Head lights/Fog lights

[NewToy]

How come when you have your fog lights illuminated (on a Car/truck) with your low beams they go out when you engage the high beams? Is it some type of NTSB mandate that regulates lumens or a consideration for overloading the electrical system?
John

 

[Gatorboy]

Not sure the reason, but when it's foggy turning on your high beams makes it very hard to see. So if you can see with high beams on, there is no reason to be running with your fog lights.

 

[Dargo]

I saw a survey by J.D. Powers (I think) that listed the most irritating thing done by drivers. In this survey the top thing listed as causing anger is people driving with their "driving lights" or "fog lights" on at all times after dark. Our police department has begin issuing citations for such a violation. My BIL got one. His excuse was that he thought it looked cool, and everyone else does it. Yeah, great excuse. The cop told him that driving with his driving lights on (fog lights are amber in color) is equal to driving around with your bright lights on. I don't recall the survey saying that it was illegal, just rude.

At second was not using turn signals, and I think third was throwing cigarettes out the window. Where I live, both of those things are illegal as well. If you live in an area like where I do, and if your "fog lights" are actually the clear "driving lights", maybe a cop will tell you why they go off when you turn your other brights on.

 

[cp1969]

Not sure the reason, but when it's foggy turning on your high beams makes it very hard to see. So if you can see with high beams on, there is no reason to be running with your fog lights.

If you can see with low beams there is no reason to run them either, but about every other car on the road does.

 

[Dusty]

The fog or driving lights that came with my car as standard equipment illuminate the road close to the bumper and to both sides of the front bumper. They in no way are blinding to other motorists. They don't go off when you hit the high beams either. If the lights came with the vehicle from the manufacturer, they can't ticket you for using them. I believe that Wisconsin doesn't allow any lighting on the road that isn't installed by the vehicle manufacturer, except for emergency lighting on service vehicles etc. Sometimes a department will get a bug and start issuing tickets for something that they don't like, but if you take the ticket to the court and ask to see the applicable state regulation or statute, if there is none, the ticket goes away, and usually the town stops issuing these frivolous tickets.
There is one thing that is becoming standard on many cars and trucks today and that is daytime driving lights. I can't stand those and find them very distracting. The claim is made that they make the roads safer. I don't believe that there is any proof of this claim. If you don't like them either, there is an organization that is working to keep them from becoming mandated on new vehicles. Association of Drivers Against Day Time Running Lights
Dusty

 

[cp1969]

They in no way are blinding to other motorists.

Define "blinding." If they didn't add light to my eyes, I wouldn't be able see them. A lot of times, my eyes already have more than enough light--adding more doesn't help, it hurts--hence the term, blinding.

There is one thing that is becoming standard on many cars and trucks today and that is daytime driving lights. I can't stand those and find them very distracting. The claim is made that they make the roads safer. I don't believe that there is any proof of this claim. If you don't like them either, there is an organization that is working to keep them from becoming mandated on new vehicles. Association of Drivers Against Day Time Running Lights
Dusty

I'll throw in with you on this one, even though I find them less annoying than driving lights being used for no apparent reason.

 

[JD3520]

Some states do not allow more than 4 lights facing forward. Many cars have 4-light headlight systems and the addition of the driving lights would give six in violation of the law. So, when the bright lights come on the driving lights go off to avoid a violation.

The problem with driving lights is some people adjust them to reach farther and thus blinding oncoming traffic. It may not be a law violation to turn them on in a particular state but an adjustment that allows them to blind traffic is a violation.

If a driver needs that kind on illumination (six lights or driving lights out of adjustment) they need to either slow down or not drive at night.

Some people have no idea what courteous driving means. Please save your driving lights for roads with no traffic.

My pick up has daytime running lights. I simply removed the fuse to them.

 

[Dargo]

If the lights came with the vehicle from the manufacturer, they can't ticket you for using them.

Oh really?! Try driving around with your brights (installed by the factory) all the time. If you don't get a ticket first, you'll likely be dragged out of your vehicle and beaten by using your factory installed lights.

P.S. When you drive with your bright driving lights on facing me on a two lane road, I'll be one of the many who will return the favor and allow you to view my factory installed HID brights. Basically, you are blinding me and I must be able to see the line on the right side of the road or possibly ram you head on since you are blinding me. Driving lights are not focused and certainly do blind others. Why would it be the number one complaint by other drivers? Daytime driving lights may not be turned off by the vehicle operator. Bright driving lights must be manually turned on by the operator; big difference.

 

[dmccarty]

There are fog lights and then there are fog lights.

