Fog Lights ..................[Grumble ....Grumble]

[Billy_Hunt]

We get one day of fog but have to put with a week of people driving around with their rear fog lights on aaarrrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhh WHY can't these people turn them off when there is no longer any fog.
All week I've been driving home in blinding rain in the dark along the motorway doing the accelerate BRAKE accelerate BRAKE accelerate BRAKE bit then you get the fools with the fog lights on lighting up the place like some Amsterdam back street.
The slightest sign of fog where visibility is reduced to 1 mile and all the fog lights come on.WHY ?

[SL]

I totally agree. Some people seem to hit the switch at the slightest sign of low vis. Blinding all travelling behind.

What amazes me is the look of total bewilderment on their faces as they are passed after you have flashed your headlights at them.

I'm thinking of getting an anti tank gun fitted to the front of my car, that'll teach 'em.

Simon

[Maisie]

Heartily agree - the number of times I've wished for a rear-mounted LCD display to inform the cretin that it is not, and sometimes never has been, foggy.

Are there people out there who hit every switch with a picture of a light on it as soon as it gets dark? Or 3 drops of rain and the fog light comes on, or there's a touch of mist over the tops of the street lights, or ...

ARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!! NURSE!!!

[Carrie]

Originally posted by SL

I'm thinking of getting an anti tank gun fitted to the front of my car, that'll teach 'em.

Simon, when you get round to getting that fitted can you give me the address of the supplier, I think I'd quite like one as well

As well as the fog light brigade, we also have the other extreme - the cyclists who think that they're fully visible at night when they're wearing black and haven't given a thought to having any lights on their bikes - grr.

[R]

Yeah, and pedestrians as well. Wearing dark clothes and not any - ah, what's it called in English, the things that pedestrians usually don't put on, but which lightens up when your headlights shine on them - at this time of the year, especially since we still don't have any snow, it's very dark outside. I've nearly ran over several pedestrians already, and a couple of days ago, a cyclist neglected a "give way"-sign, which meant I had to stand on the brakes not to run him down - AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

[SL]

I've nearly ran over several pedestrians already

You will have to drive a bit faster then

Pedestrians count as 10 points, double if they are jogging
Cycles 20 points

Oh, and the missing word in English is "reflective"

[Bluebottle]

One of my old cars had the fog light switch hidden behind the wheel so itb was all to easy to forget about it- not as embarassing as my parents Mk 4 Cortina which had the rear window heater and the hazard lights switches right next to each other- and I always went for the wrong one!
I asked a friend once why he always drove with the front fog lights on- he said it looked good! Duh!!

[ma]

Why in heavens name do you have fog lights that point rearwards ???????????????? You've already been there & don't need to see it again, do you ?

Or do you drive ass-backwards AS WELL as on the wrong side of the road ?

[TimD]

No, no, ma old bean, It's you who drives on the wrong side of the road!

The fog lights we're on about are the red high-intensity ones designed to stop people running into the back of you for lack of visibility.

The practical upshot of leaving them on is that the person behind can't see the comparitively feeble efforts of the brake/stop lights when the fogs are illuminated. Causing much hilarity at stop signs throughout the winter.

Had a happy time following an '85 Ford Sapphire (that's almost an early Taurus, but not quite) today, with not only the fogs blazing away, but also the classic eighties Ford fault of a dodgy earth to the light clusters.

When the guy braked, his reverse lights came on too, and when he indicated a left turn, his right hand stop light blinked cheerfully in time with the turn signal, while at the same time the fog light went out!

A scary proportion of eighties Escorts, Sierras and Sapphires have this fault, if you watch them at night. Happy joy!

[R]

Dear me. It can't possibly be legal do drive around like that, can it?

On my car only the [/B]right[/B] rear light is a fog light. Rear fog lights are supposed to be turned off when someone has caught up to you from behind, only the last car in a line is supposed to have it on.

"Reflective" - thanks SL. The only word I could think of was "reflex", but I knew that wasn't the right one.

[MichaelC]

Hmmm, reflex is surely what a reflective strip does??

Mr Hunt, if you don't like rear fog lights, does this mean you don't like the below-the-bumper driving lights either? I think my Pug 306 has been factory fitted with below-par headlights to encourage me to use the driving lights.

[Billy_Hunt]

Hi MichaelC it is not that I dont like rear fog lights, if they are being used for what they are designed for they can be a life saver.It is those who insist on driving about with them on when it is not necessary especially while it is raining and at night, as mentioned earlier in the post it makes it very difficult to see the brake lights which is not very safe.(and it just Pi**es me off when they can be so easily turned off)

As for the below the bumper front fog lights my car as them too which is a mondeo, doesn't almost every car have them now
I dont mind them as long as they are set up right they should point to the side of the road and the beam should be low, some are not which just blinds oncoming drivers.

There was a time when they were only fitted to more sportier cars like cosworth etc. So if you saw them in your rear few mirror you knew that it was a performance car coming through (Hence their origins in it being deemed trendy) but so many cars have them now I think it has passed.
My younger brother still drives with them on in his SRI cos its cool (despite having a warning from the local traffic Police ) more worrying wearing a seatbelt is not cool tut tut

[R]

Is your brother a racing fan, as yourself?

If so, you could point out to him all the safety measures race car drivers have, and race car drivers are pretty cool, aren't they?

This strategy might work to try and get him to wear a seatbelt, it actually did with a younger friend of mine. Just a tip.