I noticed two drivers using only their front fog lights (i.e. not even side lights) even though it was completely dark, how on earth do people manage that? Surely they must look down at the dash and release they can’t see anything?

Stellios · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:23

[TW]Fox said:
Why are these people so stupid?

/noob question

You mean the spots on the bottom of the car? I use them sometimes, the headlights on my pug are rubbish so when its an unlit road ill use them ocassionally.

kip02 · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:24

I'm not too bothered about people using front fogs tbh, it's the people that use the rear :mad:

when a slight patch of mist comes their way and then glare you for the next however many mile you're stuck behind them with them on!

[TW]Fox · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:24

Stellios said:
/noob question

You mean the spots on the bottom of the car?

Yes.

I use them sometimes, the headlights on my pug are rubbish so when its an unlit road ill use them ocassionally.

Well don't, they are foglights. They dont give you any extra light anyway, just make the area right in front of your car brighter, you get no increased viewing range.

Turn them off. You blind some people coming towards you.

Stellios · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:26

[TW]Fox said:
They dont give you any extra light anyway

They give a fairly noticable difference on mine. DOnt use them very often, usually when the roads are clear and its an unlit road, although i do sometimes forget to turn them off

austinpowers · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:27

Yep gotta agree.... Idiots :rolleyes:

Front fog lights do very little, even in thick fog, i know.

Driving an Audi A8 4.2 quattro (so not a budget car) a few years ago in the thickest fog i had ever seen, ever.

I put the front fog lights on it made pretty much no difference.. Better off turning the lights to side lights.

Whenever i encounter front fog light users coming the other way in my vitesse, i flash them with my front fogs, thats about the only use my front fogs get

Now rear fog lights in REAL fog makes a difference.

willd58 · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:30

[TW]Fox said:
You blind some people coming towards you.

I think this is an important factor, for I have never been blinded by fogs, headlights yes, but never fogs.

-westy- · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:32

I get flashed quite a lot, because of my front driving lights on my 205. they come on with the main beam, so people think I have my fogs on, altho they go off whenever i dip the beam!

Stellios · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:32

willd58 said:
I think this is an important factor, for I have never been blinded by fogs, headlights yes, but never fogs.

Same, I dont notice fogs as they never bother me, but people with those stupid blue tint headlights that point towards you, not the road are what really hack me off. Are they naturally blinding or just not aligned properly?

James_N · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:34

-westy- said:
I get flashed quite a lot, because of my front driving lights on my 205. they come on with the main beam, so people think I have my fogs on, altho they go off whenever i dip the beam!

Shouldn't you be dipping them when people come towards you anyway?

Ive never been blinded by front fogs. Ive got more to worry about usually than a few people driving around with front fogs on

whitecrook · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:36

Yes.

I see it all the time in town and it's annoying, because it's wrong and looks stupid, but it's not usually a problem.

However the other night I was driving the A85 /A819 / A83 (unlit twisty A road) and more than a few cars had fogs on and it totally blinds you. I really had to slow right down to stay safe. Bloody idiots. Get some spots and wire them to the dip if you really need some light.

As an aside I have 2 Xantia's (Xantiae?) low and high spec, and the fog light switch in the high spec is in the same place as normal headlight in the LX. The switch on the stalk is kinda halved and has 2 twisty things for lights instead of one large one - you only need to turn the very end part for normal lights. If other cars have such braindead design I'm sure some people could be using fogs without even noticing.

-westy- · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:36

James_N said:
Shouldn't you be dipping them when people come towards you anyway?

Ive never been blinded by front fogs. Ive got more to worry about usually than a few people driving around with front fogs on

I do, I just can't do it instantly

gord · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:37

Aww.. but it makes them look like rally experts!

paradigm · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:38

Something I found to be almost as bloody daft; during this rather foggy spell we recently had, the amount of idiots I saw without foglights on (rear or front, and im only including cars that had fronts fitted) was just plain ridiculous, infact i'd go as far to say that I see more idiots with foglights on in clear conditions than I saw with them on in the fog, I mean seriously, WTF.

Then there were the idiots in the <20M visibility fog who had NO LIGHTS ON AT ALL. :mad:

Oblivious · 26 Dec 2006 at 23:38

To be honest, front fogs are there to try and increase your range of sight. By shining light underneath the fog rather than at it. They are not really there for increased visability for other road users.

Rear fog lights are there to make sure that people approaching you from behind can see you.

Thats alway been my understanding of fog lights anyway. To all these people who say in light fog they put their front fogs on is rubbish IMO, its either bad enough for both or none at all.

Then there were the idiots in the <20M visibility fog who had NO LIGHTS ON AT ALL.

Agreed, I saw a few with no lights on that were on the Motorway!!. I hit some really bad fog last week too