Do people actually get fined for having their foglights kept on when driving? Its the law but is it actually ever enforced?
I have mine on all the time so just wondering.
Do People Get Fined for Driving with Foglights on?
kikm828 on 23/03/2022 - 00:28
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ha! OP isn't asking if it's against the law. - He's telling us he knows it's against the law, yet he still puts his fog lights on all the time anyway.
I can usually turn a blind eye to a lot of things, but the fog lights have a direct impact on other drivers, especially at night and that can lead to other more serious incidents.
(…and since he's so bluntly posted about it here, I figure he would've been prepared to cop some flak for it. đ)
@EightImmortals: Think you need âSpec saversâ!(if you havenât noticed cars with fog lights on.)Not very observant are you?
@EightImmortals: High beams are annoying, full stop. The way they're supposed to be used, we should never see them on front-on.
I don't mind driving lights during the day - they apparently increase the visibility of your car to other drivers. They're much lower powered than the headlights and foglights so they don't dazzle. Like yours, mine turns on automatically as well. When the headlights come on, they automatically dim.
@bobbified: Are you thinking of daytime running lights? Driving lights are an auxiliary light that has to be wired to trigger with the high beams and are usually brighter than fog lights.
@bobbified: Sometimes I use the high beam to alert other drivers as the horn doesn't always work, so I use a combination of horn and high beam. To alert people.
@nobro25: I sometimes use the highbeam to alert other drivers too (when there's speed cameras) lol đ
@bobbified: Flashing high beam is illegal. As for eating other about speed camera? Why would you? It allows them to raise more revenue for roads and hospitals and stuff
@Euphemistic: I'm happy to admit that I stand on the speed-cameras-are-revenue-raisers side of things. The more money they raise, the more addicted they'll get to it.
@Euphemistic: Stiff cheddar. I will continue to flash my lights to warn others though few other people do. They should be chasing murderers, rapists, thieves, etc and confiscating THEIR assets. Not sitting on their backsides stealing even more money for government to waste from Mr & Mrs Average because they crept a few km over the limit. I frequently see people slam their brakes on when they see a radar, even though they're not speeding, because everyone is petrified of having their money stolen. THAT causes more danger than someone speeding in most situations/on most roads.
I've even made up cardboard signs before: "RADAR AHEAD" and tied them to poles (after walking down the road waving them like pizza signs) until they left scratching their heads why they weren't catching anyone, then returned 20 minutes later to take them down. (If their genuine goal is for "people to slow down" then I did that without costing anyone a cent.)
@[Deactivated]: I've always had this grand plan to get plenty of signs made that rather than say something warning of the radar, just a simple " SLOW DOWN" would work? Sure the signage would technically need a permit, but if enough people in my "alliance" carried a few in their boot, and put the signs up when a radar is seen , and took down if no longer there, you would still be promoting road safety - just without the revenue raising.
@chumpychops: They say it's not about revenue but if that were true there are ways to stop tens of thousands of cars per year speeding if they really wanted to. e.g. Most (all?) modern cars have computers… and most people buy several cars over their lifetime, and for 99% of people at least one of those would be brand new. So they could simply speed limit new car throttles based on GPS location and firmware that updates new zones due to construction, etc at traffic lights over wifi.
When I was walking toward the pole waving the sign and while tying it on, heaps of cars saw it and slowed. I noticed as soon as I started walking away far fewer cars slowed. I guessed it was because they noticed me moving, because a sign that seems big at home is much smaller out in the open, and because people don't always see signs. So yours would benefit from being "out of the ordinary"… really large, a weird shape, made of thin plastic sheet that ripples constantly in the wind and/or in flouro colours signs aren't normally made of, etc.
and because people don't always see signs.
Itâs more like people regularly donât see signs. When I worked on roads it was shocking how many people would complain they âdidnât see any signsâ when they had to stop in a hurry. This despite there being at least 4 large reflective, brightly coloured signs theyâd just passed.
