Driving in the fog .......

Borats Baby

Suspended / Banned
Messages
2,126
Name
Rikki
Edit My Images
Yes
B_rant.gif


OK, what should have been a nice pleasant drive from Warrington, through the Pennines and into Yorkshire today, turned into an absolute ******* headache !!

It wasn't that the traffic came to a stand still.

It wasn't that there were roadworks which affected my journey.

It wasn't that there were too many cars on the road.

It wasn't even the ******** fogs fault.

-----------

No, once again, its all the ****WITS who still do not know how to use their cars or the tarmac they drive on - properly.

I should have known it was going to be bad as I made my way to the M62, blinded by the array of ****ing FOG LIGHTS front and rear that people thought it must have been cool to put on. OK, it was a bit foggy, but I could still see the ordinary rear lights on the car 10 infront. This was 11am this morn btw

Then I join the motorway, along with 4 or 5 others who all proceed directly to the middle lane regardless of traffic in the inside lane. (Of which incidently, there was none) Slightly angered by this, but GREAT I thought, I can build up a good speed, pass them all and carry on. BUT NO !!! EVERY ****ER IS DOING ONE OF 3 THINGS

1. KEEPING IN THE MIDDLE LANE AT 60MPH.

2. KEEPING IN THE OUTSIDE LANE AT 60MPH.

3. KEEPING IN THE INSIDE LANE AT 40MPH.

^^^ ALL WITH FOGLIGHTS A BLAZIN..... ^^^

So, those of us who realise that the bit of fog we have, that should make no difference at all to the way we drive, cannot do a ****ing thing, but sit behind people with not a chance of getting past.

Now, I know you get the odd MLM under normal circumstances, but I'm not joking when I say that about 60% of the drivers on the M62 today, were sat in the middle lane with no intention of moving anywhere but.

:bang::bang::bang::bang::bang:
 
Borats Baby, are you still practicing your Zen meditation??:shrug:

ps I love your new avatar - the old one was real scary!
 
fog light users are my secondgreatest driving anoyance this side of middle lane ******s.


strange thing is that i live in cumbria, we get alot of mist and fog and only very rarely is visibility reduced to the extent when front fog lights increase visability, yet for some reason ford think that to put my rear foglight on i must blind ever b****r coming the other way as well!
 
To be honest I've never found fog lights, front or rear, to be of any annoyance whether used in light fog or clear day or night. Only lights I do find annoying are people with full beam or vans/lorries with badly adjusted lights shining in my rear view mirrors.
My pet hate are middle lane huggers who overtake you remain in the middle lane but don't have the ability for whatever reason to maintain their speed and slow down again meaning I overtake them on the inside.
 
As far as fog lights go, aslong as there is fog, (Not just a light mist) then im fine with fog lightss, Fog can hit you so quickly its unreal! and sometimes you cant see it comming.. so err on the side of caution in that case..

But... Middle lane hoggers!!!Dont get me started!!!!

:bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang:
 
People who don't know how to use lights properly wind me up. I used to just flash people with my main beams, this year I think I'm going to start carrying a pistol and just open up on anyone who blinds me, especially you sods with HID headlights :D
 
As far as fog lights go, aslong as there is fog, (Not just a light mist) then im fine with fog lightss, Fog can hit you so quickly its unreal! and sometimes you cant see it comming.. so err on the side of caution in that case..

But... Middle lane hoggers!!!Dont get me started!!!!

:bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang:

I'm with you there Tony, although I hate people who use foglights on a clear night or even during the day! I'm convinced they think they are there to make their car look cool! :bang:
 
ford think that to put my rear foglight on i must blind ever b****r coming the other way as well!

Nissan seem to think the same! I don't really ever feel the need to use my front fogs, but to put the back one on, the fronts have to be on :bonk:
 
To be honest I've never found fog lights, front or rear, to be of any annoyance

Shall I tell you why they are an annoyance !

Its because on a motorway, or any road for that matter, you cant tell who's braking for a good reason, and whos just got their foglights on..........
 
Shall I tell you why they are an annoyance !

Its because on a motorway, or any road for that matter, you cant tell who's braking for a good reason, and whos just got their foglights on..........

You wanna borrow my pistol BB?
 
Shall I tell you why they are an annoyance !

Its because on a motorway, or any road for that matter, you cant tell who's braking for a good reason, and whos just got their foglights on..........
Unless your driving too close to other cars, you'll see the fog lights aren't going off and know they aren't braking.
Rear fog lamps are a warning light after all.
 
