Wow that was a fun read. My perspective, my fogs are on most of the time as are my wifes. I could care about "looking cool". It's a safety thing for me. The more light that is properly aimed at the road the happier I am. I don't know if I have ever been flashed for fog lights being on. I'm also not sure other than jacked up trucks and the guys that run an HID kit in the fogs, that I've ever been bothered by fogs.

As for the just turn my highs on and leave them on. Lol. That's what my LED 27000 candle watt light bar is for.

Yall have a good night

 

It's not a safety thing when you're blinding someone else, whether they're meeting you or you're behind them with 100W fogs aimed too high and burning a hole in every mirror the driver ahead if you has. Every morning the same two vehicles get behind me with fogs glaring, so I have absolutely no qualms about giving them high beams when they pass me. And I'm known to force someone to pass me.

That MI law is stupid. Those of you there need to start hammering on some of your dumbass legislators to get it modified or repealed.

 

ARRRRGGGGH,do not even get me started on those light bars

I am trying to perfect the art of adjusting my side mirrors so the lights of somebody following will reflect back and burn a hole in the drivers cornea....but alas, I do not think I am having much success

 

Lol. We have a couple of young high school kids in daddy's 60K dollar new diesel rigs with 52 inch led bars on the roof that like to run around at dusk with them on. I have no idea how they don't get tickets. I do use mine at night on rural roads and keep my finger on the button for when I even think I see an oncoming car. There is no such thing as too much light in the right times at night to me. But like I said, it may be the bulbs that are in my fogs, but I've never had an issue with being flashed. If you live in the sw side of okc and see a shelby with its fogs on that's blinding you. Flag me down.

 

Driving the rural back roads with a light bar makes sense, especially to see deer and other animals. Practising courtesy to other motorists is commendable, but also expected. Running with them on in the city or on an interstate/express-way though is just asking for trouble. Given the choice of facing a light bar or fog lights? I'll take the fog lights any day. In the urban areas they really don't provide much assistance. Just one more bulb to burn out faster by always having them on.

 

Rear fog lights have been mandatory in the UK since 1980. A lot of cars simply had warning lights so badly positioned that many drivers didn't realise they were still on. Modern cars are mostly much better in that respect.
It is against the law to use them in clear conditions, it is also compulsory to use them in poor visibility. What should be considered poor visibility is hard to define, thick fog or heavy snow, no question, but mist, road spray in heavy rain?, not so easy.

In this day of xenon and HID lamps we seem to be in an arms race for headlamp brightness. I take the view that the halogen headlamps in my cars are fine, with the important proviso that they are properly adjusted, lights that wouldn't be out of place in an anti aircraft battery are no use if the aren't aimed correctly.
I would support a law specifying the brightness of all road vehicle lights, maximum and minimum, I feel it would make roads a little bit safer.

Roger.

 

I find it that life is too short to be bothered by petty things like fog lights.

 

Life could be VERY short if you get blinded by some oncoming jerk and put your car into a gully.

 

Ha! I don't think I ever saw an Aurora with the rear fogs OFF ! I figured it was the typical 'Mericun thinking of "Get in and turn every switch on 'cuz more is better!".

 

If you're referring to me....no, they're not burned. They are non existent. Both of my vehicles have low miles. There is no place in the gauge cluster with that marking. The marking is on the fog light button and the button lights up green when it's pressed.

 

Nope, they are auto on.

 

People driving without headlights at dusk or dawn and in inclimate weather really frustrates me also! I think people have the mindset that they can see alright but don't realise that the lights are for other people to see them better. With all the technology today you think the auto manufactures would come up with a car that has headlights that go on and off by them self.

 

You must drive old cars or something . Very common on new cars and part of the problem I think. The sensor sometimes does not turn on the lights in marginal conditions (dawn, dusk, rain) and drivers are too reliant on the technology to actually turn them on manually.

Speaking of blinding lights, I really hate the new retina searing LED light bars on cop cars and other emergency vehicles. So bright up close that I'm afarid I'll miss seeing a person working the incident.

Some LED brake lights are almost as bad about killing your night vision. Worst on trucks or other tall vehicles if driving a normal height car.

Fog lights are minor by comparison IMO.

