How do you use your fog lights?

I worked in Germany several years ago where there are very strict laws regarding the use of fog lights. This afternoon I stumbled upon this article about the use of fog lights and thought to post it here to see if others concur. I promise I'm not trolling here, but I am curious about whether or not readers are aware of or have ever considered the proper use of fog lights

In Europe the law states:

Highway Code

94 You MUST NOT use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves to avoid dazzling other road users.
Law - RLVR reg 27

201 You MUST use headlights when visibility is serioulsy reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights (in addition to headlights) but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 211)
Law RVLR regs 25 & 27

211 You MUST NOT use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced (see Rule 201) as they dazzle other road users and can obscure your brake lights. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves.
Law RVLR regs 25 & 27

Read on...


http://www.garageboy.com/fahrt/fog.html


Driving Tip of the Moment:
Fog Lights are for FOG!!

[Driving in Fog 1] In the mid to late 90s, car manufacturers started placing "fog" lights (or "driving" lights) on just about every new car. Fog lights can be very useful if designed correctly. But they can also be very dangerous to everyone else if designed poorly. <

When I was younger, I thought it looked very cool to drive around with all my lights on (I now know where the expression "running around with your headlights on" came from). I figured that if I put all the lights on, everyone would see me. When you're 19, you want everyone to see you. I also thought it made my car look "cool" - just like car commercials make driving on wet surfaces look "cool". But what I failed to recognize at the time was my fog lights didn't have the desired effect. Particularly on a clear day, they could be blinding to oncoming traffic, as well as the people driving in front of me, having the opposite effect and making it harder for me to be seen... or worse, causing other drivers to dim their mirrors of look away because of my fog lights.

When I lived in Europe, I studied many of the driving laws and discovered they took a very different approach to the use of fog lights. After I understood the motivation for their laws, I could never return to my old bad habits. Fog lights are generally for FOG and must only be used in appropriate conditions. In visibility of less than 100 yards (meters), one may use front fog lights. The rear fog light, usually a single red light as bright as a brake light, may only be used in visibility of less than 50 yards (meters). Of course, they are called fog lights because rarely does your visilbility drop to such a dangerous level in normal rain or snow like it can in fog.

When there is fog, you cannot see normal distances, particularly on the highway, and this can be very disconcerting. The better your long-distance eyesight, the more dramatic the change is from normal driving. This can cause intense anxiety. That is why you must drive so much slower in foggy conditions. Many times I would drive the Autobahn in thick fog, conscious of the news stories of horrible fog accidents (nebel unfalle), worried that I would be part of the next 100-car pile-up. In this situation, fog lights can save your life. Unlike high-beams, which simply light up the fog, fog lights light up the road below the fog. As well, the fog light reflectors are designed to spread the beam wider for a shorter distance.

Unfortunately, many fog lights on American cars are designed particularly poorly. Sadly, fog lights in many Asian and European cars are not designed well either. The US Department of Transportation has minimal regulations for these types of lamps. However, due to numerous complaints, they appear to be trying to address this situation (see this article). Fog lights that are not designed to be an integral part of the front grillwork require extreme precision to insure proper positioning. When these lights are out of adjustment, they blind oncoming traffic. Therefore, it is essential that they are adjusted properly and checked fairly frequently. Nonetheless, fog lights that are integrated into the body of the car must also be used carefully. They also may go out of adjustment, since they are often not designed as carefully as low-beam headlamps. Aftermarket fog lights are particularly sensitive to adjustment unless particular attention is paid to the design and construction of the mounting hardware.

[Driving in Fog2] Some people have written to me explaining that they use fog lights "to light up the edges of the road". Well, I'm sure their lights work that way, but this doesn't justify blatant disrespect for other drivers. You should think of these lights in the same manner you think of high beams and once again follow the Golden Rule: Do Unto Others... If you are alone on the road, use your fog lights all you want, since we all won't be there to be blinded by them.