Is it just me or does every one of the new fancy-shmancy Audi drivers always drive with their lights on? Even in bright day light? WTF is wrong with them?
 
Is it just me or does every one of the new fancy-shmancy Audi drivers always drive with their lights on? Even in bright day light? WTF is wrong with them?

They have their Christmas lights on.
 
Is it just me or does every one of the new fancy-shmancy Audi drivers always drive with their lights on? Even in bright day light? WTF is wrong with them?

its either they are showing off, or audi are... :bonk:


Foglights are a mild irritation, middle lane hoggers are the spawn of the devil! :bang:
 
I have to say todays fog isn't half as bad as the "smog" we used to get back in the 1950/60 era.

I can well remember the only way to drive was to follow the car infront rear lights. Often was the case where people finished up in someone elses drive, yes it WAS that bad, you could only just see the front of your cars bonnet. Those who never had to drive in those conditions just wouldn't believe how bad it actually was. I remember having to walk infront of my fathers car carrying a torch for him to follow, so he could stay on the road and not hit some idiot who had abandoned their car.

Realspeed
 
Last edited:
Whilst they're described as fog lights, they can legally be used in conditions of reduced visiblity - fog isn't specifically mentioned, although obviously, when fog is bad you'd use them, but falling snow and torrential lane are also legitimate uses.

The problem is fog lights have become a fashion statement and we're lucky if they have legal white bulbs in not blue or even green ones which I'm seeing more and more of lately.

Then there's the people who sit stationary in front of you all through the traffic light sequence with their foot on the brake burning your eyeballs out with their brake lights! Gaaah!
 
IIRC, foglights can only legally be used when visibility is less than 100 yards. People who insist on driving round in clear visibility with their front fogs on are a personal pet hate, they are the single most pointless thing fitted to a car. And don't get me started on middle lane hoggers, or, as mentioned above, people who sit at traffic lights with their foot on the brake. Use the sodding handbrake! :bang:
 
Give me a FIDO to aim for and at least one engine still spluttering and I can't complain.
 
There are times when I long for the Mad Max days to arrive when I can drive round and shoot anybody who so much as indicates for too long.
 
I drove back from Bradford last night and the amount of people with front & rear fog lights on in clear visibility was staggering; yet another example of how lazy this country has got.

I was turning my fog lights off as soon as I cleared any fog, but imagine my surprise at finding a people mover in the middle lane doing about 30mph with NO lights on at all on an unlit section of the M1 (just after the M62 I think).

And I would say that 40-50% of drivers don't pull back over to lane 1 after when they can. I have wondered why they drive like this, on busy motorways it slows the traffic flow, as you effectively reduce the lanes on the carriageway.

Steve
 
i had someone the other week who was driving in the middle lane, they went under one of those m6 dot matrix signs (m6 early warning system for incidents which happened last tuesday i think they;re called, they never display anything useful) it had "dont hog the middle lane" written on it, so he moved over into the slow lane, i passed him, 3/4 of a mile later he moved back into the middle lane for no reason what so ever.



today has been hella foggy here, so this morning i checked to see if i could see further with front foglights on, it didnt help so i imediateley turned them back off again. the thing with foglights is that if used in the correct situation they dont dazzle, blind or iritate anyone, its when they;re just used as another set of drivng lights that its a problem.
 
Unless your driving too close to other cars, you'll see the fog lights aren't going off and know they aren't braking.
Rear fog lamps are a warning light after all.

so its ok to drive around with your rear foglights when its not foggy because 'everyone should be able to work out when your braking or not'

rear fogs are iritating on the eyes even at a distance, the problem then arises that any braking isnt as clear due to the amount of red lights meaning the eye does not see them so clearly, add that to the fact that many cars have rear fogs that are high up (similar to where the brake lights are) which means the only discernable difference when braking is the high level brake light if one is fitted. it gets even worse if the culprit is a 'brake for no apparent reason' enthusiast
 
Unless your driving too close to other cars, you'll see the fog lights aren't going off and know they aren't braking.
Rear fog lamps are a warning light after all.

Its stupid !!!!!

In a sea of red lights, theres no way of knowing who is braking, and who has their fog lights on.

If you think people ahead are braking, it makes sense to think about braking yourself. This is of course uneccersary if no one ahead is actually braking .

You can't possibly know and that is why it is dangerous.

In thick thick fog (rarely seen in the uk), yes fog lights are ok. Under normal fog, they are a nuisance.
 
