The use of front fog lights

[Captain Jack]

Driving with your fog lights on with no fog is like driving with your full beam on all the time with oncoming traffic. It's very bright and blinding to someone following you.... In a matter of seconds that fog can roll in you can also turn your fog lights on then

No more comments

[steve_earwig]

Should I put my hazards on in case I need to turn?

I don't even know which button does what on the yoyo, they're all over the place and all the little bulbs have blown

[Welly]

all the little bulbs have blown

Stick it on 'the list'

[steve_earwig]

Which list, the "one day if I can be bothered" or the "who gives a monkey's" list?

I did have a look when I first got it, I took the dunno-which-end-it-does fog light switch to bits to find it's not a bulb you can change easily, soldered in with no markings. I was going to investigate but subsequent "issues" with the car forced me to re-evaluate my willingness to carry out any maintenance or repairs that it needs.

[munkymanmatt]

Ye are all focusing on one point I made. I also said that I checked them at night, they add little more glare than is already present with dipped beams. Additionally they illuminate the sides of the road which is handy for country roads! They also help me to be seen which is always a good thing.

[DaiRees]

Wasn't there a trend some years back to stop calling them fog lights and start calling them "driving lights"?

I always understood that they gave a short but wide beam pattern (ideal for lighting the foreground and verges) which is great when you're driving very slow in fog because they do show you the edges of the road and don't penetrate the fog too far causing excessive reflection and dazzle. At normal speeds they're next to useless, although I can understand why someone would believe that using them to light up the ditches while driving single track roads, slowly, in the dark, would provide extra security. In reality they're useless for that too, you need to be reacting to what's going on in the dipped beam 50m away, not what's happening 3m away. If you relied solely on your foggies at normal speeds (no dips or main beams) you'd be driving over stuff before you had time to react.

Having said that, they don't often bother me. The wide pattern means that there isn't usually a great deal of intensity to the light so I don't find myself dazzled. For me, the number of idiots driving around with their main beam on, or poorly adjusted dips is a bigger problem.

[munkymanmatt]

you need to be reacting to what's going on in the dipped beam 50m away, not what's happening 3m away. If you relied solely on your foggies at normal speeds (no dips or main beams) you'd be driving over stuff before you had time to react.

True if it's something you'd need to hit the brakes for, they're useless. But when there's a big f*ck off pothole coming up on the left that you mightn't see with the dipped beams they are handy enough :p

[Welly]

It is slightly foggy this morning.

Fog light wankers.

The end.

[mjb]

I used fog lamps the other day. Intentionally. With no fog.

Going round the M25 eastbound with the sun blindingly strong and just above the horizon. Could barely see the road, so figured the rear foglamp might slightly reduce my chances of being rear-ended. Wished everyone else would have had the same thought because I could see brake lights but not a lot else in front, but didn't want to slow down too much for fear of being rear-ended... Ended up driving with my left foot covering the brake

[Welly]

That makes perfect sense to do that, although I'm guessing everyone else on the M25 that day were a little confused at your outlandish safety lighting solutionz.....

[highlander]

That makes perfect sense to do that, although I'm guessing everyone else on the M25 that day were a little confused at your outlandish safety lighting solutionz.....

That, or they saw the badge on the car and sensed normality

[mjb]

That, or they saw the badge on the car and sensed normality

it was the hdi

[Welly]

The 4.0 V8 didn't get to stretch its legs?

[mjb]

4.4

Nah we were doing a baccy run to Belgium and needed to keep costs down. The V8 can get respectable economy if you drive slowly, but since we were fitting it into one day we decided to take the devil-fuel motor. Shame because it killed my back We're taking the bimmer to Germany later in the year though

[Welly]

Your GF/Wife must be cool, doing an epic road trip to buy tobacco, I dunno it just seems cool* to me



*smoking is not cool for any children listening