I can only remember driving in a real peasoupoer once in over 20 years. Less than 50m visibility and patches where it was a lot less.
Sidelights and fogs was the best option. You can see the road in front, but don't get full headlights reflecting off the fog.
|
|
|
You could try both and see what works better?
I'm interested in others' views and experience; why else would I ask...?
|
Some cars might not allow switching on front fog lamps unless headlight is also on!
Edited by movilogo on 14/02/2008 at 10:40
|
|
Seeing that it is illegal to drive with only fog lights on the answer is pretty obvious.
|
Seeing that it is illegal to drive with only fog lights on the answer is pretty obvious.
>>
My answer is also pretty obvious. I would drive on only sidelights and fog lights because I consider this gives me the best vision in thick fog and is safer for me.
Fortunately I have only experienced driving in really thick fog once in several years.
|
|
|
It is not illegal to drive with only fog lamps on. In adverse conditions, you are allowed to turn off your dipped beams if you are using your front foglamps. (RVLR 25.2.b.ii).
The UNECE regulations for front fog lamps say that a car must let you turn them on and off independently of the dipped beams, but you mustn't be able to turn them on without the position lamps.
|
|
|
|
|
Fair point I suppose.
Okay, on my current Accord the foglights are so puny and low that they are completely irrelevant. On my previous Xsara they were very useful, and a couple of times I used them to good effect on sidelights to give better visibility in thick fog.
I suspect the real answer depends strongly on the car, therefore your own personal experience should swing it either way.
G
|
On my Mazda6 Sport the front fog lights are located within the headlight unit. The sport is also the only model of the Mazda6 (previous model) to have front fogs as standard. So they were not there for looks as such.
The odd thing is the other models can have optional front fogs that go in the bumper. But the headlights have four bulbs each: indicator, fog, main beam and headlights (main beam being Xenon on mine). So for the lesser models they surely have dummy fog lights in this unit.
When I've tried them on unlight (empty) roads to see how good/bad they are they throw a light pattern wide across the road. The Xenon's are off course lighting the road ahead quite well.
|
Fog lamps are only supposed to highlight lane markings and road edges immediately ahead of you, for real pea-souper conditions where the dipped beams are unhelpful due to reflection off the fog. If you find yourself in those conditions, you should be going pretty slowly (20-30mph).
|
I was pulled in the middle of Frome at 2am in about 1970 by a young copper who stepped into the road and flagged me down because the large single foglight on my Bentley was on. I explained that there had been fog on the road into the town.
He looked me in the eye and said: 'You're not a local man, are you sir?'
Cheeky little blighter.
|
"Okay, on my current Accord the foglights are so puny and low that they are completely irrelevant"
In real fog conditions (very rare ime) the lower the foglight the better, when used with sidelight (or marker lamps). The idea is to give a low (so little glare reflected back to you) wide but short light to highlight the edge of the road/carriageway and allow you to proceed safely at a relevant speed.
The idea of foglights built into headlamps (mazda, vw etc) is completely daft imo and does not help visibility any more than conventional dipped beams.
Thankfully we dont have much "real" fog to worry about it!
|
Quite foggy round here last night, and I found that sidelights and front fogs gave the best view on the back roads. First time I've ever used them in 3 years.
On the A roads I put headlights on.
|
|
|
|
My A6 allows 3 choices - heads, fogs or both, only very rarely needed when really misty on the country road home.
You could argue that fogs alone on long lit motorway journeys help the headlight bulbs last a bit longer.......I think I shall try it as I read somewhere that Audi headlight bulbs are a devil to change!
|
Fog lights? Balderdash, never bothered with them.
Been driving along with only sidelights and the Wolseley radiator light since rationing ended. And proper semaphore trafficators, too!
It was good enough for my father and his father before him. Didn't build an Empire on HIDs, LEDs and such fiddle faddle......
:-)
|
Fog - You lot have never seen it !
During the 60's in my home town on the East Midlands coast, the only thing that stopped the buses running was fog. Snow wasn't a problem, drivers took in their stride, and the snowploughs soon cleared the main roads. Fog was a different matter though. Traffic was slowed to walking pace, and on a bad day, walking pace was to fast.
No kerbs to be seen, no road names visible, no idea of where you are. We kid's we used to play hide and seek in the fog.
Edited by none on 15/02/2008 at 21:51
|
sq
Before the Clean Air Acts took effect and when there was still a thriving steel industry there, I was a student in Sheffield; when there was fog there it was orange and sulphurous (probably pH 4 or less). I saw buses mount the pavement, unless guided by the conductor walking ahead. In fog anywhere near that thick, only low level foglights are any help, headlamps reflect back and obscure everything.