So, if you want to be thought of as a courteous driver, don't light up your car like a Christmas tree. Make sure all the normal lights (markers, directionals, parking lights and low/hi beams) are working. Please remember to use your headlights in the rain. Use the fog lights only when you have very low visilibility, and don't forget to turn them off when the fog has lifted! All those that have to share the road with you will genuinely appreciate your kind consideration.

Thank you for the excellent post mtrotman! Improper use of FOG lights has long been one of my pet peeves, right along side one of my other pet peeves - DRIVING with your PARKING lights on. If you're driving, you ain't parking! Put your damn headlights on! What, are ya savin' 'lectricity?? Oh well, that could be subject of another informative thread. I think that fog lights should be switched off with the ignition switch and stay off until they are manually turned on after the vehicle is restarted but only when they are actually needed. Too many people turn their FOG lights on and leave them on all the time.
I particularly like and agree with the last two paragraphs of your post: [Driving in Fog2] Some people have written to me explaining that they use fog lights "to light up the edges of the road". Well, I'm sure their lights work that way, but this doesn't justify blatant disrespect for other drivers. You should think of these lights in the same manner you think of high beams and once again follow the Golden Rule: Do Unto Others... If you are alone on the road, use your fog lights all you want, since we all won't be there to be blinded by them.

So, if you want to be thought of as a courteous driver, don't light up your car like a Christmas tree. Make sure all the normal lights (markers, directionals, parking lights and low/hi beams) are working. Please remember to use your headlights in the rain. Use the fog lights only when you have very low visilibility, and don't forget to turn them off when the fog has lifted! All those that have to share the road with you will genuinely appreciate your kind consideration.
I especially like and agree with:

You should think of these lights in the same manner you think of high beams and once again follow the Golden Rule: Do Unto Others...

It is a foreign concept to far too many people these days.

You guys make a lot more sense about this than I could.I seem to get too upset to really explain my feelings about people that "try to be cool" by using their fog lights when there's no fog. I agree with each of you more than I can say. Thank you guys for conveying this message in a way that is easily understood.I only have a 6th grade education,but I have 57 years of common sense. When people have to go to ignorant lengths to "get more attention",it kinda proves to me that all jackasses weren't born with four legs! I also have enough wits about me to realize that I'm going to get a lot of negative reaction on this post.And that's ok. I will argue with a stop sign. And I will do it whenever I please.

Bigtars, thanks for making me laugh this morning!:p

Go get 'em, bigtars! :D

I use my fog lights exactly as they're supposed to be used -- when it's foggy, and hard to see, I turn them on. When it's not foggy, I turn them off. I also turn them on when I'm doing a photo shoot of my "model" in my back yard, cuz it makes her look so purty when she's got them on... :D

Thanks for the post. This is pet peeve of mine as well!

Ok..I'm reformed. I'll turn them off. :)

You guys make lots of sense.

I don't have them on my Ridgeline but my wife has them on her Pilot. I did use to have them on my Expedition. I sure like how they light up the road closer to the vehicle. I'm gonna turn my wife's off next time I drive it.

Maybe I should look at adding some driving lights to my Ridgeline. :rolleyes:

A couple of other comments about FOG lights, the following is from another thread: And, yes, they do annoy other drivers when you follow someone with your fog lights on. Worse yet, they can nearly blind a motorcycle rider that does not have windshield wipers (http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?p=34476&highlight=Lights#). Every drop of rain on your glasses, face shield and windshield looks like a flashlight shining right in your eyes. Please turn your fog lights off when it is raining and you see a motorcycle approaching. If it's me, you can count on me saying thank you.
The margin for error, a potentially deadly error, is very thin on a two lane road, especially when it is raining. Consider that every one of those drops of rain on a riders glasses and windshields get very bright from oncoming FOG lights in that last 50 to 100 feet. If the rider gets blinded or distracted and that cause him to miss judge a turn in the road, loose sight of the vehicle ahead or to simply over react and over correct to being momentarily blinded by your FOG lights, leaving your FOG lights on could very easily be the cause of an accident. There are a lot of new inexperienced riders as well as experienced riders out there that can get caught in the rain unexpectedly on their way home. Please give 'em a break, some consideration and some common courtesy. Thank you.:)