Itâs not at all surprising they wonât see a piece of cardboard on the side of the road. Their lazy brain has been trained to block out anything that isnât directly in front
@Euphemistic: Yeah it's like internet banner adverts. Ad overload means people "don't see them." I don't see ad banners anymore unless it's a terrible site like Gumtree which I had to install browser ad blockers because there were so many ads, I couldn't see the listings lol. Same with road signs I guess. The only ones I "see" at are text in circle (speed limit).
They should be chasing murderers, rapists, thieves, etc
you do know its not cops in the camera cars but contractors right?
the worst thing about reliance on speed cameras is coppers are no longer on patrol, pulling up drivers for other infringements. so over the last couple of decades drivers are getting worse because they get away with terrible driving and only get pinged for speeding past cameras.
@Antikythera: Well yeah that's the case now, but for decades it wasn't. It also proves it's still about revenue raising because those guys have to be paid. ;-p
I use the high beam to alert other drivers
you might be causing more issues for the other driver though
@apple2016: During the day, on the highway in opposite directions. That's the only time i really do it. The flashing is noticeable, but not blinding like it would be at night.
(I have to say that I really appreciate the people that do it when I'm heading towards a speed camera).
@EightImmortals: Too many people driving in the rain WITHOUT any lights. Then they have a grey car and become invisible.
@cameldownunder: But to see their headlights… you have to driving toward them… So why are people flashing their headlights at cars coming from the other direction, unless they have a habit of driving on the wrong side of the road? ;-)
OP is after (confirmation bias) opinions, don't bring not facts into this discussion ;)
To be fair, there are many older cars out there with "fog lights" but they are utterly useless, because they're very dim. They basically look like running lights. I doubt any cop will give a fine, for those circumstances, even if it is "theoretically illegal" but not practically.
Will it consume more battery from your car which means more fuel or it makes no difference? I assumed fog light is the light with the highest brightness
Fog lights donât have the highest brightness, thatâs high beam
Car has 100kW motor, fog lights probably 100W for the pair. Allow for some losses in the alternator, wiring etc and youâd be less than 0.2% of the power from the engine.
ALL the power for your car comes from petrol. The alternator provides all the power for the electrical items and uses a small fraction of the power available to drive the car.
EVs don't use petrol
Fuel isn't the only cost. Driving w an extra 110W load (55+55W) is the standard halogen globe actually places its load on the alternator, and the engine is driving that. The engine can run it fine, use a little more fuel, wear a little more, but as you say it's only small load to run the lights.
But requiring your alternator, fan belt, pulleys and battery to all run an additional 110W load all the time, especially on very hot days, or in hot traffic jams, actually wears these items out much faster.
Also the light housings run really hot in the sun, when the air is not cooling them (traffic jams), and some (most) car headlights are so cheaply made that the plastic parabolas melt, mirror finish vaporises/oxideses, over the years when used like this.
LEDs have heat problems of their own, as most are driven by complex circuits and have active cooling, all of which suffer in extreme heat and fumey traffic jams. And some of them cost thousands to replace. And yes, they do fail, despite the 'idea' that they don't. Modern maufacturing is more insterested in pleasing the marketing and styling departments, than any of their consumers after the car is out of warranty.
@resisting the urge: 100W isnât much for an alternator. They are designed to put out 40amps and more. Not only that they are designed to work in a hot engine bay and have been successfully running headlights for decades.
Not many LED lamps will have active cooling, virtually none. Most will have passive cooling like metal heat sinks however. The circuitry also isnât complex for most LEDs. Maybe for fancy auto headlights, but a regular LED lamp will just have a small resistor to drop the voltage down from 12 to whatever suits the LED (3V is common)
@Euphemistic: I disagree. Most of the ones I've seen have active cooling.
It isn't that the 100W is a large draw, it is that it directly loads the alternator all the time. Normally it would cycle off a lot, but with 110W (plus the rear and dash lights, it's nearer 150W, this presents an actual load nearer 20A.
That is half your 40A right there.
Which is why 100-130A units are now common, even on small cars.
Having fixed a number of LED lights I know what I said is valid. And increasingly, modern LED arrays are even more complex, SMD electronics, ICs for more than just CAN comms, and all manner of cooling methods- and fans are in loads of them.
