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A new phenomenon is becoming prevalent among some car drivers – the illegal use of fog lights in good visibility. It seems that every time I drive, even on short local journeys, I see at least one vehicle with its front fog lights on. This often happens in broad daylight – even in bright sunlight.
The Highway Code sets out the rules for using fog lights as follows:
Rule 94: You MUST NOT
· use any lights in any way which would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users;
· use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves to avoid dazzling other road users.
Rule 201: You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights (in addition to headlights) but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves.
Rule 211: You MUST NOT use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced as they dazzle other road users and can obscure your brake lights. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves.
So why do they do it? It's certainly not to improve the driver's view of the road . Obviously it makes his car more visible to others, but that is a bit futile in daylight. Could it be absentmindedness – i.e. the driver not being aware that his fog lights are on? Hardly, because fog lights have to be wired so that they will only work when the car's headlights or sidelights are on. I think people use them because they can – in other words, they switch them on to show that their car has them, as if they were fashion accessories.
It's hard to get these inconsiderate drivers to do anything about it. Flashing your headlights, or your fog lights if your headlights are already on, is not recommended. In any case you will not know if the driver has responded because his car is now behind you and travelling away. Moreover, as ordinary drivers, it's not our place to try to get other drivers to change their behaviour.
If a few offending drivers were to be fined for illegally using fog lights, word might get around and others might stop doing it. But with the reduction in police traffic units and the increasing use of speed cameras that are not able to detect other offences, that is not likely to happen. It looks as though the fashion accessories are here to stay.