This is true that people should turn them off in a lot of cases, but in the case of stock OEM foglights, their output is usually the standard 55 watt power and light. This is the same light that comes out of your headlights, but lower. Now those with 85-100+ watt aftermarket systems, I agree, they should be used in only extreme conditions, but most still use them all the time. I'm sure I'll have those who disagree, but fogs are going to be my first and, to me, the most important mod I'll do. And, YES, I will be driving with them on all the time.:D

I ride a motorcycle as well, and do not have a problem with fogs, as they are aimed low, unless, again, they were installed aftermarket and by an idiot. The worst part about riding is not foglamps, but a misaimed headlight, or one that vibrates uncontrollably.

Thanks to everyone who replied to my little rant about the foglights.I 've seen some of the foglights that you refer to.I've seen them hanging down pointing towards the rear tires and I've seen them pointing toward the North Star.In the rain the "properly aimed" foglights send a glare to oncoming traffic that is so blinding that just trying to see the "zipper" (stripes in the middle) is almost impossible. I am a professional driver with 3.9 million miles behind the wheel. I started driving the "big rigs" on Mar.23rd 1968. I received an award from the American Trucking Association last year for driving my entire career with no tickets nor accidents.I not bragging,just proud.I've seen snow on the top of Snoqualmie Pass in the middle of July and 122 degrees at 8 o'clock at night in Death Valley.I have seen more deadly crashes than I care to remember.I've driven in some of the most adverse conditions that one can imagine.But I will not drive thru fog. Thats where I draw the line.Nothing,and I mean nothing,is tougher or more dangerous to drive in.All I'm saying about foglights is if you HAVE to have them on,then it's time to park it. There's an old saying that speed kills. 10 mph may be a safe speed in the fog,but there's always someone behind you trying to go 30.One doesn't have to add to the statistics.If you get caught in a foggy situation,take some advice and get behind a WalMart truck.It could be me driving.I will gladly get you to a safe haven.When it's foggy,I park it and put a house number on it.I AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE TILL I FEEL SAFE!!!! 10-4??

I lived in Europe for over 11 years and I'm here to tell ya the Europeans are very serious about the correct use of fog lights. The incorrect use of these lights has been an annoyance to me for as long as I have been driving

I had my fog lights on while driving through some heavy snow in the Alps. I thought I was using them correctly but a friendly official of Italian law enforcement thought otherwise and while I didn't get a ticket he certainly did rip me a new one. It was not a pleasant encounter.

Excellent words of advice bigtars@hotmail.com! I will tell you that I prefer to ride on the interstate highways with the big trucks all day and night as opposed to a 2 or 4 lane local road any time. I also look for WalMart trucks to travel with, especially in less than ideal conditions, because I know that WalMart has such high standards for their own drivers and for the contract drivers that they hire. They also tend to be some of the most courteous drivers. On the occasion that I talk to them on the radio they all seem to be just regular people like you am me, no bad attitudes and are conscious of and have lots of consideration for other drivers around them. And yes, you have every right to be very proud of your well deserved award, congratulations! Who knows, maybe we have traveled together and didn't know it. Either way, thanks for being one of the top professionals on the road. Maybe you are the driver that turned off his FOG lights as I passed? Thanks, again!

10-4, bigtars, and congratulations on your award.:)

...When it's not foggy, I turn them off. I also turn them on when I'm doing a photo shoot of my "model" in my back yard, cuz it makes her look so purty when she's got them on...
So do you also turn off your license plate?? :D

I don't have to turn my front license plate off. Mine is lit on the rear,like it's supposed to be. Thats kinda like those people that put their flame decals on backwards,or truckers that have 4 mudflaps on the rear of a trailor. You know the ones,the ones that didn't graduate mudflap school.