Annual fog light moan

[upsidedown]

Well it's that time of year again. Riding down country lanes on a crystal clear night, about one in every four cars felt the need to have their fog lights on. Some had their main beam and fog lights on. I even saw a builder's Defender with white flashing LEDs in the grille while towing a trailer.

Annoying that it ruins your night vision but more worrying is that it completely obscures their front indicators from cars coming the other way.

Idiots.

 

[Mozzy]

You'd have thought that by now all vehicles would end up with automatically cancelling fog lights. Then again, there will always be Tim nice but dim who wouldn't ever know what switch does what; and not forgetting Mildred, who has not even sussed out where 5th gear is!

Rhymes with bankers, every last one of em.

Mozzy

 

[mickle]

****s the lot of 'em.

 

[gaz]

It's no different to any other time of year, you just don't cycle in the dark often enough

 

[Bicycle]

It is jolly annoying for all other road users, but I've done it too.

The switch for front and/or rear high-intensity or fog lights is often somewhere out of sight.

The idiot light is also often obscured by the steering wheel.

It is hugely annoying when people use the fog lights as part of their default twilight illumination, but sometimes people drive from thoroughly shocking visibility into fairly nice weather. They just forget.

That only excuses about one in twenty, but it does happen.

One of the things that I find myself unable to enjoy is being behind drivers who sit at red lights holding the car on the footbrake. That usually shines the eye-level brake light into me.... eyes.

Top marks to the designers, for getting the eye level right, but what's wrong with the parking brake?

Sorry, that mitigation of the forgetful nearly turned into a rant. Near-rant over.

 

[snorri]

Well it's that time of year again.

Good rant, they're a pain the lot of them.

 

[HLaB]

You'd have thought that by now all vehicles would end up with automatically cancelling fog lights. Then again, there will always be Tim nice but dim who wouldn't ever know what switch does what; and not forgetting Mildred, who has not even sussed out where 5th gear is!

Rhymes with bankers, every last one of em.

Mozzy

Not the complete solution but my 14 year old starlet's fog lights automatically cancel when you turn the ignition off and don't come back on till you switch them on again.

 

[addictfreak]

It's no different to any other time of year, you just don't cycle in the dark often enough

+1 w**kers

 

[BentMikey]

It's no different to any other time of year, you just don't cycle in the dark often enough

That's it in one.

 

[snorri]

It's no different to any other time of year, you just don't cycle in the dark often enough

:?: :?: There are more hours of darkness in winter.

 

[sabian92]

The problem I have is that not only to people not turn them off, the Police never enforce the penalty so it's just accepted. A bit like parking in cycle lanes if it's convenient...

 

[Gixxerman]

I followed a Nissan Micra all the way from Lincoln to Market Rasen. It had its foglights on even though the visability was fine. I tried everything to attract the drivers attention and get the driver to turn them off. I flashed my lights on numerous occaisions (main beam and front fog lights), I sounded my horn, I flashed my hazzard lights. All to no avail. The Micra eventually stopped and parked outside the Capri kebab house in Market Rasen. I pulled along side, wound the passenger side window down, sounded my horn to get the drivers attention. The cars window went down and I was confronted by a young lady. She asked me what my problem was, as I had been "harrassing" her all the way from Lincoln. I said that I was sorry if I had frightened her, but I was only trying to get her to turn her bloody foglights off as they were blinding me. Cue puzzled look on said girls face. "You know, your rear foglights? The ones you use when it is foggy. They are still on now" I helpfully added. Still puzzled look from driver. With help from her female friend in the passenger seat, the penny finally dropped, and said foglights were turn off, but only after a quite lengthy search for the associated button. The whole exercise took several minutes, and was concluded by a "Awww sowwy" in a very dippy voice from said driver.

 

[gaz]

:?: :?: There are more hours of darkness in winter.

Indeed, it happens all year round though.

 

[Melonfish]

I've noticed this more recently with all the increased night time cycling, high beams on country roads, they don't dip for oncoming cyclists even though their lights make me look like some odd floating christmas tree with all my reflective bits, i find that if i look at the road in front of my wheel i'm ok until they actually pass, at which point my vision is totaly washed out for a few seconds. kinda scary tbh
pete

 

[twowheelsgood]

There's a new one too in the last few years. White LED running lights which often are even more intense and blinding.