Drivers with Rear Fog Lights on in Urban Areas

Lfillit on 10/09/2015 - 09:20

Does anyone else get annoyed at this?

I cannot see the reason to ever have your rear fog lights on unless it's actually foggy, it doesn't improve your driving and the only thing it achieves is to blind anyone driving behind you.

Biggest culprit are the old Hyundai Excels, however I still think it's completely unnecessary unless IT'S ACTUALLY FOGGY!!

In Victoria you can get fined for driving with fog lights (front and/or rear) on in clear conditions (although rarely enforced) sadly I have received a fine for it before (fronts only) so I rarely use them nowadays.

So is it just me, or does anyone else have an insatiable hatred towards anyone having rear fog lights on when it's unnecessary, or if you are one of those people, why do you do it?

Automotive

Comments

  • pointless martyr on 10/09/2015 - 09:52
    +4

    Tell them to fog-off

  • McFly on 10/09/2015 - 09:55
    +1

    No it's not just you.
    Fortunately it's not so common, unlike front ones which is reaching plague proportions, usually on Toorak tractors.
    Who would admit to doing it?!

    • fillit on 10/09/2015 - 10:01

      I don't have a concern with front ones being on, especially since most cars have DRL from factory now, arguable you can also comment that it increases visibility. But rear ones are just pointless unless there's 2 meters of visibility and you're expecting to be rear ended at every stop.

      • McFly on 10/09/2015 - 12:01

        DRLs these days range seem to from from 'fairy light' to 'let's go roo-shooting!'

    • Utopian on 10/09/2015 - 11:31

      Some used to call them "Wog Lights", due to the aftermarket scene.

      I don't see how they're doing anything in fog, let-alone the 364.5 days they're not needed.

      • fillit on 10/09/2015 - 12:12
        +1

        I honestly don't think the fronts did anything.

        However when I had my WRX, I went for drives in the mountains with friends in the most atrocious conditions (I mean hey that's what they are built for) in those scenarios I would use the rear fog light, even then it's a bit borderline if it is…really… required.

  • spackbace on 10/09/2015 - 10:45
    +7

    I think you'll find that most don't even realise they're on.

    • THICKnSLOW on 11/09/2015 - 16:40

      Yes. Or they don't realise the rears are on when the front fog lights are on because they need them on to help them see better at night.

      Which begs the question, if you have trouble seeing at night should you be driving at all?

      • rhangman on 12/09/2015 - 10:52

        Except front fog lights actually make it harder to see under normal conditions (no fog).

  • Paul Atreides on 10/09/2015 - 11:06
    +11

    yeah id guess that most people dont even know that feature exists. its the Hyundai drivers that really excel at this

  • airzone on 10/09/2015 - 12:09

    I have an '07 kia rio with rear fog lights.. And a '12 ix35 with the same too.. And my sister had an old excel a long time back. The reason you notice it more with the old excels is because the excel had a mechanical switch. You flicked it up for on, and down for off and it stayed that way until you changed it. The new cars have a stateless button where it is always off unless you press the button. And then it comes on until your car is turned off. It's a little like the power button on old AT computers vs a "newer" ATX machine…

    In both cases, there is a bright warning light that comes on when you turn on the rear fogs.

    So you can draw the conclusion:
    - Old excel's - they probably don't realise it's on.
    - New hyundai / kia cars - either they turned it on intentionally, or something in the car is faulty.

    • fillit on 10/09/2015 - 12:15

      Yes, I'm trying to understand the mindset of why people would turn it on intentionally….

      • airzone on 10/09/2015 - 13:02

        Considering the switch location, it's a pain in the arse… Not the sort of thing you can accidentally bump while changing the radio station..

  • snook on 10/09/2015 - 12:29
    +2

    OP, please remove Rear from your title because it applies to both front and rear.

    I absolutely HATE all these (profanity) driving with fog lights on. The front ones burn my retinas in my rear view and side mirrors, and the back ones are nothing but dangerous in traffic. Dangerous - more likely to get you hit than anything else!

    Funnily enough, the most idiots that use them are p platers in their souped up shit boxes - which I take to mean nothing more than "look at me, look at me, look at meeeeeee"

    In NSW - (but each state seems the same)
    Fog lights
    Front and rear fog lights must only be used in fog or rain, or when conditions such as smoke and dust limit your vision. It is a legal requirement that once conditions improve and you can see more clearly, the front and rear fog lights are switched off.

    http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roads/safety-rules/road-rules/ligh…

    So unless there is a tectonic plate shift that sees Sydney rise to 1200m above sea level, turn your bloody lights off.

    FINES APPLY for fog light use when they shouldn't be used.
    Victorian drivers who use fog lights under conditions that are not foggy or hazardous face fines of $116. The fine is $99 in NSW.

    http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/134815/police-ready-to-fi…

    • snook on 10/09/2015 - 13:38

      The fine info was old. Sorry. Didn't notice.