Some even use lasers and baffles (latest design madness)
@resisting the urge: Your talking about headlights right?
I havenât seen any aftermarket lights with a fan yet. Itâs just a bunch of LEDs and a metal heatsink.
@Euphemistic: Probably commodity cars following the tech late enough that they can use the mass produced LEDs and still sell.
That is the way I'd want to do it.
But when better lights are a key selling point, every piece of tech is necessary in the race to produce the best headlights. In Oz the market doesn't care so much, so here we get what we get. In Europe, lamp tech is sales-critical.
@Euphemistic: Yes definitely. 50/55W LED lamps are yet to be a thing (in automotive applications, at least)
are you sure you talking about FOG LIGHTS ? or HEAD LIGHTS ? does your car even have FOG LIGHTS ? (some car models dont have fog lights)
Or daytime running lights, as is the in thing now
usually that is due to light sensor messing up, or people putting dash mats on top of their car's parking light sensor(s)
Fine - yes, if the cops want to do it and they (lights) have been left on without weather conditions justifying such.
So yeah - they can be enforced.https://www.nsw.gov.au/topics/roads-safety-and-rules/warningâŚ
I believe you will find it is under section (NSW) -
Vehicle lights
Use/allow use of light on/in vehicle likely/to dazzle
$117
1
No
Road Rules 2014
Rule 219But look for yourself - https://www.nsw.gov.au/topics/demerits-penalties-and-offenceâŚ
Vic - https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/road-râŚ
Google for other states…
You can deem fog lights like daytime running lights, technically yes you can get fined. You must use fog lights for their intended purposes. For NSW anyways…..
https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/curreâŚ
Section:
218â1 NSW rule: using lights on vehicles generally
The driver of a vehicle must notâ
(a) use any fog light fitted to the vehicle unless the driver is driving in fog, mist or under other atmospheric conditions that restrict visibility, orFog lights and DRL's are deemed as different items in QLD. Specific note to the light intensity (2000 lumens for fog lights, between 400 and 800 for DRL's) to differentiate them.
https://www.publications.qld.gov.au/ckan-publications-attachâŚNot that many read the manual, know which switch to use, or maybe even what fog is.
And to compound it further, in NSW, some ignorant lawyers in the RMS decided to make some of the big orange gantry roadsigns tell us to use hazard lights during foggy conditions on large motorways.
Which results in hordes of boof-heads driving up and down foggy coastal mountains at, or in excess of, 110km/h with fog lights, high beams and hazards all turned on.
DRL's or foglights?
Let me guess - you drive a previous generation Cerato and have NFI?
I havenât the foggiest
Get out
Do people actually get fined for having their foglights kept on when driving?
Not often enough.
Especially the people that turn their front foglights on and end up with the obnoxious rear foglight on too.
Only foolish or ignorant unlearned drivers would drive with fog lights on continuously. There is sound life saving reasons for this Road Rule…and one day it could be you or a family member dead by blinding fog lights on a clear night.
Grow up and learn to follow the Rules. Everyone….All Road Rules….regardless of who you think you are.
I hope the Traffic Police can find you…and Fine you.
The only people that run their fog lights all the time are the absolute flogs. They are right up there with the flogs that have 10,000watt HID globes as their low beams in their jacked up penis extension twin cab utes.
Now, I get that some cars use the fogs as DRL, but itâs a much lower wattage globe. I only wish the police spent more time patrolling for these types of issues than just solely focussing on cars going 5km/h over the limit. Pretty hard to push the âspeed killsâ message if you are booking drivers being arseholes in other ways. It waters down the numbers if the speeding fines are diluted with fines for other issues.
I dunno why you're being down voted. The rules in Vic are clear:
Road Rule 217 states that drivers must not use front or rear fog lights unless driving in fog or other hazardous weather conditions that cause reduced visibility. They must be switched on separate from the main beam (high beam) and dipped beam (passing) headlights
I dunno why you're being down voted.
It's ok, I do.
And yes, the rules are clear in every state, but so many people have a "(fropanity) you, mate, I'm in my car and I feel safe, so I'll do what I like." attitude.