The fog lights that came with my truck are legal otherwise Ford would not have put them on the truck. The after market fog lights are the ones that cause trouble. I do see some lights that are either mis adjusted or they are trying to call UFOs into an LZ.

The fog lights I have do work in fog. I also put on the highbeams at night trying to see deer. I do try to turn them off when other cars head towards me.

JD just sent me a catalog with HID work lights I would like to add to the tractor. I ask the boss and she said I work too hard as is and I don't need to be working at night anyway. When I told her the lights where $400 I got The Look.

No HIDS for me.

Later,
Dan

 

[NewToy]

I'm going to install those "Blue Laser" super penetrating headlights and they also have the fog/driving light replacement bulbs. Just Kidding! Those things are my #1 gripe.
If you shouldn't burn the factory installed clear fog/driving lamps with your lo-beams when should you use them? I have never found them to be bothersome, nothing like getting high beamed.
John

 

[Dargo]

I'm going to install those "Blue Laser" super penetrating headlights and they also have the fog/driving light replacement bulbs. Just Kidding! Those things are my #1 gripe.
If you shouldn't burn the factory installed clear fog/driving lamps with your lo-beams when should you use them? I have never found them to be bothersome, nothing like getting high beamed.
John

As you noted, some blind, some don't. When I'm blinded, I honestly have to turn on my high beams to be able to see anything; like the white line on the right side of the road. If I'm not blinded, I couldn't care less. But, if they are not brighter, I see no use for them. I have 3 vehicles with them installed from the factory. Other than to see if they made any difference, they have never been on.

As far as when they are to be used, I obviously can't answer that. But, that is a question my BIL asked the officer giving him a ticket. The officer told him that they are legal on 4 lane highways separated by a median or when you would normally use high beams; like when there is no traffic facing you.

I'm certainly no authority by any means, but I do have factory HID lights that are extremely bright on high beams. In years of politely giving a quick flash, nobody has ever turned off their blinding bright driving lights. Thus, for my safety as well as theirs, they get to enjoy my HID lights. Oh, my wife said that she definitely recalls Consumer Reports listing people driving with driving lights all the time as their number one complaint as well.

 

[NewToy]

You ever notice how many GMC/Chevy trucks with DRL's (Daylight running lamps) that have one of them burned out? I started really watching for it and I'd wager 30-40% have a bulb burned out. I pulled the fuse on my Chevy van to deactivate them. It's in the fuse box marked "DRL". They make it pretty easy to find.
John

 

[jwstewar]

A couple of things. My Silverado and our Trailblazer both have DRLs. I really like them. It helps people see us better. When we leave our road and turn out on to the highway (that our road connects to) it is a passing zone. I really like the DRLs on other vehicles as well. We are turning right (usually 95%+) so our lane should be clear, but there is a long straight stretch so everyone is passing. Sure does make it easier to see the cars in my lane - especially toward evening as the sun is shining towards us and the cars hide in plain sight.

I also admit that I run the fog/driving lights on my Silverado & Trailblazer. I like how they illiminate right in front of the vehicle and off to the right of the road. I think there are bigger things to worry about besides drivers running driving/fog lights. People flipping their cigs out the window and coming back across my windshield - talk about distracting. Or the vehicles smoking so much that it gags you or trucks losing rocks/clumps of mud as they go down the road and they hit and break my windshield. I need to get ready to have a fifth windshield put in our Accord - 3 of them for stuff hitting them.

 

[NewToy]

JWS, What were the other two windshields in the Accord replaced for? Just curious.
John

 

[jwstewar]

JWS, What were the other two windshields in the Accord replaced for? Just curious.

Accidents. One was before I met my wife (it was her car) and she swerved to avoid a deer and found a tree. The other was when she was driving home from Columbus and was rear-ended in Circleville and it shoved her about 15' into the car in front of her. The corners of the hood just touched the windshield and broke it. I feel sorry for this car, it has almost 230k miles on it and it has been broken into 3 times and been in something like 7 or 8 accidents - only one was our fault (the tree episode). Seems as though people can't see it, maybe if it had DRLs people could see it Nah, that wouldn't help either because it has been hit twice while parked. (Legally I might add). I just keep driving the car because of the number of accidents and the miles it is worth almost nothing, but it just keeps chugging along. Though sometimes I'm scarred that the car is out to get us.

 

[riptides]

Personally I don't have ENOUGH lights on any of my vehicles. I figure with all the driving I do, if I can have one more set than the other guy, ON, then that is one more chance for me to be seen. Face it, the way people drive, I'd rather be noticed than in an accident.

