Fog Light Rant

[tsmithvt]

I have a pet peeve and I'm curious how other people feel about it. Particularly in the last couple of years I have noticed the increased use of fog lights when we have no fog or rain or snow. I'm seeing them turned on even during the day.

In northern Vermont we drive in the dark a good bit of the year because of the shorter Winter days. I find myself looking into four lights or with the inside of my V lit up like daylight more often than I would personally like. Granted OEM fog lights are low and the hot spots are also directly in front of the vehicle but they are still bright spots.

I have OEM fog lights on my V but I use them for ...........:rolleyes: well......... for fog, heavy rain and snow.

[2RedV's]

Agreed. Too many people have extra lighting and they have no idea WHY they have it, other than it makes things light up in front of them. They have no idea what they are doing to other people.

I use my high and low beams on the 99 at the same time on rural country roads by pulling back and holding on the dim/bright switch. When in the middle of nowhere, where animals abound, one wants as much light as possible, close and far away. I really do need to get a set of aux driving lights installed. Your post just may help me to get motivated and install some Hella aux driving lights I have. :)

[Davecr-v]

Agreed we have that in Urban NY it makes no sense they dont even look great unless they are OEM and that only because they plug up holes. I saw a guy tonight with aftermarket xenon foggies they were on bright and were mounted in the grill.

[CCCRV07]

I have no problem with it. They don't seem to hurt my eyes though. If you have sensitive eyes, then I suppose it is inconsiderate. I just use mine when needed however.

[tsmithvt]

I just use mine when needed however.

Then absolutely NO Problem.:)

[Davecr-v]

I doubt I would ever need them I mean it seems relativley easy to have them installed on my V the thing is pre wired but it dosen't make any sense to me I mean I just use my low beams if fog is that bad I slow down and tap my brakes lightly alot so that the drivers behind me can see the red lights if its that bad I would rather pull over and wait a while or just use lowbeams

[tsmithvt]

I doubt I would ever need them I mean it seems relativley easy to have them installed on my V the thing is pre wired but it dosen't make any sense to me I mean I just use my low beams if fog is that bad I slow down and tap my brakes lightly alot so that the drivers behind me can see the red lights if its that bad I would rather pull over and wait a while or just use lowbeams

That's the truth of it. I have them but do not use them very often. They are nice but hardly a necessity. Most people have done quite well without them for many years.:)

[fatboyslim]

Not sure about the USA, but in the UK it is against the law to mis-use foglights
Not that it seems to bother many people:rolleyes:

[Black Pearl]

I have moaned about people using fog lights at work and I hear, yeah but they look cool. To whom, the guy that is getting blinded? The guy that thinks they look cool can't see them. You want to be cool, get ground effect lights that don't blind people.

Headlights on cars are much brighter with the halogens. I remember the first year I had a 90 Ford Tempo with halogens. I was constantly getting the high beams flashed at me, when my lights were on low beam. Within two years that ceased. Headlights are brighter and night driving in traffic now is tougher on the eyes. The HID lights are worse yet. I caught the reflection of one in my side mirror, and my eye physically ached for over an hour.

Certainly, if conditions for fog lights prevail, then one should use them. But to ride around with them on all the time is not cool, just inconsiderate.

Another source of light I find irritating is amber turnsignals on the rear of a vehicle. Some can be quite blinding. Alas the 07 CR-V has ambers in the back and they are bright. When I sit at light with an obvious turning lane, I don't turn my signal on until I see the opposite light turns yellow.

[Craving This]

are the fog lights really that bright? that it would be annoying to people driving? don't they sit low on the car? i would think instead of this being a fog light rant it should be an HID rant because those, like you said are even more blinding.

[Black Pearl]

are the fog lights really that bright? that it would be annoying to people driving? don't they sit low on the car? i would think instead of this being a fog light rant it should be an HID rant because those, like you said are even more blinding.

I find fog lights annoying. Not as annoying as HIDs, but then again HIDs seem to be on one car in 20. Fog lights seem to be on a majority of cars. Much of what you say is true, not all fog lights are bright, some are low. Then again some are bright and the after market are often improperly aimed.

I think age may have a lot to do with it. If you are young, you may find that lights don't bother you as much. The fact that I am a cranky old SOB probably has much to do with it.

[Craving This]

I think age may have a lot to do with it. If you are young, you may find that lights don't bother you as much. The fact that I am a cranky old SOB probably has much to do with it.

haha.. well my eyes are very sensitive to light even though i am young. but the sun bothers me a little more than the lights at night. the HID after market ones that are installed improperly annoy me too cause they seem to aim right at me, although being a little higher up in the V i haven't come across that yet... :D

[tsmithvt]

To me it's the, most of the time unnecessary, extra spots of light on the front of an approaching car. Even when properly aimed, fog lights are an additional source of light that just makes the entire front end of an approaching car, a brighter object.

I have also noticed that when used in fog, rain or snow, the extra brightness is far less noticeable because of the filtering/damping effect of the fog, rain or snow. So when properly used......... NO Problem.:)

[jreagan]

Like DRLs, using the fog lamps just increases your visibility. Some states have laws that say if you are using your wipers during the day, you must also burn your headlights for increased visibility.

I'm a motorcyclist, extra lights help make you more visible and allow others to better judge your distance and speed. On my bikes, I'll often run my highbeam during the day. Others even use headlight pulsing devices. I have flashing brake lights for a similar benefit.

I say, burn 'em if you got 'em.

[Black Pearl]

Certainly fog lamps increases one's visibility. I believe that is the crux of tsmithvt's and my complaint. It increases your visibility at a cost to the oncoming drivers.

I don't believe fog lamp use in clear weather falls into the same category as drls, headlight use in the rain, or motorcycles using their headlights during the day. There is the increase in visibility from fog lights but the potential annoyance and eye strain to other drivers are not worth the minimal return from the increase in visibility.

Again the most often cited response I have heard is that they look cool. Oh yes and, "I paid for them, I'm going to use them."

The webpage below has some insights to night driving and the various sources of increased glare.

www.aaafoundation.org/pdf/HeadlightGlareBrochure.pdf