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Poll Question: DRL’s?
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b318isp View Drop Down
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    Posted: 31-August-2007 at 15:56
...but front fogs only light up a few feet in front of you - not much use if you are travelling at more than 30mph.

Fogs are dazzling too, just to different degrees. They have a dispersion pattern.

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I've used dips during the day for years, to be seen. Especially having a black car.At night, I also use my front fogs, to light up the sides of the road close to the car, for potholes etc

(Didn't help the other night as I drove home from footie in celbridge, just at the end of westin airport near lucan, there is a mother of a hole in the road. BANG...  all ok though.)
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I run fogs and side's all the time I don't count them as fogs there not dazzaling The fogs I need on at night because the heads are so C*** and HID's on e23's are a as to fit I would still run them all the same never uses rears unless its very fogy I hate rear fogs in the rain

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If it is bright out I run without any lights. If it is any way dim (mornings and cloudy weather usually these days), I'll run sidelights. If it starts to rain where I need the wipers on more or less continuously I'll put on dips.

I never use fogs. Fronts are only useful in foggy conditions where visibility is under 20 feet or so. For the rears I put them on only when visibility is about 100feet or less and there is no one behind me (i.e. if I they can see the car, I don't need the fogs).

I get peeved when I see front or rear fogs on. 99.9% of the time they are being used inappropriately. It is disappointing to see so many people using front fogs when dipped headlight are what should be used. Not so bad with the brightness of summer, but with autumn on its way the constant glare of lights causes me eye fatigue - accelerated by un-necessary use of fogs.

Worse still are the guys at night driving around with front fogs and no headlights on.

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I've had to use my front fogs quite a bit living up the mountains. (because it's foggy quite a bit) I find them very useful. They point low and out to the side so it's easier to see the side of the road and the white line (if there is one). I also really like the look of my car with the front fogs on with the angel eyes and dipped heads so I will have mine on most of the time.

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Into car - switch on dims.

Out of car - switch off dims.

Sin é.

I never use front fogs. I think they're pointless even in fog, after some experimentation. Reef em out and put in more brake ducts

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I always use dipped headlights, its just a habot now and i dont even realise i do it, sometimes use the fogs, generally only in the BM as the jeep is a bit too high and i end up getting flashed the whole time to turn them off!
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Originally posted by thepits thepits wrote:

Originally posted by BeemaBoy BeemaBoy wrote:

My car can been seen from far away cos I fitted the Blue LED parking lights... Looks strange from far away because you only see 2 bright blue dots... Combined with fog lights...it looks the dogs bo$$ocks on my silver 5...BB

So even more illegal then  - lol

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I always drive with my dipped headlights on. I have done it since I started driving 9 years ago when it was me and 7 other people in the whole country and I'd get flahed every 4 seconds. Attitudes have changed a lot since then and more and more people are copping on. I sometimes use my front fogs too as this adds to my visibility. I don't think front fogs do any harm because they are aimed low. I'm also careful to check my bulbs are aligned properly.

Right now I'm in Toronto where everyone must use running lights. Most use dipped lights but some just have the factory set up which is the indicator bulbs on full time. It's much safer as the cars go in and out of shadows because of the tall buildings.

 
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Originally posted by thepits thepits wrote:

Originally posted by BeemaBoy BeemaBoy wrote:

My car can been seen from far away cos I fitted the Blue LED parking lights... Looks strange from far away because you only see 2 bright blue dots... Combined with fog lights...it looks the dogs bo$$ocks on my silver 5...BB

So even more illegal then  - lol

 

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Originally posted by Fey! Fey! wrote:

Rear fogs occasionally used

a) when the idiot behind is trying to drive so close to me that he could be in my boot

b) when the idiot behind won't turn down his headlights (this is sometimes coupled to slowing down to an unbearably slow speed).

yes me too..
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Originally posted by BeemaBoy BeemaBoy wrote:

My car can been seen from far away cos I fitted the Blue LED parking lights... Looks strange from far away because you only see 2 bright blue dots... Combined with fog lights...it looks the dogs bo$$ocks on my silver 5...BB

So even more illegal then  - lol

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Originally posted by thepits thepits wrote:

Originally posted by beemerchris beemerchris wrote:

I use the side lights when the conditions are overcast
Waste of time IMHO

Normally can see the car before spotting side-lights (which should be re-named Parking Lights, f-all use for anything else )

My car can been seen from far away cos I fitted the Blue LED parking lights... Looks strange from far away because you only see 2 bright blue dots... Combined with fog lights...it looks the dogs bo$$ocks on my silver 5...

Only problem with using your lights in the day is that it halves the life of uber expensive Osram Cool Blue light bulb

I end up putting my lights on when I leave work because I wear dark glasses when driving and forget that I have them on...so everything looks 3 times darker than it actaully is ...

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Originally posted by beemerchris beemerchris wrote:

I use the side lights when the conditions are overcast
Waste of time IMHO

Normally can see the car before spotting side-lights (which should be re-named Parking Lights, f-all use for anything else )

What ever happened to the good old Dim-Dip Headlights I used to have on my old E30 325i? That made it impossible to drive on only Parking-Lights

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Fogs for fog. My rule of thumb for running lights is if you can notice the dash light up, regardless of the time of day, it's dark enough to leave them on.
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DRL's do have to be quite bright to be effective in daylight. My fog lights are not much more bright than my dipped headlights (they both use 55 watt bulbs. I am almost never bothered by other peoples front foglights, unless they're "upgraded" to 110 watt).

I find it odd that the legal requirement (as quoted by some posters) is "visibility of less than 50 meters", since front foglights are specifically designed to spread light wide rather than far forward.

In my view the best use for front foglights is as DRL's.

I would consider daytime front foglights an extremely minor traffic violation that, in my view, redeems itself by having demonstrable safety benefits. I think there are many far more serious offences deserving of enforcement: Unstrapped children, unaccompanied learner drivers, inadequate or faulty lighting, mobile telophony etc etc.
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I use the side lights when the conditions are overcast an side lights and front fogs when its really bad.

 

Never really use the rear ones other than to get idiots of my tail. (not that that happens to often tho)
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I think it is a very good idea to drive with daytime lights on, I used to drive with my side lights and front fogs but I have been pulled over by the Gardai and the PSNI in the north and told that it is illegal unless the visibility is less than 50 metres to drive with front fogs on so now I just use my side lights.

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Returning from Connemara I had a little Japanese car following very closely with full-beam on; I tried to signal with my rear fog, to no avail, eventually pulled over and let him pass only to discover he had his two rear fogs on as well - AAAaarrrrghhh!
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Dipped light all the time, front fogs only in bad visibility conditions.

Rear fogs occasionally used

a) when the idiot behind is trying to drive so close to me that he could be in my boot

b) when the idiot behind won't turn down his headlights (this is sometimes coupled to slowing down to an unbearably slow speed).
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