Fog light etiquette?

Have a look at this:

"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."

Wow, someone's actually concerned about this. I'm amazed!

This is a pet peeve of many. Yes, they are obnoxious, especially on trucks. They are especially so right behind you, because of the glare. They distract you. Coming at you, it's nearly as bad as brights. As far as I'm concerned, they are for foggy weather, and that's it.

People like to call them "driving lights". Ok, well, I would consider headlights to be "driving lights", because they allow you to drive when it's dark. What are you doing with them if you're not driving, are they parking lights? No, you have those already. They serve no purpose while driving in ordinary conditions, case closed.

I know they look good, I understand that totally. I had a car with 'em. But please, be one of the good people who spares those who might already have trouble seeing at night more trouble seeing. I'd say on a dark, empty road, cool. In traffic, not. You're stylin and others are going, "God, turn those things off". Especially those really bright ones, xeon or whatever...

my 2 cents

Properly aimed, fog lights should not bother other drivers. When not used for fog, they can actually be a detriment to the user depending upon weather conditions. I doubt they serve much purpose in town when not for fog. Out in the country, the combination of headlights and fogs is great for peripheral vision on those two lane back country roads where all sorts of animals, from jackrabbits to Sasquatch can unexpectedly leap out (most critters appear to be suicidal and intentionally leap in front of passing vehicles.... deer especially like the 18 wheelers on the NY Turnpike!).

I digress....

When I was younger, I served in the USMC and had gotten a hold of 2 landing lights from an AV8-A/C (Harrier Jump Jet)..

I mounted them behind the grill of my 69 Mach I.. (had to dig deep into my military electronics training to get them to light up on a 12vdc car system, but I was able to )

You did NOT want to see those coming down the street at you... They were so bright, I though I might light some of the vegetation on fire.. :-)

Great for me to see, not so great for anyone coming towards me..

I tied them to the high-beam switch and kept them off if there was anyone coming towards me or if I was behind someone...

I just remember people's reactions when they were riding with me and I flipped those suckers on...

I agree. Would just add that Manufacturers seem to put them on their "Sporty" cars and people turn them on just to tell everyone that they own one. I rarely turn on my fogs when out on a country road, or tooly fog in central Cal. Valley.

"I don't know about yours, but mine actually help with peripheral vision at night. "

This is a common misconception. You appear to have better lighting in that area, and you do. And so that area immediately within the wash of the lights is better visualized. But because of the way your eyes work, vision at the periphery and immediately outside that area is diminished. Your eyes and brain focus on that area of light, and tends to block out the rest. You'll see the deer better in that area, but much worse directly outside of it. It's just the way we work.

" Properly aimed, fog lights should not bother other drivers. "

Ideally, this is true. A good fog light should create an arc of light that is cut off sharply at the horizon, but spreads out pretty far ahead of the light. That's the ideal. And if that were true, your statement would also be true. Now, back to the real world. Most fog lights being run by these knuckleheads are far from "good"; especially those useless blue lights. They are the cheapest pieces of junk that Wally World or JC Whitless has for sale. Poor beam definition, lots of scatter and glare. Pretty worthless as a true fog lamp. Factory fog lamps are only slightly better. And when was the last time you checked the aim on your fog lights? I don't think the factory lights on my Dakota were even adjustable. And, finally, you're driving a medium to large sized truck. The fog lights are anywhere from 18-36" from the pavement surface, and 36-48" below your line of sight. Here's comes granny in here corolla. And you wonder why she wanders in to your lane.

"It helps other drivers to see me coming"

Do you really think so? If they can't see that big truck with two very bright lights on the front, do you really think two much smaller lights are going to make a difference? If they can't see you, it's because they are not looking. Not much you can do about that.

If it's not snowing, raining, or foggy, turn the darn things off. Real drivers are not impressed.

Back in the day when NV had no speed limit on the open roads, I had a driving instructor who had a spotlight mounted on his old Ford. Tooling along at night, he got irritated by people who kept their high beams on. He's flash his lights and they wouldn't change a thing. Sooooo, he aims his spotlight right about where the drivers eyeballs would be and swears that the next car that doesn't dim theirs gets the spotlight. Sure enough. Here comes one. He flashes his lights. Nothing. Flashes them again. Nothing. Now the car is about on top of him....SPOTLIGHT!!!! In the rearview mirror he sees taillights all over the place, but, hey, they deserved it. A few more miles and he begins to wonder if he hurt anyone. Finally, turns around and goes back. In the ditch alongside the highway he finds a NV State Patrol car, and the patrolman is just kicked back sitting on the rear bumper. Said they gave him 3 days because nobody was hurt.

I used to commute from Redding to Marysville everyday. Had to be there by 7:30. There were times when the only thing I had to go by was that white line painted on the pavement.

I'm an old guy and my eyes are just as old..... What may not bother you might have someone like me getting real personal with you on a dark road. Not all of us are equal, physiologically speaking.

We have dear, moose and elk in our area... along with bears, coyotes, wolves, foxes and any other creatures of the great arboreal forest.... When driving at night, it is wise to "drive smart" - not to trade hitting an errant deer by giving the opportunity to have someone else drive into us.

Whilst driving, it isn't about "me"..... it is about the responsibility that we all have as drivers.That responsibility is to each other.... to ensure that all of us reach our destinations safely...

Ouch... Thank God I wasn't stupid enough to light em up on someone coming towards me... But Man, you could see for "miles".. They were visible on the street in bright daylight.. Ah, memories of a misspent youth... :-)

BTW: Saw your car on Courtney's picks... Nice... Gotta hand it to you, if I would have seen what you started with, I never would have dreamed it could be resurrected to driveability, let alone show-worthy...

It can get tense, cause you wonder if someone is parked in the lane, too scared to move.

When I lived in Tacoma, WA, one of my running partners used to drive I-5 in the fog by putting the right wheels in one lane and the left wheels in the other.... and then he would nod off! As the car drifted, it would hit the speed bumps and perk him up. I told him someday there was going to be cars stopped in the lanes, or a wreck and he was going to plow right into them. Never happened though. Some people... God watches out for fools....

Thanks. I had a lot going for me. First it was a California car from the start; San Jose to Sacramento Valley; and the guy who had it, took care of it even while it sat for years; stored up in the hills on the Reno side of Sacramento. Considering the 66 FB I sold to get it was totally running, and also a SJ car which was raised in Chico, and at the very end landed in Las Vegas... which is where it went back to when I sold it. My first 65 FB was a 5 year old mint Tacoma car which cost me $1065 with financing in 1970. The 66 cost me $14K in 2002. And this one..... well, hey, with the fold down rear seat, I didn't need a home anymore anyway.. :0) LOL