Fog lights a no-no in clear conditions, day or nig

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gofer0007, Jun 11, 2:25pm
YES! Bout time some one made more noise about this.How many just plain stupid drivers drive all day and night in normal conditions with their fog lights on.It is obvious they never had the correct vehicle training from the start and I soooo hope this gets Policed more with fines.
Besides looking really stupid driving with fogs likes on in no fog its a distraction due to the intensity it requires to cut through actual fog.
Having done my licence in Europe and have the proper defensive driving tests in dry, wet and snow conditions high and low speed (hense i say proper test) i am amaized at the number of so called "drivers" that are so clueless about their own vehicles. As we know the drivers in NZ are shocking (and one cannot blame the Asians etc) as its a cultrual bad habit attitude of "i own the road" and " i know it all" and "she'll be alright mate" that is the cuase of so many deaths and crashes.
Go the NZ Police, bring it on!
Say no to fog lights, say no to Play Station 1/2/3 driving tests for babies :)
footplate1, Jun 11, 2:33pm
Yes, some fog lights are as bright as headlights when set to shine straight ahead.Particularly dangerous when driving at night.Time the reminder was issued.
pauldw, Jun 11, 3:06pm
Permanent fog lights are so common the Police must be ignoring them on their roadside check points. I suggest that they should start with the import 4WD that have a full sized pair of fog lights mounted at the same height as the headlights.
i-n-horz, Jun 11, 3:36pm
Have more of an issue with pilots forget'n they're on high beam.fog lights! only the big suckers that shine up and at ya.
murph2068594, Jun 11, 3:37pm
What current PlayStation game are they using for the driving tests!
morrisman1, Jun 11, 4:48pm
go worry about more important things gofer. People are dumb and theres nothing anyone can do about it.
tonyrockyhorror, Jun 11, 5:15pm
It's long overdue for Police to actually hammer the poor practice, among others.
opos, Jun 11, 6:47pm
are we talking about fog lights or spotlights!
tonyrockyhorror, Jun 11, 6:51pm
Do you know the diffrerence!
kevymtnz, Jun 11, 6:58pm
Foglights ( genyellow, cars ) are set the same as the low beam as for when you go for a wof but in low light conditions or bad weather they can also be used and are not illegal to use at any other times,
they are not intense just yellow and if set wrong just like any other can be a pain

what i hate the most are 4x4s with lights that are to high and follow to close
opos, Jun 11, 7:01pm
i think so but please correct me here goes spotlights are normally the big arse ones bolted on to the bull bar of 4 wheel drives which are brighter than the head lights and i thought fog lights like on the bosses 08 fairmont
are the smaller lights in the bumper as when you turn on the fog switch in the car these lights come on and they spread the beam down low and also each side of the car which make for way better visiblity in to fog you turn spotlights on in fog dosent make f all difference
poppajn, Jun 11, 7:08pm
Fog light,s, you,ll know them, they,re for THICKcondition,s.
phillip.weston, Jun 11, 7:18pm
yes I think there needs to be a clear distinction between proper fog lights, driving lamps, and spot lamps.

I feel most cars with factory fog lamps are fine with usually 35W lamps and a beam which is spread very broad and low. Of all the cars I've had with factory fitted fog lamps their light intensity has been far less than what the low beams provide. There are some cars however from the factory which have more 'driving lamps' rather than fog lamps, and the 2000's Commodores come to mind with their lamps which are more blinding than headlamps on low beam.

My car has two pairs of auxilary lamps in the front bumper, and they work in tandem with the headlamps - the outer pair (fog lamps) are dim, broad and aimed low and only come on with the low beams, the inner pair are much brighter, aimed higher but will have a broad pattern and only work while the high beams are on to assist the high beam headlamps.
opos, Jun 11, 7:23pm
you might use them when your mazdabating
smac, Jun 11, 7:29pm
It's been illegal to use fog lamps during normal visibility conditions for ages, and the term IS defined in legislation.

'Driving lamps' however is a term made up by importers or some other twat to try and deflect from the fact they have additional illegal lights added to the vehicle.

There are fog lamps, headlights, and position lamps. Driving lights is just made up.
pauldw, Jun 11, 7:32pm
From the Road User Rules
"A driver may use a fog lamp only in conditions of severely reduced visibility, including fog or snow, but not under clear atmospheric conditions even during the hours of darkness."
net_oz, Jun 11, 7:33pm
Dumbarses driving in near dark conditions with just their park lights on piss me off. Don't know why car manufacturers still have them.
slarty45, Jun 11, 7:33pm
A very high up (friend) Traffic Policemans wife regarded Ruakaka Straights dangerous, so used high beam during the day. I gave her heaps saying it blinded oncoming drivers. Hubby said nothing as she wore the pants.
richardmayes, Jun 11, 7:34pm
Most factory-fitted driving lamps I've seen are so feeble, you would have to be a pretty grumpy so-and-so to get upset about them!

I head a Mk2 Jaguar owner confess once that his fog lamps were actually landing lights off a Cessna 206, they lit up the road amazingly but the voltmeter on the dash dropped a long way when they were running.
pauldw, Jun 11, 7:39pm
Try turning the fogs off, you won't miss them in good conditions and they're not supposed to been on.
pauldw, Jun 11, 7:46pm
Driving lamps are treated as Main Beams, you can have up to 4 Main beam lamps.
esprit, Jun 11, 7:47pm
No, Incorrect.

A driving light is a pair of lamps at the front of the vehicle that are off and can only come on with the vehicle's main (high) beam. They must be off at all other times and must not be able to be switched on or off independently. This is written in law.

A front-facing fog lamp must only operate with the park lamps and the dipped beam, they should not be used with the high beam. They must also not function independantly with the head/park lights turned off and it is also illegal to use these in good visibility conditions.

The ones that piss me off the most are people who leave their rear fogs turned on all the time so that whenever they're using their headlights their rear lights are blindingly bright. Follow someone for five minutes like that and you've got holes burned in your retina. Front lights only blind you for a second as they pass. rear fogs will blind you for minutes/hours at a time.
smac, Jun 11, 8:01pm
Where!
richardmayes, Jun 11, 8:02pm
THANK YOU - I'm glad I'm not the only weirdo who hates those things.

No doubt they have their place or they wouldn't exist. But State Highway 1 isn't the autobahn, no-one's going to come roaring up behind your automatic 318i POS at a closing speed of 100mph, you don't need a glaring red beacon on your tail to ward them off.FFS.
phillip.weston, Jun 11, 8:02pm
I rarely have them on, especially not during the day as they would be pointless. I only use them in foggy conditions.