Using your vehicles fog lights

Date: 09.03.2010

Using Your Vehicles Fog Lights

Over the course of their lifetime most drivers will experience a range of road and weather conditions which they need to negotiate whilst on the roads. If you are driving a car or a van you can usually fing tthe fog lamp swith as part of the light cluster controls. Whilst many will be encountered when a person is learning to drive, not everything will be and therefore a motorist has to rely on their experience and intuition to handle these situations. Fog is one such condition that occurs fairly infrequently and therefore when you encounter it for the first time it can be a little daunting. his is doubly true if you are driving a rental van or truck. Visibility can be severely reduced during periods of fog making both navigation and safe driving a challenge.

Fog lights go some way to helping the situation, but if visibility is still limited aborting your journey could be your only option until the fog clears. The Highway Code states that motorists must use headlights if visibility is reduced to less than 100 metres (about the equivalent distance of a football pitch). There is no ruling about the use of fog lights except that they must be turned off when visibility improves again.

However, just because there is no precise ruling governing the use of fog lights, does not mean that they should not be utilised in these conditions. In fact if an accident were to occur and fog lights had not been turned on then some insurance companies may question whether the individuals driving can be deemed safe and thus dispute who was at fault. When you decide to use your fog lights is a matter of judgment.

Although many motorists have admitted to be unsure how to turn them on or being concerned about dazzling other motorists. If your visibility is impaired by fog it is generally better to use your lights than not and therefore you should acquaint yourself with how to turn them on. Consider the road that you are driving on, if it is well lit with streetlights then you probably do not need to use your fog lights. If the road is dark, then you probably do need to use them.

Fog on its own can be difficult enough to navigate, but if you are driving in heavy traffic then the road conditions can become particularly treacherous. One of the difficulties with fog on the road is that it can change driving conditions very quickly. One minute you are able to see all of the cars around you and the next minute you can barely make out tail lights. If you decide to switch on your fog lights avoid switching them on and off constantly as this could be distraction to other road users.

It is better practice to wait until conditions improve and then switch off your lights. You also need to consider you speed and distance from those around you. If you cannot see very much then adjust your speed accordingly. Knowing how best to drive in fog can be difficult when dealing with these conditions for the first time, but taking things slowly and using your fog lights correctly can make things safer.

Our new sprinter hire vans feature day time running lights, these are always on. However these are not to be confused with fog lights.