Fog Lights

vulmac · 10-09-2013 4:32pm #1

The dark nights are fast approaching and with this a ridiculous amount of people driving with fog lights when there is no fog. There is a sixty euro on the spot fine for driving with fog lights incorrectly. I wish these motorists would have some common courtesy. They are blinding the approaching driver and more so on narrow country roads. So please do not use fog lights front or back when there is no fog.

corktina · 10-09-2013 5:33pm

should be moved to Motors.... :-)

rameire · 10-09-2013 6:29pm

corktina wrote: »

should be moved to Motors.... :-)

so it can be closed?

Fog light people should be fined the full 5,000 they can be under the law.

corktina · 10-09-2013 6:38pm

I fully agree....

Pablo Sanchez · 10-09-2013 7:31pm

rameire wrote: »

Fog light people should be fined the full 5,000 they can be under the law.

This, plus the drivers with only one headlight, in the dark they make a very good impression of a motorbike.

Thoie · 10-09-2013 7:33pm

vulmac wrote: »

There is a sixty euro on the spot fine for driving with fog lights incorrectly.

Is there? Brilliant! Wait - has anyone ever actually been fined for it, or is it just a notional fine?

ongarboy · 10-09-2013 8:02pm

I would say most people genuinely leave them on by accident like with full beams when there's oncoming traffic. Usually a quick full beam flash to them will cop them on as to why you're flashing and they'll turn them off. Likewise if someone behind you has full beams (even more annoying then fog lights imo), if you put on your hazard lights for a few secs, they get the message. Works for me in about 3 out of 4 scenarios of alerting someone. You'll always get the clueless driver who is immune to any alert however.

corktina · 10-09-2013 8:09pm

we'retalking front ones here, more than rear ones, rears get left on very seldom.

GTE · 10-09-2013 8:44pm

Fronts are left on out of ignorance or because it looks cewwwwlll!! :rolleyes:

I have seen many older people with front fogs on with no other lights. I don't understand how it's possible that the rear "parking lights" as such can be off with the fogs being on.

The the usual broken dipped light being replaced by fogs.

It's probably the single dumbest thing I see on the roads and so regularly too.

miller50841 · 10-09-2013 9:12pm

The worst offender on our roads are
1 Nissan Micra 99,00 models. The front fog light bulb has no cover on the tip of the bulb they are blinding.

2 Rental cars with front and rears on if they turn any lights on for that matter.

Cookie_Monster · 10-09-2013 10:17pm

years of this debate in motors ends up with two basic outcomes:
1) People consider them spotlights and think they're cool to have on
2) Most Gardai think the same and do nothing about it

They'd make more money out of using the speed vans to snap people with dodgy or inappropriate lighting at this stage :pac:

LordSutch · 11-09-2013 12:16am

vulmac wrote: »

The dark nights are fast approaching and with this a ridiculous amount of people driving with fog lights when there is no fog. There is a sixty euro on the spot fine for driving with fog lights incorrectly. I wish these motorists would have some common courtesy. They are blinding the approaching driver and more so on narrow country roads. So please do not use fog lights front or back when there is no fog.

I know exactly what you are talking about, as I've been involved in several threads about this very subject within the last few years. The conclusions are always the same; Some drivers think its looks cool (like landing lights on an aeroplane I've been told), others use them because they see others with them on (the sheep mentality), other drivers are just ignorant of what lights are for what, and other drivers turn them on because they can! Some drivers call them 'driving lights' which gets them off the hook.

Nissan Micras (among other cars) justifiably get a bad press on this issue. I think there should be a TV road safety awareness campaign every autumn, telling drivers to use their dipped headlights when its dark, & not their Front Fogs accompanied by their sidelights (not cool) just stupid.

corktina · 11-09-2013 9:08am

my car doesn't need foglights to look cool....

n97 mini · 11-09-2013 9:57am

Gonna go against the grain here a bit.

My car has one fog light, a red one, at the rear. I only turn it on when there is fog.

It has front lights that could be called fog lights, except the manual calls them auxiliary lights. They are low down on the bumper, have a cut-off line in the beam above about 30cm off the road. The same way your dipped headlights have a cut-off.

As they are so low they don't light up the road into the distance, like the headlamps do (even on dips), but instead light up the verge very well. They are a godsend at night when driving on a country road.