It could have been worse. It could have been fog lights in the rain. Grrrrrr.

My old landrover used to have the ideal aid for ignorant/moronic drivers who couldn't be bothered to dip/turn off lights when not needed.....

... 2 x 250 watt work lights back and front. A quick blast of them seemed to work wonders in helping people remember where their light switches were.
 
so its ok to drive around with your rear foglights when its not foggy because 'everyone should be able to work out when your braking or not'

rear fogs are iritating on the eyes even at a distance, the problem then arises that any braking isnt as clear due to the amount of red lights meaning the eye does not see them so clearly, add that to the fact that many cars have rear fogs that are high up (similar to where the brake lights are) which means the only discernable difference when braking is the high level brake light if one is fitted. it gets even worse if the culprit is a 'brake for no apparent reason' enthusiast
I didn't say it was ok just easy to tell the difference.
I don't think you'll find many if any makes of cars with rear fog lamps high up that don't have a high level rear brake light.

Its stupid !!!!!

In a sea of red lights, theres no way of knowing who is braking, and who has their fog lights on.

If you think people ahead are braking, it makes sense to think about braking yourself. This is of course uneccersary if no one ahead is actually braking .

You can't possibly know and that is why it is dangerous.

In thick thick fog (rarely seen in the uk), yes fog lights are ok. Under normal fog, they are a nuisance.

Don't know about you, but I tend to drive behind cars at a distance where I'll have a chance to slow down before I actually need to brake.

I also tend to drive not staring at other cars lights, but try to keep my eyes on the road.
 
Don't know about you, but I tend to drive behind cars at a distance where I'll have a chance to slow down before I actually need to brake.

I also tend to drive not staring at other cars lights, but try to keep my eyes on the road.

Sorry, didn't make myself clear.....

By "people ahead braking", I meant people 10 or so cars in front.

And like I said, in a sea of red lights (at night in particular) its difficult not to notice red lights, even out of the corners of your eyes.

(I keep my eyes all over the area infront of me, not JUST on the road) ;)
 
Sorry, didn't make myself clear.....

By "people ahead braking", I meant people 10 or so cars in front.

And like I said, in a sea of red lights (at night in particular) its difficult not to notice red lights, even out of the corners of your eyes.

(I keep my eyes all over the area infront of me, not JUST on the road) ;)

Assuming all motorists travel at braking distance plus from each other, or even if some were not, I very much doubt you'd see the tenth or so cars in front of you, unless it was on a bend with a clear line of sight.
I too watch all the area in front, beside and behind me when driving, but don't feel the need to stare straight into any light be it tail or front lights.
 
but don't feel the need to stare straight into any light be it tail or front lights.

I dont either, I'm just saying when theres a sea of them, it really is difficult not to !!

Why do you feel the need to defend these people Nilagin ? Do you think its right that during a little patch of fog, people should switch on thier fog lights (despite perfectly safe visibility) and proceed straight to middle lane with the intention of hogging it.

Is this what we should all be doing ?

Am I wrong for getting annoyed at the people who did this on Saturday ?

Is it what YOU do ?
 
I dont either, I'm just saying when theres a sea of them, it really is difficult not to !!

Why do you feel the need to defend these people Nilagin ? Do you think its right that during a little patch of fog, people should switch on thier fog lights (despite perfectly safe visibility) and proceed straight to middle lane with the intention of hogging it.

Is this what we should all be doing ?

Am I wrong for getting annoyed at the people who did this on Saturday ?

Is it what YOU do ?

I don't condone it and I'm not defending them, I'm just saying I fail to see how they are annoying. I've found green lights at certain sets of traffic lights of more annoyance where they shine into your eyes.
As far as my own use of fog lights, if it reduces the distance I can see in front of my car, they go on. That is what they are for and act as a warning for cars behind. If someone wants to tailgate me and the light annoys them then that is their problem. Fog invariably comes with a bit of moisture which means a road can become greasy and damp. You adjust your driving to suit, slower speeds within reason and greater braking distances.
As far as center lane hoggers, that does annoy me but wouldn't be such a problem if we were allowed to overtake on both sides.
 
I don't condone it and I'm not defending them, I'm just saying I fail to see how they are annoying. I've found green lights at certain sets of traffic lights of more annoyance where they shine into your eyes.
As far as my own use of fog lights, if it reduces the distance I can see in front of my car, they go on. That is what they are for and act as a warning for cars behind. If someone wants to tailgate me and the light annoys them then that is their problem. Fog invariably comes with a bit of moisture which means a road can become greasy and damp. You adjust your driving to suit, slower speeds within reason and greater braking distances.
As far as center lane hoggers, that does annoy me but wouldn't be such a problem if we were allowed to overtake on both sides.