"Sixteen of us there were, living in that cardboard box --- "
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 16/02/2008 at 22:03
|
Not as daft as it sounds.
About 1973 my Dad used to go to Loughborough every weekend to collect/deliver my Gran for the weekend. I can clearly remember him driving over Gunthorpe bridge (River Trent) with both windows down and my Mum keeping watch on the nearside kerb whilst he concentrated on the road ahead.
Took us 3 hours to do 26 miles.
|
Thanks for the replies. Some echoed my views, which are that:
- Heads + fogs don't make sense; the point of fogs is that they avoid the 'glareback' of headlamps
- Sidelights and fogs do make sense (see above)
- There's not much real fog around these days (and I can only remember a handful of occasions when visibility was absolutely awful in nearly 40 years of driving, and he last was about 20 years ago)
- People that drive on heads and fogs (even in good night-time visibility) are bonkers, or maybe just think they're sending a strong image to other roadusers
- Fog lights generally make cars look better (though I've yet to use them in a year of owning my 320d
- I sometimes use sidelights and fogs to make my black MINI Cooper S more visible to oncoming drivers on dull days.
|
|
I use the front fog lights to show people that I'm not driving the poverty-spec version of my car.
|
>> I use the front fog lights to show people that I'm not driving the poverty-specversion of my car.
Why? Do you think any approaching motorist either knows or cares what you drive and who or what you are, apart from being a dazzler?
Perhaps the word 'dazzler' might soon go the way of 'gay' and acquire a totally different meaning from its original OED definition.....
|
I use the front fog lights to show people that I'm not driving the poverty-spec version of my car.
And I use my main beam to show my disaproval of those that leave them on when it's not actually foggy.
The clue is in the name:- fog lights = lights which should only be used when it is foggy ;o)
|
"I use the front fog lights to show people that I'm not driving the poverty-spec version of my car."
Thats very clever! Shame there are so few traffic police around to remind you of what lights should be on in what weather conditions!
And at least those with the poverty spec may be driving correctly too!
|
|
I thought he was having a little joke myself....:-)
|
|
While we are on the subject of foglamps,is there a signal to say 'Turn off your rear foglamps you ****.If there isn't there should be.Suggestions please.
|
Clarkson came up with the best one. His theory was that if it's foggy enough to need rear fogs, it's not safe to drive faster than 40mph, so given modern technology it should be a doddle to wire the rear fogs up to the engine management system and restrict the car's speed.
I actually think it's a VERY good idea, because for once his initial premise is spot on. It would at least put a stop to the numpties who think that by switching their rear fogs on they can safely drive at high speed in poor visibility. If anything they're a bigger danger than the ones who think that metallic paint means luminous and don't bother with lights at all in fog.
I've said this before, but leaving rear fogs on in wet night-time conditions is a serious hassle for truck drivers, as the lights reflect off the wet road and dazzle you. Flashing one's headlamps at the offender is a waste of time , as the driver who doesn't know what the "idiot light" is for on his dash will not have a clue why the truck is flashing him; if he's noticed at all.
|
A story from maybe 8 years ago.... someone at work driving a Vauxhall Vectra stopped and fined and given 3 points for driving with fornt fogs on. He apparently tried arguing they were okay as they are driving lights ;-)
Story retold and how he felt he should be okay when our other colleague with a Subaru Imprezza with front driving lights (legit) would have been okay. He could not get his head round the difference between front fogs and what would be classed as driving lights. Not that smart then.
And of course back then there must have been traffic cops.... but seen a few cars stopped recently and the only reason could have been tinted windows.... one officer I saw was putting something together which I eventually could see was the light measuring device he had in his patrol car (and not a traffic cop!).
|
|
I now make it a policy to pull out in front of cars with front fog lights on. If they don't stop in time, the artic trailer will break their fog light bulbs.
|
I now make it a policy to pull out in front of cars with front fog lights on. If they don't stop in time the artic trailer will break their fog light bulbs.
I do hope you're joking. Most of the posters on here don't need comments like that to have an excuse to dig at truck drivers.
|
|
Leave him be at least he's awake !
|
It's not the fact the fog lights are on if it's not foggy that get to most of us, it's that we're pedants who pride ourselves on ridiculously high driving standards, and are able to do focus on the car with otherwise empty minds, unlike harrassed mothers on the school run for instance. Similarly, rear window wipers left on - who's always driving?
Ease up guys, and chill out!
Oh, and DON'T forget to put your front wipers on intermittent in fog; sometimes the droplets will make it look worse from inside the car than it really is!
|
Oh and DON'T forget to put your front wipers on intermittent in fog; sometimes the droplets will make it look worse from inside the car than it really is!
Good point Ed V. Even that hardly seems to work though in some kinds of greasy heavy fog.
|
|
|
|
|