Now on the farm, if I can illuminate the next three acres around me than I am comfortable. You know how those cows plot just on the fringe of darkness.

-Mike Z.

 

[Ifixcars]

Here in Pa the fogs must only work with low beams and driving lights must only work with high beams. They are checked at state inspection time, and must work correctly and be aimed properly. I do like the safety aspect of DRL's and I personally wouldn't disconnect them to save a couple of bucks on a blown bulb. There is some fighting going on about the high intensity blue lights. Seems the state only wants cars that are originally equipped with them to have them. So only the rich people with BMW's and Mercedes and such are deemed worthy of bright lights. The rest of us are not supposed to have them at inspection time. Fogs don't really do much for me but I do like a driving light.

 

[turnkey4099]

I'm going to install those "Blue Laser" super penetrating headlights and they also have the fog/driving light replacement bulbs. Just Kidding! Those things are my #1 gripe.
If you shouldn't burn the factory installed clear fog/driving lamps with your lo-beams when should you use them? I have never found them to be bothersome, nothing like getting high beamed.
John

When should you use them? For what they were designed for. First they are not fog/DRIVIGN lights. They are FOG lights. Turn 'em on in fog, turn 'em off in no fog. Simple? If your headlights are not giving enough light, there is something wrong.

Put me in the p.o'd column for people who think leaving them on in clear conditions is cooool.

Harry K

 

[rswyan]

There is one thing that is becoming standard on many cars and trucks today and that is daytime driving lights. I can't stand those and find them very distracting. The claim is made that they make the roads safer. I don't believe that there is any proof of this claim.

I'm not advocating for or against DRL's , but at Fedex Ground drivers are required to run with headlights on even during the day. The reason for this is twofold:

1. it will give you additional visibility (think of a tree-lined road with branches that form a canopy, on a heavily overcast day as an example)

2. it makes you easily seen by others. (The human eye is attracted to light.)

While my experience with No. 1 is somewhat limited, can I attest that for me personally, No. 2 is definitely true ...... and it's true even in far from "dark" conditions. I have been in circumstances where moving vehicles have been practically invisible ..... from blending into the background, being intermittently obsurced by objects (trees as an example), etc. On the otherhand, I'm easily able to spot a vehical with it's lights on - under just about any condition other than it being totally obscured (and even then depending on conditions, I might be able to spot the light from the headlamps .... even if I can't see the vehical itself.)

Personally I think having my attention pulled to a moving vehical - being "distracted" from whatever I was focused on prior - is a good thing - at least I'm now aware of the other vehical - after becoming aware of it I can easily refocus my attention to wherever else it needs to be, given the circumstances. Notice I said "attention" above and not "eyes" - I don't have to look directly at something to be aware of it - that's the point of having peripheral vision.

DADRL's position appears to be that the auto industry is pushing DRL's for economic reasons ("follow the money") ...... that might be true - although not for the reasons they envision: It doesn't take a whole lot of imagaination on my part to see some negligent driver getting in a accident, and a vehical manufacturer getting sued because they failed to provide a safety feature that is available in other countries (DRL's)

And as far as their position that the glare from DRL's is bothersome, again personally I haven't found that to be the case. Maybe it's just me, but I'm more bothered by headlight glare at night, when the pupils of my eyes are opened up from low ambient light. During the day they are already stopped down, due to the higher ambient light levels. Maybe other folks eyes work differently.

 

[tallyho8]

I think there are bigger things to worry about besides drivers running driving/fog lights. People flipping their cigs out the window and coming back across my windshield - talk about distracting.

Double this for me!!! I was pulling a trailer load of hay for my horses, with my new truck, across the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway (the world's longest bridge) when a driver passed me and threw a cigarette out the window. I saw it land in my hay at 55 miles an hour and the wind instantly turned it into a blazing inferno. Luckily, I was close to a connector ramp and pulled off the road and started jacking up and unhitching my trailer while other motorists reported it. Through the heat, I managed to get my new pickup, which was also loaded with hay, out the way just in time. The Causeway fire department truck showed up within 3 minutes and it is equipped with a large 500 gallon foam tank to put out gas fires in cars. It had no effect on the fire and they called for a fire department pumper truck that was stationed at the end of the bridge 10 miles away. After this truck used up it's supply of water with little effect on the fire, they called another pumper truck which ran out of water just as it finally got the fire out. They had to block off the bridge during this 2 hour ordeal and had a line of waiting traffic 14 miles long. When they finally let the traffic through, many people who had waiting for hours must have thought we did a great job with the fire because they were all giving us the number one signal by holding one finger up as they passed us.