      NSW is now
      Rule 218-1 (a) Use fog light when not permitted

      Fine = $106

      And if you, like many I have seen, call them driving lights, they also have that covered
      Rule 218-1 (c) Unlawful use of additional headlamps

      Fine = $106

      Rule 219 Use/allow use of light on/in vehicle likely/to dazzle

      Fine $106
      Demerit point = 1

      http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/roads/safety-rules/demer…

    • fillit on 10/09/2015 - 13:44

      I put it as rear because it affects other motorists the most, I hate cars which have high beams stuck on rather than foglights which are generally aimed towards the road. Also we had previously mentioned that most new cars have DRLs anyway so there's always additional lighting on the front.

      Without looking into it, I got fined around $100 no demerits in vic, about 5 years ago.

      • snook on 10/09/2015 - 14:30
        +1

        The only rear lights that affect me are the people directly in front and I will pass them and not let them get in front of me again.

        With the front ones, everyone behind me (with them on) is seriously blinding.

        I can remember driving south many years ago, doing like 5 kph and having to actually look out the window, the fog was that thick. Back then though, no one had fog lights. But this is how strong the lights are and what they're made for. Either of those lights (front or back) being used outside of that particular situation causes disability glare. See my post below.

        From RACV
        Front fog lights are often confused with driving lights. The major difference is the light pattern of the lights. Front fog lights have a low, flat, fan shaped beam used to illuminate underneath the mist line.

        Like headlights, fog lights and driving lights should be properly aligned. Even small misalignments can cause deteriorated illumination and excessive glare for other road users. Alignment of is often not part of normal servicing procedures. Ask to have your lights checked during regular servicing.

      • snook on 10/09/2015 - 15:11
        +2

        I also read that some cars have Daytime Running Lights (DRL) in the same place as fog lights and these would be inoffensive. They don't actually operate at night because when the headlights are turned on, these automatically turn off.

        • Euphemistic on 11/09/2015 - 13:15
          +1

          It's obviously not front fog lights that are the problem frying your retinas in the mirrors. A fog light that is too bright, or aimed high will simply light up the fog and make it harder to see. They are designed to shine low' on the ground to light up UNDER the fog.

          Driving lights are different, and probably more common on Aussie car because we get way less fog than other parts of the world.

          Person lolly I haven't seen a rear fog light for ages, let alone one that is lit. The old excels with their single separate rear light were common and a dead giveaway the driver had no clue. Front driving lights are another story. They are everywhere, but the usually don't annoy me because they are aimed low.

          Fancy euro HID lights are annoying because they have such a tight beam cutoff that hit a bump and virtually high beam you.

        • snook on 11/09/2015 - 19:00

          @Euphemistic: you clearly don't drive into and out of Sydney at night

        • Euphemistic on 13/09/2015 - 22:20

          @snook: Crikey no! You'd have to be mad to drive in Sydney daily.

  • snook on 10/09/2015 - 12:48
    +2

    from a Whirlpool post about the subject which probably explains it quite well:
    http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1288707

    In NSW it's not about personal preference because it's illegal to use fogs when there's no fog.

    It's not a spurious law either, there are very real reasons why it's wrong to use fogs at night. Fogs cause disability glare to oncoming drivers, and I'm yet to meet a young person who can appreciate that the effects of disability glare worsen considerably with age. This is a condition that affects every human.

    Under the ADR's, low-beam headlights are required to be manufactured so as not to cause disability glare to oncoming drivers. This means that the lens and reflectors shape the light.

    High beams and fog lights do not shape the light to prevent disability glare, that's why it's an offense to put them in someones face.

    It's an offense because it's dangerous. When you're 50 years old and you're completely blinded by car after car needlessly making a fashion statement you'll begin to understand.

  • ChrisLevo on 10/09/2015 - 15:23

    I turn on my rear fog light.

    However, that's only on my week day drive to work on the up track on the South Eastern Freeway from Adelaide to Hahndorf, and only when it's foggy.

    Those who drive in the fog from the tunnel to past Crafers will know exactly why I do so!
    The fog can cut the visibility down to bugger-all, and there are always morons roaring up the hill at 110km/h when the variable speed limit signs are down to 50km/h or less.
    I do not wish to be rear-ended, so give them a brighter light to (hopefully) slow them down before they collect me.

    As for front fog lights, they don't seem to make much difference, piss me off when (mostly) SUV and BMW drivers have them on when they have perfect visibility, so I never use them.

    Horses for courses……

  • PVA on 11/09/2015 - 16:42
    +1

    the front ones annoy me more.

  • Euphemistic on 13/09/2015 - 22:23

    Probably should be changing the title too, "drivers with rear fog lights on in no fog".

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