I think a lot of people that give out about fog lights are looking straight at them on oncoming cars, with a view to giving out. Of course they will have a glare (like the headlamps), so just don't look at them.

LordSutch · 11-09-2013 10:32am

n97 mini wrote: »

It has front lights that could be called fog lights, except the manual calls them auxiliary lights. They are low down on the bumper, have a cut-off line in the beam above about 30cm off the road. The same way your dipped headlights have a cut-off.

As they are so low they don't light up the road into the distance, like the headlamps do (even on dips), but instead light up the verge very well. They are a godsend at night when driving on a country road.

I think a lot of people that give out about fog lights are looking straight at them on oncoming cars, with a view to giving out. Of course they will have a glare (like the headlamps), so just don't look at them.

Those lights you speak of are great if they're low down and light up the verge as you suggest, but its the Nissan Micra 'type' of fog lights most people are complaining about here, and the drivers of such cars . . . who turn ON their Front Fogs in preference over their Dipped Headlights!!!

What's that about

Cookie_Monster · 11-09-2013 10:36am

n97 mini wrote: »

Gonna go against the grain here a bit.

My car has one fog light, a red one, at the rear. I only turn it on when there is fog.

It has front lights that could be called fog lights, except the manual calls them auxiliary lights. They are low down on the bumper, have a cut-off line in the beam above about 30cm off the road. The same way your dipped headlights have a cut-off.

As they are so low they don't light up the road into the distance, like the headlamps do (even on dips), but instead light up the verge very well. They are a godsend at night when driving on a country road.

I think a lot of people that give out about fog lights are looking straight at them on oncoming cars, with a view to giving out. Of course they will have a glare (like the headlamps), so just don't look at them.

they are also not angled left like headlights
whats the car?

Jhcx · 11-09-2013 10:44am

Those micra's are deadly just another reason i hate micra's even in the day time they are blinding. There real fog lights.

I dont think i could call my lower lights fogs. they do fck all in foggy weather. just as above light up the lower road edges. So i would say they are spots. I've been watching many of the drivers who drive with fogs/spots on. a merc passed me yesterday no parks or anything just the fog lights ... im like whats the point. in every car i have driven and out of the 3 i have owned you need to switch on some form of lighting in order to activate the fogs.

What really grinds my gears though is people who drive with all lights on and their dipped beam is still brighter than the fogs(and their pretty bright). I find usually SUV's are the offender what ever way the lights are angled.
Otherwise i have nothing against fog light drivers in non foggy conditions. lights are lights and you can always spot them from far off in the distance. great in sunny weather spots are a help against oncoming cars i find

Cookie_Monster · 11-09-2013 10:50am

Jhcx wrote: »

just as above light up the lower road edges.

that is entirely the point of front fog lights

GTE · 11-09-2013 11:30am

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

that is entirely the point of front fog lights

Indeed but with more detail, the reason full beams and dips dont work in fog is that they light up the fog. The fog lights are designed to point relatively low down and are also placed very low down so they are effectively under the fog as there could be less on the ground compared to your eyeline.

Jhcx, it is not a matter of them doing feck all or not in fog. Fog is not something we can work with and see the road ahead perfectly. All we can do is drive slower and use these special lights which make the best of what can be a very bad situation of visibility.

They are not appropriate anywhere else as they light up an area that you don't need extra lighting on when driving in normal conditions. That is why you have the main beam to suppliment the dipped beams as they do light up an important area better.

Fogs do not come under the same scrutiney as dipped/main beams. If you look at the NCT, they dont test the fog light focus/angle/direction, at least as far as I know. I would say that the reason for this is that when they are used correctly, the fog between you and the oncoming car will fade out any bliding issues that may be caused.

It is not that the Micra has a bad design, but maybe Nissan have used a different methodology when dealing with thick fog with that car which is throw as much light out as they can very low down. We could find the Micra has the best fog visibility for all we know but I am not looking for an answer to that.

I have daytime running lights on my car where most fogs would be found on a car and even they are wired to dim when the dipped lights are on, so if a bunch of LEDs could cause so many problems that they have to be dimmed you can be sure that a high wattage car bulb can cause many issues when used in weather conditions they physically weren't designed for.

The rear fogs are interesting (relatively to a sad man like me =P )

They are similar to the front dipped or more so the front main beams. They have a focusing and amplifiying reflective surround which throws out the red light directly out the back. Hardly any directionality in them in the sense of pointing them at the road. The result is the bright red light simply lighting up the fog at the back of the car so when someone drives up, they do not only see the light but they see a big red glow around the car.

