Fog lights, no headlights?

dmcsweeney

Driving home in almost complete darkness this evening, very poor visability and I noticed a load of drivers with their front fogs on and no headlights. Is this some kind of silly new fashion? Is there some point to it I've missed?

Effects

It's been around for decades. Looks cooler.

It’s the VW way.

punisher5112

dmcsweeney wrote: »

Driving home in almost complete darkness this evening, very poor visability and I noticed a load of drivers with their front fogs on and no headlights. Is this some kind of silly new fashion? Is there some point to it I've missed?

Saving the bulbs, the dipped beams are actually blown, they think it makes them super hip and cool ...

punisher5112

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

It’s the VW way.

Ford focus too...

ednwireland

looks cool enough said

colm_mcm

I’ve coded my indicator bulbs to come instead of headlights and my headlights flash when I indicate.

punisher5112

colm_mcm wrote: »

I’ve coded my indicator bulbs to come instead of headlights and my headlights flash when I indicate.

Turn heads

bazz26

I thought it was common knowledge at this stage that fog lights make your car go faster and announce that you don't have a base model.

The Satanist

The muppets think their ****ty, bog-standard hatchback look lower and wider and therefore faster.

Isambard

hate them with a vengeance

Rusky rusky

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

It’s the VW way.

There’s a jap import Prius in Carrigaline which drives exclusively without dipped lights and with fogs on.

colm_mcm

Rusky rusky wrote: »

There’s a jap import Prius in Carrigaline which drives exclusively without dipped lights and with fogs on.

Now that you say it, there’s a Honda Stream near here that has just purple fogs on usually.

Tazio

Makes the car into a stealth jet fighter.......... woooossshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...


I can remember the 'spot lamp' trend back in the 80's... a bank of rally spots on the front of the car... more than 15 mins of running time and the wires melting all over the place.

ba_barabus

Amateurs, your not cool until you have blue foglights on all the time.

punisher5112

ba_barabus wrote: »

Amateurs, your not cool until you have blue foglights on all the time.

Pink is the new trend....

kravmaga

Even worse is only one headlight working,

_Kaiser_

Rusky rusky wrote: »

There’s a jap import Prius in Carrigaline which drives exclusively without dipped lights and with fogs on.

I find myself far more annoyed with how the majority of drivers down in Cork don't indicate, especially on roundabouts.

Drives me demented.

punisher5112

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

I find myself far more annoyed with how the majority of drivers down in Cork don't indicate, especially on roundabouts.

Drives me demented.

It ain't just a cork thing....

Del2005

Could also be the new trend to just use the DRLs so only the front of the car is lit when dark. Using dipped beams and rear lights would increase the fuel consumption.

bazz26

Not indicating seems to be chronic these days. Pure laziness and ignorance.

pinktoe

ba_barabus wrote: »

Amateurs, your not cool until you have blue foglights on all the time.

Nah, eat enough carrots and you don't need to use any lights.

_Kaiser_

punisher5112 wrote: »

It ain't just a cork thing....

No, but it seems especially common down there, or with any C reg cars I encounter on the M7/8. They just change lanes, make turns without ever touching the indicator.

Odyssey 2005

Saving on the electricity.

Henry Ford III

bazz26 wrote: »

Not indicating seems to be chronic these days. Pure laziness and ignorance.

Disproportionate amount of BMW and Audi drivers do this in my experience.

Vicxas

Can picture the car now.

VW Bora or Jetta. Lowered. Stickers on the back with the mandatory "Neverbeen". Yellow reg on the back. And if you're lucky a CB radio antenna.

Oh. And the Fog lights

DaveyDave

Seeing quite a few cars using fogs as headlights recently, ****ing blinding on the backroads in the dark especially if it's wet as the fogs reflect off the road more when they're closer.

Mostly Japanese ****e boxes. Far too many misaligned bulbs and blown headlights and the Gardai are doing nothing about it.

pjdarcy

I don't mind the front fogs so much but when I'm stuck behind them and they have the rear fog light on for no reason, it bugs the heck out of me

dmcsweeney

pjdarcy wrote: »

I don't mind the front fogs so much but when I'm stuck behind them and they have the rear fog light on for no reason, it bugs the heck out of me

Fronts are still blinding, especially in wet conditions. Extremely irritating when you've got one driving behind you as well.

dmcsweeney

DaveyDave wrote: »

Seeing quite a few cars using fogs as headlights recently, ****ing blinding on the backroads in the dark especially if it's wet as the fogs reflect off the road more when they're closer.

Mostly Japanese ****e boxes. Far too many misaligned bulbs and blown headlights and the Gardai are doing nothing about it.