 

I think that this is actually a major problem, and I don't know why it hasn't been addressed yet.

When you get a cluster of emergency vehicles on the side of the road, they will often all leave their lights on, creating a completely blinding spectacle, where all a driver can do is to try to steer as far away from it as possible, and hope that he doesn't hit anything or anyone, as it is impossible to actually see anything - very dangerous for both emergency personnel and drivers.
The best is when there's a cop standing in front of this mess, attempting to "direct traffic," while being completely invisible to drivers.

What they are supposed to do is walk back and lay out flares starting more than a thousand feet away, to direct traffic safely away, but I never see that anymore.

Some cops / departments will use different rear-facing lights when pulled up on the side, which direct you without blinding you, and will use focused lights on the front, instead of the full fireworks, to spare oncoming traffic, but when there are a number of vehicles, this all goes right out the window.

This is up there on my list along with unsophisticated cops / departments (usually suburban / rural), who believe that they have to put on a light show at every minor call they go on.
We can see that you're a cop. If you've got to go inside to help a sick person, take a report, or whatever, turn the goddamn lights off. Nobody else cares, and you're parked in a legal space, so traffic isn't affected.

When I worked EMS, we would turn off the lights the second we arrived, or preferably a block before, because the last thing you want is to create a scene.
Mature people don't draw attention to themselves.

- Eric

 

This is true. I do like the LED bars on cop cars that have an amber sequence going in the direction you want people to go, like a road arrow construction sign.

 

I obviously don't get out much. This thread is the first time I found out there's such a thing as rear fog lights.

Even my old 1983 Regency Brougham had that - over 30 years ago...uses an 'ambient light sensor'. It never failed in all the time I owned it. The one in my 1995 Regency Elite failed after 10 years. Easy to replace though and tons of them at the boneyard for pennies instead of mega bucks at a dealer.

 

Says the man in a giant pink convertible . Sorry, but couldn't resist. Not like any of our old Oldsmobiles are subtle compared to most of the generic jellybeans on the road today. Any fully agree with your comments on the lights.

 

Touché. (To the man in the bright red convertible )

- Eric

 

I use mine in the fog. I have 2 Aurora's (one winter, one summer) and I use the front ones mostly if need be, and both front and back in snow storms and and fog. I don't know why people use them all the time. It's like the guy who has a face that looks like he's surprised all the time. Tell him they just found life on Mars and it was driving an Oldsmobile and his facial expression doesn't change at all. If you're running fog lights all the time you have nothing up your sleeve when bad weather rolls in.

 

Ken, that's much better than saying "I use mine when I'M in a fog..." Love the description of life on Mars BTW.

 

Never heard or seen rear fog lights either...guess I need to get out more often too... Umm, they would be easier to shoot out esp if I was following. Anyone got a pic?

 

The look just like a part of the taillight, except that that segment is lit only on the driver's side, and the light goes into your eyes like a steel spike.









- Eric

 

2002 Aurora with its rear fog lights on (not my car):

CIMG1500_zpsdqvvun85.jpg

CIMG1502_zpsm2s4cwma.jpg

 

***** I thought those were really annoying reflectors! Got me!

 

The Aurora and some other models are not in the tail light.

Possibly Subarau or Mitsubishi. Cant recall them all.

 

Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is the point of a rear fog lamp?

It was rainy here this morning and if you think high-powered fogs are bad on dry pavement, their reflection on wet pavement is enough to make you just pull over and stop. Newer GM pickups are the worst. Between head and fogs looks like there are eight welding arcs burning into your eyes.

I've bugged the young state trooper cousin about this and he says it's kinda hard to prove faulty aim and the lighting standards are vague. From the Code of Virginia website...


"Any motor vehicle may be equipped with fog lights, not more than two of which can be illuminated at any time, one or two auxiliary driving lights if so equipped by the manufacturer, two daytime running lights, two side lights of not more than six candlepower, an interior light or lights of not more than 15 candlepower each, and signal lights."

Strange to me that they specify CP limits on side marker and interior lamps, but not on a damn fog lamp that can blind other drivers. Doesn't even address conditions fogs should/ can be used.

 

To prevent the most common type of fog-related accidents:
Rear-end chain reaction crashes, which used to be extremely common in Europe (sometimes involving 50-100 cars), where there are often sudden heavy fog conditions.