I see it at school drop off every day. People parking like arseholes and driving like idiots in school zones. It's basically the same "(fropanity) you, my kids are safe, I don't give a (fropanity) about your kids. Their lives are expendable as long as my kid is safe."
People are basically arseholes and while ever something doesn't affect them and only the others around them, they treat it as a "them" issue. You only have to look at the anti-maskers/vaxxers to know that some people just don't care about any one else's life, so long as it doesn't impinge on them being a total douche canoe.
I only wish the police spent more time patrolling for these types of issues than just solely focussing on cars going 5km/h over the limit.
But how else will all
that government wastethose outstanding government programs get funded?
They are right up there with the flogs that have 10,000watt HID globes as their low beams in their jacked up penis extension twin cab utes.
The other night I had one of these idiots behind me and had to pull over and let them pass as I literally couldn't see anything behind or to the side of me. Absolute madness!
They are right up there with the flogs that have 10,000watt HID globes as their low beams in their jacked up penis extension twin cab utes.
Yeah SPS sufferers don't have the rules enforced on them anywhere near enough for the hazard and nuisance they cause. All the while thinking they're cool. Think the cops underestimate the benefit from taking what are the same repeat offenders off the roads.
I have mine on all the time
Why? Is it cool or trendy to have them on?
Do you switch them off when driving in fog?
PS. I wonder why they call them fog lights?
You have to show that you're better than plebs that bought the base model without them! jk
Yeah, that's fine mate, you carry on.
Just don't follow my car though, or I'll get one of my kids to shine a laser in your face ;)Thanks, voted.
Yes people have been fined
Annoying for those few cars that have their DRL double up as the fog lights so they're always on
Iâm sure they have it fines for it. Is it high on their priority list? Probably not. I suspect your attitude may help determine whether you get the fine, ergo poor attitude- get the fine. Iâve had a warning before during an RBT for driving lights (in fog light position) that didnât turn off when they were supposed to (diy wiring gone wrong).
OP equivalent is like ârunning red lights all the timeâ and not been caught or had incidents⌠and looking for confirmation bias.
I had some DH put his on yesterday, and they blinded me. I was in the overtaking lane, and I was doing more than 110. There were numerous cars in the left hand lane, and it was unsafe to merge for some distance. The self entitled, impatient DH did it again. I was still seeing a bright pattern in my eyes a few hours later.
I have him on my Dashcam, and I am so tempted to lodge this footage to the Police.Lodge footage of you exceeding 110 to the police?
Camera currently doesn't show my Speed. ;)
Iâm gonna go put on a limb and say they werenât fog lights, but spotlights. Fog lights are down low on the bumper and point low so they light up the road under the fog. Spotlights in fog make it harder to see because they shine everywhere and just light up the fog.
Hi, the reason I thought they were foglights was because they were lower than the normal lights etc. So maybe they were bright spotlights mounted low.
Very rare I should imagine.But in saying that why on earth would you want to have them on anyway?Answer:A: you look âcoolâ.B because you can.C:Because you want to be a bogan!They do not do anything on a sunny day, except annoy the crap out of people.Turn the friggin things off!I believe the fine is under $50,& one demerit point(please correct me if I am wrong.)
I believe the fine is under $50
$110 last time I checked in NSW.
Thx.
Yes
I wish the cops would fine people for this more often. In lieu of that, I just flash them with my spotties to show them how (profanity) annoying it is.
Biggest idiots are the ones who use them as substitutes for headlights (they only have their parkers on and foglights on).
Biggest idiots are the ones who use them as substitutes for headlights (they only have their parkers on and foglights on).
I have to disagree with this, in terms of using lights on a car the biggest morons are the ones who either drive with no lights on at all at night (and I see this way too much in Sydney) or drive with DRLs on at night and no headlights on.
DRLs are much dimmer than headlights, it astounds me how people donât seem to ask âwhy is it so dark?â
Touche. I'll agree with this.
Correction: The second biggest idiots are the ones who use them as substitutes for headlights
..the biggest morons are the ones who either drive with no lights on at all at night (and I see this way too much in Sydney) or drive with DRLs on at night and no headlights on.
