My new car has fog lights, and I'm not sure what the etiquette is for using them. I see people driving around with them on all the time; is this ok? And what's the theory behind their use, anyway? Are they to help me see in the fog, or to help me be seen?
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"In most driving situations, fog lamps are neither useful nor
necessary, but more people use their fog lamps when the prevailing
conditions don’t call for their use, than use them when the conditions
do call for their use. Nobody thinks your car is cool because it has
fog lamps, and glare is dangerous, so do yourself and everyone a favor:
choose them carefully, aim them properly, use them thoughtfully, and
leave them off except when they’re genuinely necessary."
Here is another article from Volkswagon that explains when you should use fog lights:
"Fog lights are very useful to keep the road safe from vehicular accidents. As thick fogs dominate the road, high speed driving is very dangerous while low speed could subject other vehicles to collide on your rear. To keep accidents from happening, the vehicles should be visible at all times. Fog lights should be turned on.
When is the right time to use the fog lights? Normal road visibility should entitle you to see more than a hundred yard from where you are. If the road visibility drops from that, say less than a hundred, it is time to turn those additional lights on. Rear fog lights on the other hand are used when the visibility is less than 50 yards. But there is a main difference between the front and the rear fog light. Rear fog lights are usually a single red light as bright as a brake light. They are called fog lights because rarely does your visibility drop to such a dangerous level in normal rain or snow like it can in fog. "
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Regular headlights, contrary to popular thought, are mostly so other people can see your car. They can light up the road a little bit ahead of you, but the vast majority of drivers are in a lit urban/suburban area. That reflected light is for the most part going to come from municipal lighting sources.
That said, you want your regular headlights on whenever it's a little bit dim: during any precipitation
If you're in an unlit area, on an undivided road, flip your fog lights off for oncoming traffic. Don't want to blind the other driver. The etiquette rules for fog lights are the same as for brights/high beams.
As a cyclist in the city, I catch fog lights to the face all too often. Even with my sunglasses or night goggles, my pupils are unhappy. I like headlights though, because while I do wear front a rear lights, I also have refelctive vest, gloves, and anklets, as well as the federally mandated bike reflectors. If your headlights hit me, I'm lit up like a Christmas tree, and hopefully you won't hit me.
After all, we're not all avoiding deer on beautiful pine-lined mountain roads like in those car commercials.
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Fog light usage depends on what your particular state’s driving laws say. In my state (PA), fog lamps are to be used in any impaired vision condition not limited to fog, snow, rain, and poorly lit or unlit roadways. They should be on a separate switch and can be turned on/off independant of the headlight system. That is what the PA DMV Motorist Code states. It is illegal to drive with them constantly on (again depending on your state.) I think most people drive with them on all the time because it makes them look "cool." They are useless in the daytime and bright sunny days. I use mine on very dark roads, in inclement weather, and when approaching a road construction site. My state requires us to turn on our lights when driving through a road construction zone or else face a heavy fine and/or loss of license.
You are correct in stating that they help you be seen better in foggy or bad weather conditions especially if you have a dark colored car. I have them on all three of my vehicles and all three are dark colors and hard to see at night. So a little bit extra visibility help won’t hurt. As for the etiquette issue, if they are too bright, turn your eyes to the right off the road until the car passes then resume your normal driving. My biggest pet peeve is the idiots that drive constantly coming toward you or directly behind you with their high beams on! That is discourteous as well as being unsafe. As for factory installed fog lights, they are designed to switch off when the high beams are switched on which is a great feature. Mine are incorporated with my headlight switch and won’t turn on until I pull the switch out, that way they won’t be turned on accidentally. I would check with the local police dept, highway patrol, or state police, or even the internet site for the Dept of Motor Vehicles in your state, they/it can tell you the rules for this.
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Fog lights are the little circular lights below the bumper that illuminate the road better. High beams (aka brights) should not be used unless you are on a completely empty road with no opposing traffic, and even then, you can get pulled over for driving with your brights on. It's just a better idea not to use them unless you absolutely have to.
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"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.
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."
"Use the fog lights only when you have very low visilibility.
"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)."
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