Yup, seems to be an old Yaris a lot of the time. They must also be wired to the dip beam in Octavia's, 90% seem to drive with their fogs on constantly.

freddyuk

We have rain sensing wipers already so what we need is fog sensing fog lamps to stop this pathetic scourge. If you need front fog lamps to be on you don't need headlamps on as it is the whole point of fog lamps which help prevent the reflection off the fog from headlamps. The rear fog lamps are much more important in thick fog to prevent someone rear ending you but why have front fogs on but no rear?? Mental. The front fog lamps should not be able to be on unless the rear ones are on first then the car behind is going to let you know how pissed he is pretty soon if it is not foggy (which is actually quite rare). Why fog lamps are not part of the NCT is beyond me as now everyone uses them all day long and they invariably are shining in the wrong direction blinding oncoming traffic.
Years ago only expensive cars had fog lamps so they were on as a statement of wealth based one upmanship but not anymore.

Dravokivich

freddyuk wrote: »

We have rain sensing wipers already so what we need is fog sensing fog lamps to stop this pathetic scourge. If you need front fog lamps to be on you don't need headlamps on as it is the whole point of fog lamps which help prevent the reflection off the fog from headlamps. The rear fog lamps are much more important in thick fog to prevent someone rear ending you but why have front fogs on but no rear?? Mental. The front fog lamps should not be able to be on unless the rear ones are on first then the car behind is going to let you know how pissed he is pretty soon if it is not foggy (which is actually quite rare). Why fog lamps are not part of the NCT is beyond me as now everyone uses them all day long and they invariably are shining in the wrong direction blinding oncoming traffic.
Years ago only expensive cars had fog lamps so they were on as a statement of wealth based one upmanship but not anymore.

They aren't just for fog. The general concensus is if visibility is fuzzy due to weather within 100metres, you put them on. Such as heavey rain leading to a high amount of road spray.

DaveyDave

Dravokivich wrote: »

They aren't just for fog. The general concensus is if visibility is fuzzy due to weather within 100metres, you put them on. Such as heavey rain leading to a high amount of road spray.

I've never ever seen road spray so bad you couldn't see the car in front. The absolute worst rain I've seen never needed a fog light on dual carriageways. There's absolutely no need for them outside of foggy weather.

But that won't stop every second or third car having then on at all times.

dmcsweeney

Nearly got run over at a pedestrian crossing earlier by a golf with RED front fogs. Not pink, not purple, not blue, bright red. What are the guards doing? Imagine meeting him on the road with head lights off and those on? Could end up causing a head on. What a gimp.

BlackandGreen

Some very sad sensitive people here.
If the weather is very bad with intense rain then front fogs do absolutely no harm.



Waah my eyes like, hurts me poor eyes. i need to wear sunglasses at night because the fogs hurt (( (
christ on a bike.
Nobody is making you look directly at the fogs. Go back and sit your driver theory test if you don't remember what to do when lights are too strong for you.
Prob the same sad cases who cry on this forum about brake lights blinding them.



I do agree with the consensus about coloured fogs. I don't like them.

TheW1zard

And no rear lights! Rear lights are so uncool

DaveyDave

BlackandGreen wrote: »

Some very sad sensitive people here.
If the weather is very bad with intense rain then front fogs do absolutely no harm.

Waah my eyes like, hurts me poor eyes. i need to wear sunglasses at night because the fogs hurt (( (
christ on a bike.
Nobody is making you look directly at the fogs. Go back and sit your driver theory test if you don't remember what to do when lights are too strong for you.
Prob the same sad cases who cry on this forum about brake lights blinding them.

I do agree with the consensus about coloured fogs. I don't like them.

Touched a nerve there Stevie Wonder?

They're high intensity lights. Anyone who says they cause no harm is wrong or has dodgy eyesight. Just because you're not staring directly at them doesn't mean they don't effect you. They're still dazzling as they're passing, particularly on uneven or unlit backroads.

I wouldn't mind but they don't help you SEE any better so there's absolutely no need to have them on. I can barely see them past my bonnet in my car.

There's a reason why it's illegal to use them in the UK unless it's foggy.

jelutong

They only illuminate the road about 3 mtrs ahead of the car at most.

marcos_94

DaveyDave wrote: »

I've never ever seen road spray so bad you couldn't see the car in front. The absolute worst rain I've seen never needed a fog light on dual carriageways. There's absolutely no need for them outside of foggy weather.

But that won't stop every second or third car having then on at all times.

Iv had plenty of situations on the motorway where the spray is terrible. I turn on the fog lights, not to help my visibility, but to make myself visible to others.

I also think the worst trend of modern cars at the moment is the use of DRLs. Great idea but why not have the rear lights on as well so that all the numptys who forget to turn their headlights on will at least be seen from behind by others

Isambard

BlackandGreen wrote: »

Some very sad sensitive people here.
If the weather is very bad with intense rain then front fogs do absolutely no harm.



Waah my eyes like, hurts me poor eyes. i need to wear sunglasses at night because the fogs hurt (( (
christ on a bike.
Nobody is making you look directly at the fogs. Go back and sit your driver theory test if you don't remember what to do when lights are too strong for you.
Prob the same sad cases who cry on this forum about brake lights blinding them.