This is all how I have understood it from some heavy fog driving around Ireland (which is common around my area coming into the Winter/Spring.

Del2005 · 11-09-2013 11:49am

Thoie wrote: »

Is there? Brilliant! Wait - has anyone ever actually been fined for it, or is it just a notional fine?

Apart from exceeding the posted limit and DUI all are traffic fines are notional, since there's nearly zero enforcement.

Tarabuses · 11-09-2013 1:52pm

Pablo Sanchez wrote: »

This, plus the drivers with only one headlight, in the dark they make a very good impression of a motorbike.

Especially dangerous if it is the offside light that is gone.

miller50841 · 11-09-2013 5:04pm

bbk wrote: »

Indeed but with more detail, the reason full beams and dips dont work in fog is that they light up the fog. The fog lights are designed to point relatively low down and are also placed very low down so they are effectively under the fog as there could be less on the ground compared to your eyeline.

Jhcx, it is not a matter of them doing feck all or not in fog. Fog is not something we can work with and see the road ahead perfectly. All we can do is drive slower and use these special lights which make the best of what can be a very bad situation of visibility.

They are not appropriate anywhere else as they light up an area that you don't need extra lighting on when driving in normal conditions. That is why you have the main beam to suppliment the dipped beams as they do light up an important area better.

Fogs do not come under the same scrutiney as dipped/main beams. If you look at the NCT, they dont test the fog light focus/angle/direction, at least as far as I know. I would say that the reason for this is that when they are used correctly, the fog between you and the oncoming car will fade out any bliding issues that may be caused.

It is not that the Micra has a bad design, but maybe Nissan have used a different methodology when dealing with thick fog with that car which is throw as much light out as they can very low down. We could find the Micra has the best fog visibility for all we know but I am not looking for an answer to that.

I have daytime running lights on my car where most fogs would be found on a car and even they are wired to dim when the dipped lights are on, so if a bunch of LEDs could cause so many problems that they have to be dimmed you can be sure that a high wattage car bulb can cause many issues when used in weather conditions they physically weren't designed for.

The rear fogs are interesting (relatively to a sad man like me =P )

They are similar to the front dipped or more so the front main beams. They have a focusing and amplifiying reflective surround which throws out the red light directly out the back. Hardly any directionality in them in the sense of pointing them at the road. The result is the bright red light simply lighting up the fog at the back of the car so when someone drives up, they do not only see the light but they see a big red glow around the car.

This is all how I have understood it from some heavy fog driving around Ireland (which is common around my area coming into the Winter/Spring.

It's only the 1999 and 2000 model Micra and no they don't work better in the fog. I know I've owned 10 or more.

The new cars like VW's, Mercedes, Renault, Audi and so on have DRL's and the likes of the Skoda Octavia/Superb have them retro fitted in the fog light assembly so looks like they are driving with the fogs on in the day.

The problem with DRL's is people forget to switch their proper lights on at night so usually you would see them including most new Avensis/Focus Garda cars with no rear lights on.

GTE · 11-09-2013 5:28pm

miller50841 wrote: »

It's only the 1999 and 2000 model Micra and no they don't work better in the fog. I know I've owned 10 or more.

The new cars like VW's, Mercedes, Renault, Audi and so on have DRL's and the likes of the Skoda Octavia/Superb have them retro fitted in the fog light assembly so looks like they are driving with the fogs on in the day.

The problem with DRL's is people forget to switch their proper lights on at night so usually you would see them including most new Avensis/Focus Garda cars with no rear lights on.

Well, regardless of what is going on in the Micra it is still the idioicy of the driver at fault, not the car.

The EU has required new cars sold here to have DRLs since early 2011. Fitting (incl. aftermaket retrofitting) where the fogs usually go doesn't matter as the DRL would not be as bright as fogs during the day. Also, they generally are dimmed or switched off when the dipped circuit is switched on.

There is no problem with the DRL or fog designs. Although I find it odd that front fogs can be switched on without other running lights (at the rear) being on, it is still not a problem. The only problems are idiot drivers who do not care enough to learn how to operate the car. Anything else would divert attention away from that to something unimportant.

_Kaiser_ · 11-09-2013 6:36pm

Auto lights ftw.. DRLs/dipped all without lifting a finger

Fog Lights

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