What are Fog Lights and When Should You Use Them?

It’s a cold winter evening, and you just got free from work. And what you see on the road is so dark and foggy. Though you are a very experienced driver, you have to struggle with visibility on the way to your destination.

Luckily, here your fog lights play their role. When the headlight and high beam are too luminous for your visibility, the soft yellow shade of frontal fog lights helps brighten the road so you can see what’s in front of you. If your vehicle is not ready with the correct lighting equipment, driving in these situations can lead to dangerous situations. The result can turn into severe or even deadly accidents.

However, approximately 40,000 people get into car accidents every year. And that too because of vague visibility situations like fog. To avoid such casualties, everybody should know what fog lights are and their uses. That is why fog lights are necessary multiplications to your vehicle. These are entirely different from your ordinary headlights and have very explicit use.

What are Fog lights?

Fog lights or fog lamps are the small shaped round light located beneath the headlights on the front of a car. They are curved in a particular way so that the light directly brightens the road ahead of you instead of several feet off the ground as regular headlights do. Driving with the fog light can improvise your visibility. It will help you navigate your way.

When visibility is reduced due to poor weather conditions, such as misty, rainy, foggy, or dusty conditions, front fog lamps may be used.

The headlights can be too bright in low visibility situations and reflect into the driver’s eyes. Fog lights are the driving lights of a car which are safer and preferred by many drivers. 

More Tips for Driving in Fog

• Before taking driving lessons in Perth, make sure that all your lights are working properly
• Make sure your car’s windscreen is clean from inside and out
• Use your air conditioning to keep your windows clean
• Use lights as needed 
• Keep a safe distance behind the vehicle in front. 
• Getting too near to the driver in front gives you an inaccurate sense of security
• Be able to pull up well within the distance you can see clearly and be especially careful on motorways and dual carriageways
• Beware of other drivers on the road that they are not using headlights
• Do not accelerate to make distance from a vehicle which is too nearly behind your side
• At a crossing with limited visibility, stop aside. And take a moment to listen to the traffic as you roll down your windows. When you are fully sure that it is safe to proceed, do it so adequately and do not hang back. 

When should Fog lights be used?

As we know, fog lights are dim and aimed down the road. There is no use of fog light unless there is no visibility issue. The only use of the fog light is when there are terrible weather conditions. And you are not able to see anything on the road. You have to reserve the lights for severe infections. The conditions are rain, fog, dust, mist, and snow. Here we will discuss some of the weather conditions.

1. Fog

Fog is another form of cloud on the ground. In another way, the clouds are on the earth’s surface. We can feel and see them. The benefits of the fog lights are for situations where you feel that you are passing over foggy areas. Due to their low placement, the light that they produce can hit the bottom of the ground rather than going straight into the fog. It simply bounces back like the light from your headlamps.

2. Heavy rain

Fog lights are also helpful in heavy rainfall weather conditions. It provides us with better visibility under heavy rainfall. High and low beams may produce rays in heavy rainfall conditions. The purpose of the fog lamps in a car that helps you see the road in front of you. 

3. Dust storms

Dust storms are weather conditions where dust particles from the ground are in the air. Sand or dust storms can occur in some states. It may arise in the desert area. It is not appropriate to keep driving in a storm where you face this frightening phenomenon. You have to be patient for a while and wait for the storm to pass.

In such a situation, fog lamps can be helpful.  Fog lamps can help you guide the road in front of you as you pull out of the road or lane and onto the shoulder. Remember that fog lights only brighten the part of the road straight in front of your car.

When it comes to fog lights, you should not depend on fog lights. There are many states which have made driving with fog lights illegal. Only to have lights on, when your headlights are too bright for the weather conditions. 

This is because fog lights only brighten up to a few feet of the ground in front of you, which means it’ll be problematic to see if there are any oncoming obstacles like- work on the road or animal crossing by your way.

Does it make sense to use fog lights when it’s not foggy?

Fog light should only be used when the visibility of the environment drops below 100 metres. Only use the fog light when required. Otherwise, it can affect your safety and those who are around you. We can use fog lights even when there is no fog, but the condition of the weather and the visibility are low. It is essential to know the rules and regulations of the road. Through defensive driving training, you can become a pro who can handle any bad situation with mind and eye.

For example, there is a law in Florida that disallows the use of fog lights and other additional lights when other cars are on the road except for foggy conditions.

There are different types of lights.

A) Rear fog light- many drivers start their fog lights when it is rainy or foggy outside. High-intensity rear fog lamps are invented for dense fog when visibility is 100 metres or less. Using the rear fog lights when visibility is tremendous can mask your brake glow and daze other drivers, thus expanding the risk of a rear-end wreck rather than decreasing it. Continuous, dazing bright lights can also add to exhaust at night.

B) Front fog lights–  Front fog lights will help you see white lines nicely in foggy situations but you have to make sure that you use them with dipped headlights and not in full beam lights. It reminisces the light making it difficult to see.

You should not use the front fog lights when visibility is good around you. If you do such a thing, you could dazzle other drivers and could trouble others and yourself also.

Conclusion

The fog lights are very beneficial in some situations. The correct use of fog light can save your life from a miss happening. It will also make the most pleasant person to share the road with. They provide us with extra safety in bad weather conditions.

Some people do not need fog lights in low visibility. Nowadays, the model of the car used the best led driving lights. So that there may be less risk of accidents. And everybody can see the unfavorable weather condition. It is essential to know that the standard headlight can never give you the level of visibility fog light gives you under the situation.

We know there is no point in using fog lights in dry weather or dark. Front fog light can also cause distraction, particularly if they are poorly adjusted and cause overwhelming reflections.

Read More: 10 Safe Driving Habits for Good Drivers That You Should Know About