- Eric

 

Yes, notice how much brighter the fog lights are on the Aurora than the tail lights are. You would not likely see the tail lights in a heavy fog until it was too late. The other option would be to ride your brakes or turn your four ways on.

 

I've done that but also wondered if it would cause confusion for anyone following who might think the car was stopped on the side of the road and use that as a wrong reference point for the driving lane. I did notice that anyone who braked in front lit up the cloud/fog vividly. This is one reason I don't like driving in bad weather. I haven't seen too many cars with rear fog light option up here though.

 

DING DING DING DING DING!! We have a winner!

Exactly: Running with your flashers on could mislead other drivers into believing you're stopped, thus causing them to misjudge the lane locations, and also to become disoriented as to their own speed (if you're doing 30, but you're "stopped," then they must be moving VERY slowly).

That's why the modern rear fog light configuration is unique:
ONE lamp, on the driver's side only (in the UK, it's on the right).
If you keep your eyeballs behind that light, you should be in the right place on the road, and it can only be a fog light, not any other type of light.
Two lights could be one car, or (in the fog, in the distance), it could be two cars.

- Eric

 

I agree with this 100%, it is a very foolish thing to do. Unfortunately, I've seen it done many times. Some people think if you go below minimum speed on a freeway you are required to light the 4-ways.

Ummm, the Aurora has two. Do you mean modern as in post-2003?

 

That's because of all of those big yellow signs that say "Use Flashers Below 40 MPH."
You can get a ticket if you don't.


Yes, I do. Also, I believe that all true foglight standards are European, so I also mean "In European cars."
As far as I know, US cars can have kerosene lanterns dangling in the fog and it would meet Federal standards, so what American carmakers do in the US market is not indicative of the state of the art.

- Eric

 

OK, didn't know you were talking European only.

I'm pretty sure we don't have any signs in Michigan that say that. I could easily be wrong, but I don't remember seeing any. One of these days I am going to get to the great state of Maine (I want to take my Acadia to Acadia National Park. (What a freakin' geek)). I'll keep an eye out for those signs.

 

I wasn't talking European only, but almost all cars with rear fog lights are European.
American cars usually only have front fog lights, and, as has been noted, they're usually not even adjustable, because they don't have to conform to any standards.

- Eric

 

Eric got it right, except two fog lights are sometimes fitted. Mostly on recent European cars the drivers side rear lamp will have a fog light, the passenger side a reversing light.
He got the purpose right as well. In fog people drive too fast and too close to other cars. Educating every driver how to drive in fog is impracticable, so the pragmatic step of at least making the car in front visible from further away was taken. It works, multiple shunt wrecks in fog are less frequent now.
Over here driving with the four way flashers on (which must be amber on all post 1965 vehicles) is illegal btw.

Roger.

 

I've been making a point of noticing the fog lights of cars as they pass by me and I haven't seen one yet that bothers my sight. I don't know if the ones complained about here were aimed upward or if some of you have eyesight problems?

 

Yikes! Maybe I am getting old....it is not the aiming of them just the brightness .....I passed a 4x4 tonight with fogs and lights on that caused me to look away because they were so bright. .... Not needed on a beautiful clear night. My original point was fog lights are not meant to be on all the time. I am afraid that people think they are part of the low beam headlamp system which they ARE not. Sure, life is short to be worried about this, BUT I do not want my life to be cut shorter because somebody thinks these lights are cool and leaves them on all the time. Factory headlamps are just fine, no aftermarket needed. Use the fogs in.......................well, fog

 

Agree with Eric oldcutlass

As I get older I've come to dislike all the new headlights. Too damn bright and always aimed wrong. Compound that with the fog and running lights it's blinding.

Now get off my lawn...

Im just too short and when sitting in a car Im at headlight to eyes all the time...thats why I like to have a truck...

 

One of my coworkers complains about fog lights, as well. He told me his eye condition, but I've forgotten what he said it was. Luckily, I've still got perfect vision, even though I'm in my mid 40s. It might be the reason why fog lights don't bother me?

 

My daily driver is a '13 VW GTI that has fog lights......and I always have them on. Sometimes even without the headlights. I guess I'm in the minority on here haha!