Agree with everything in this post. :thumbs:
 
IAs far as my own use of fog lights, if it reduces the distance I can see in front of my car, they go on. That is what they are for and act as a warning for cars behind. If someone wants to tailgate me and the light annoys them then that is their problem..

Its not about tailgating. That is another thing I also find irritating.

Its about the improper use of foglights. Its mainly the rear ones I'm talking of also.

I was on a stretch of the M62 in the pennines where the is a large slow dip followed by a rise and at the top of that dip, you can see the m'way for about 3 miles ahead. Now if I can see the cars lights at the other end of that 3 mile stretch, is there really any need for fog lights ?
 
Its not about tailgating. That is another thing I also find irritating.

Its about the improper use of foglights. Its mainly the rear ones I'm talking of also.

I was on a stretch of the M62 in the pennines where the is a large slow dip followed by a rise and at the top of that dip, you can see the m'way for about 3 miles ahead. Now if I can see the cars lights at the other end of that 3 mile stretch, is there really any need for fog lights ?
If you can see for 3 miles then I agree there is no need for them. If you could see a mile I'd say the same. Hope you didn't feel I was implying you were tailgating other cars, that was not my intention, sorry if it came out that way.

Ignore me, for me, I just find other things that motorists do alot more annoying than misuse of fog lights. I've probably never been in a position yet where I've mistaken fog lights for brakelights. When it happens I daresay I will agree. It'll probably happen on my way home from work tonight.:lol:
 
Hope you didn't feel I was implying you were tailgating other cars, that was not my intention, sorry if it came out that way.

Not all all, I understood what you meant !

Ignore me, for me, I just find other things that motorists do alot more annoying than misuse of fog lights. I've probably never been in a position yet where I've mistaken fog lights for brakelights. When it happens I daresay I will agree. It'll probably happen on my way home from work tonight.:lol:

There are also a lot of thing that irritate me more than the foglight issue, but on Saturday, that was my issue !!
 
Originally Posted by ekimeno
Is it just me or does every one of the new fancy-shmancy Audi drivers always drive with their lights on? Even in bright day light? WTF is wrong with them?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



its either they are showing off, or audi are... :bonk:


Foglights are a mild irritation, middle lane hoggers are the spawn of the devil! :bang:


I think you will find that they have gone down the Volvo route of day lights. They have a "visibility pack" option that includes the little led lights that form a line under the main headlights at the front coupled with rear lights always on when engine is on.
 
Last edited:
FOG?!?!?! That wasnt fog!!!

Not like the old London Town pea-soupers!
 
gor blimey guv'nor!! apples an' pears! *does cockney heel kick, with thumbs in pockets*
 
I think you will find that they have gone down the Volvo route of day lights. They have a "visibility pack" option that includes the little led lights that form a line under the main headlights at the front coupled with rear lights always on when engine is on.

is that not becoming legislation soon that cars (in the uk and probably EU as well) must have side (or running?) lights perminantly on?, which is the way in scandenavia, which i agree with, when its dark for the majority of the day and you have such things as snow it makes sense, in the uk where the weather is only mild for the majority of the year i dont really see the need personally.
 
Last edited:
Cant say rear fog use has ever bothered me in the slightest, nor people who stop and keep there foot on the brake (i do that all the time, any-one that has ever driven something like a transit will know how much effort is required to continually lean down for the brake lever in traffic) and i do around 90K+ a year.

Inproper front fogs can irrate me on some cars, but not all.

Middle lane hoggers need shooting, and are the cause of a far few acidents, if you really feel like you need the middle lane for confidence as you have 2 escape paths (the excuse alot use) or the confidence to drive at the speed limit then dont get on the motorway.
 
Middle lane hoggers using the 2 escape paths? Sounds like a plan. You get 2 escape paths on the inside lane of motorways - it's called the HARD SHOULDER!

Anyway, back to fog lights. They shouldn't be on if visibility is greater than 1000 meters. I actually know someone who got pulled by the police for this and got a £50 fine. On my route to work at this time of year it is regularly misty for a good chunk of the route. Occasionally it turns to 'proper' fog, so on goes the fog light and off when I'm out of it. Doesn't take much work.
 
Back
Top