I would think that this is more common now (than previous) because most modern cars have a dashboard that completely lights up - so if someone forgets to turn on their headlights (and it's not automatic), there's no way to tell from the inside (yes, outside is dark, but if around a lot of traffic, it may not be easy to notice). Previously, in the older cars, a dark dashboard was as good reminder to turn the headlights on.
It's unlikely people are intentionally using their DRLs without/instead of their headlights. The DRLs are usually automatic and just stay on (and should dim when the headlights are on). So what you describe seems to be someone who simply hasn't turned on their headlights.
Yes thatâs true. It still astounds me people donât realise even in traffic, itâs pretty obvious to me when my lights arenât on because the back of the car in front of me (in traffic) is dark or I canât see reflections on cats eyes on the road.
So what you describe seems to be someone who simply hasn't turned on their headlights.
Fair enough, in that case though it still disturbing. Turning your lights on is one of the most foundational aspects of night driving.
Canada introduced legislation to help stop this (on new cars)
https://www.drive.com.au/news/world-first-canada-mandates-auâŚ
DRLs are much dimmer than headlights, it astounds me how people donât seem to ask âwhy is it so dark?â
Especially as some cars turn off the dash lights if it is dark as a reminder for you to turn the headlights on.
Those same people must wonder why they can't read their speedo at night
In lieu of that, I just flash them with my spotties to show them how (profanity) annoying it is.
I think you'll like this https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-37847056
Police in southern China are punishing drivers who dazzle other road users with full-beam headlights by making them stare into the lights for a minute, it's reported.
I have mine on all the time so just wondering.
WHY!?
Do People Get Fined for Driving with Foglights on?
Its not a question if they DO, its more a question that they CAN be fined.
Turn your fog lights off, they are a pain to everyone else.
You will also find that a lot of older model Subaruâs have what looks like fog lights on(Outbackâs especiallyâ )& are a yellowish colour in appearance,in fact they are DRLs.The fog light is in there also.My GT had DRLs that were a very dull yellow & could be mistaken for fogs.I just swapped the globes over to a LED white bulb(DRL compatible).The fog light was in the same housing.Later models now have strip lighting DRLâs.
And some Nissans have blue ones.
The permutations were too high before DRLs were invented for the cops to (practically) book people for unwarranted use of fog lights.
Yes - I have been fined for having foglights on.
You would struggle to find factory fitted fog lights. Most are just faux fog lights (look like it but not really). After market ones you can see from a mile away. I wouldn't get worked up about what you think are fog lights but just cosmetic lamps.
is this meant to be sarcasm? I don't get it
True story.
Unless you are blinded by them. They probably aren't real. I got faux fog lamps on one of my cars. It looks like a square lamp below the head lamps but it has this tiny led in one corner that lights it all up so people see what looks like a fog lamp.
No manufacturer is making fog lamps a selling point. Simply because unless you live in the country side and drive in the dark, most unlikely to need them.
@netjock: Real fog lamps should not be dazzling or blinding. The are designed to light up low, not high, so that you can see the road beneath the fog. Anything that points high is a driving light and completely useless in fog because they just light up the fog and you canât see anything.
@Euphemistic: If they are OEM off the car production line they would never meet ADR.
You would be talking about after market which you can tell from a mile away.
As said before. People are just thinking it is a bigger problem than it is.
@netjock: The factory driving/fog lamps Iâve had on a few cars do light up down low. Great in fog, useless drivingn any form of speed because they change where you look to too close to the car.
@Euphemistic: Precisely, high beams in fog reduce viability and make it almost impossible to drive, parking lights (not that I recommend it) can work better than low beams in heavy fog.
Not once have I ever been blinded by fog lights on a car and I see people using them all the time at night. I have been blinded by headlights dozens to hundreds of times though, especially on cars (where you can set the headlight angle) that have the headlights angled too high or cars with those HID headlights.
I honestly donât get the complaint about fog lights. Are we talking about stock fog lights or some sort of high beam aftermarket high powered fog lights?
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Are you a clown? I hope you get fined! lol
(btw, the foglights don't look cool!)