Fog Lights, Amirite?

Does anyone else get blinded by fog lights on rural roads? I don't seem to have a problem with them on lighted streets, but the badly aimed fog lights or ones with a poor cutoff really get to me when driving the Escort. I just came back from a 20-minute drive, and every single pickup truck had fog lights on, and forced me to focus on the bottom right of the road. My windshield is clean and isn't pitted.

Also, rear fog lights. How many people do you know who have even heard of them? It's time we got some legislation on the use of fog lights.

Also, rear fog lights. How many people do you know who have even heard of them?

They only come on in reverse, Pontiac Grand Am comes to mind, had 1.

The after market fogs can be bad. Had one Suburban behind me with them mounted in the grill.....idiot. You do sit low in the Escort though....

No, those are...well, reverse lights.

Rear fog lights are red, either one on the driver's side or a pair, and are the same intensity as brake lights. It's good for visibility in real fog, but really burns your eyes when you follow one in clear weather.

On some cars they come on with your front fog lights; others have a separate switch. The most frequent offenders on the road seem to be Audi drivers.

Some of those expensive european models like bmw's have those installed in the back.

They are so bright it can be distracting.

The same goes for those people that put HID's in a reflector based system.

I remember reading a post where a Jag with the pair of rear fog lights turned on had only the third centre-mounted brake light to indicate the vehicle was slowing down. If true, that seems like a very bad idea.

The ones on the grand am only turned on when A: In reverse and B: Had the fogs on, i.e. headlights on. They were extra on top of the reverse lights, down on the rear bumper. There is no need for those unless you are in reverse......

I wonder if this conversation took place when they went from 6 to 12 volt systems in cars?????

That still doesn't make them rear fog lights in the proper ECE definition. Rear fog lights are red and can be turned on while moving forward. You can call the Grand Am lights auxiliary reverse lights, but they are not rear fog lights.

I looked up some numbers. My brake lights are rated for 24 mean spherical candela (MSCD). The Audi rear fog lights are rated for 35 MSCD. In comparison, your Grand Am "auxiliary reverse lights" were rated for only 12 MSCD.

When did they switch to 12 V? Sometime in the 50s? I'd like to find some numbers on 6 V and 12 V bulbs used at the time.

Here's the Jag I was talking about. I was mistaken; it wasn't a post, it was an image I found on Flickr while I was browsing through the "asshat" group.

Note the difference between the rear fog lights and the normal taillights on the Ford next to it. Taillights are normally rated for around 2-5 MSCD. Imagine following that Jag on an unlit road at night.

Squishy wrote:Does anyone else get blinded by fog lights on rural roads?

Yep. Also blinded by people using their high-beams on well-lit city streets at night.

Yep. Also blinded by people using their high-beams on well-lit city streets at night.

You're not supposed to do that?????????

Squishy wrote:Here's the Jag I was talking about. I was mistaken; it wasn't a post, it was an image I found on Flickr while I was browsing through the "asshat" group.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/garryheather/2454215724/

Note the difference between the rear fog lights and the normal taillights on the Ford next to it. Taillights are normally rated for around 2-5 MSCD. Imagine following that Jag on an unlit road at night.

I would charge the driver with Careless Driving. This is without due care and attention for other motorists on the road. I can still see that image in my mind and it hurts!! I have successfully went to trial with a transport who deliberately put on the backup spotlight when I came up beside him, made my eyes go, I hit the rumble strips as I was blinded.

I thought Careless was a hard charge to make stick. I'm glad you had success with it; if it works for rear fog lights, the charge might be serious enough to spread by word-of-mouth and make a few more people read their owner's manual.

I guess it would be much harder to make stick for those problem front fogs? There are a lot of front fogs that do not send off glare, but the problem ones I can think of are the Silverado/F-series/Ram pickups, and SUVs with high-mounted fogs like the MDX. I installed an auto-dimming rearview mirror in the Escort which helps with cars behind me, although now I can't tell those drivers to turn off their brights because I can't tell the difference.