I do agree with the consensus about coloured fogs. I don't like them.

what a nasty [post, can we go back to the ban on fog light posts please

BionicRasher

DaveyDave wrote: »

Touched a nerve there Stevie Wonder?

I wouldn't mind but they don't help you SEE any better so there's absolutely no need to have them on. I can barely see them past my bonnet in my car.

At my age I find front fog lights actually do help visibility on dark evenings when its wet and misty especially. It doesn't always have to be full blow fog to be poor visibility. Our roads are poorly lit and cats eyes etc are not always present.

A lot of newer cars come with the option to have a fog light turn on when the wheel is turned in that direction. I presume thats to help you see a little better in the direction you are turning.
The fact that its not automatic to have rear lights also turn on the same as fronts do for Daytime running lights is crazy. It really would make for a safer road if both front and rear lights were on no matter what the conditions or visibility.

marcos_94

Iv driven through a lot of Europe and have always wondered why all countries dont have a legal requirements of having dipped headlights on at all times. Link below shows countries in Europe that currently have this in place

https://autotraveler.ru/en/spravka/compulsory-headlights-in-europe.html

punisher5112

dmcsweeney wrote: »

Nearly got run over at a pedestrian crossing earlier by a golf with RED front fogs. Not pink, not purple, not blue, bright red. What are the guards doing? Imagine meeting him on the road with head lights off and those on? Could end up causing a head on. What a gimp.

This was a big thing on Yamaha R6 or R1....

The numpty would fit a red lense over the headlights....

Fcuking dumbest fnuckers you will ever come across... Well donor does come to mind....

mrskinner

At least 10% of cars on the road have one or more of the following defects;

One/two full headlight not working
One/two dipped headlights not working
One fog light not working
Misaligned headlights
Misaligned dipped lights
1 Or 2 rear red lights not working
1 or 2 brake lights not working
Front fog lights on when not needed.
Rear fog lights on when not needed.
1 to 4 indicators not working.

As each of these is an obvious defect at night-time it seems that there are absolutely no checks made to sort this problem.

punisher5112

mrskinner wrote: »

At least 10% of cars on the road have one or more of the following defects;

One/two full headlight not working
One/two dipped headlights not working
One fog light not working
Misaligned headlights
Misaligned dipped lights
1 Or 2 rear red lights not working
1 or 2 brake lights not working
Front fog lights on when not needed.
Rear fog lights on when not needed.
1 to 4 indicators not working.

As each of these is an obvious defect at night-time it seems that there are absolutely no checks made to sort this problem.

I find taxi and Dublin coach the worst for lights ..

freddyuk

jelutong wrote: »

They only illuminate the road about 3 mtrs ahead of the car at most.

Absolutely my point as that is what they are designed to do so the arguments about seeing better is complete nonsense......they are for bad fog when headlights don't work and you need to see the road /kerb/white line at slow speeds to avoid driving off the carriageway. Doing 80kph with front fogs on is completely pointless unless you have other issues that need addressing......

Wishbone Ash

Dravokivich wrote: »

They aren't just for fog. The general concensus is if visibility is fuzzy due to weather within 100metres, you put them on. Such as heavey rain leading to a high amount of road spray.

BlackandGreen wrote: »

....If the weather is very bad with intense rain then front fogs do absolutely no harm.....

marcos_94 wrote: »

Iv had plenty of situations on the motorway where the spray is terrible. I turn on the fog lights, not to help my visibility, but to make myself visible to others....

Heavy fog and falling snow are the only conditions where fog lights may be legally used. The regulations don't mention heavy rain.

ewj1978

Stopped at checkpoint on the N25 the other night. Car behind me pulls up with front fogs on and dipped lights off. I drive through, Guard waves the lad behind through as well.
Its not being policed at all.

Thinkingaboutit

mrskinner wrote: »

At least 10% of cars on the road have one or more of the following defects;

One/two full headlight not working
One/two dipped headlights not working
One fog light not working
Misaligned headlights
Misaligned dipped lights
1 Or 2 rear red lights not working
1 or 2 brake lights not working
Front fog lights on when not needed.
Rear fog lights on when not needed.
1 to 4 indicators not working.

As each of these is an obvious defect at night-time it seems that there are absolutely no checks made to sort this problem.

10%?

Optimism.

Including all those faults, it can be around a quarter to a third of vehicles.

dulpit

Cars with front fogs on along with their main lights are fine. Mildly annoying, but doesn't bother me. The amount of cars with just front fogs on, without any other lights though does. Seems to be possible for some cars to have front fogs on only, which means no rear lights on, no main front lights on. Not sure how, my car won't alow you turn on fogs unless main headlights are on first...

colm_mcm

That would probably be DRLs as opposed to fogs.