Reply: Fog lights

[SMILLER@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

OK, Dave, I'll bite.

>Date: Wed, 09 Sep 1998 22:09:06 -0400
>From: "dave.nichols" <dave.nichols@domain.elided>
>Subject: Fog lights
<stuff snipped out here>
>Tonight was a clear moonlight evening with great visibility.  This being
>the case, why did I see at least 15 cars with their foglights on during
>my 30 minute commute home?  What are these people thinking?
<and...>
> I don't know if it bothers anyone else, but to see perfectly good
>lights used the wrong way irritates me.  Thanks for the time and space
>to vent.

The interesting thing about lights is that they can often be used for
purposes other than the ones for which they were designed.  On dark
roads, especially curvy dark roads or roads with which I'm not familiar, I'll
often use my fog lights to illuminate the sides of the road, and provide a
little extra light down under the headlights.  This is usually not necessary
on well lighted urban or suburban roads.

The key to not pissing off a lot of people is to make sure your lights (all of
them, not just the fogs) are properly aimed.  Fog lights are supposed to
be aimed real low, to light the ground under the fog.  This is partly why I
didn't order fog lights on the family Durango, they'd be too high in the
bumper/facia and would do more harm than good.  Yes, it would be nice
to use them the same way I use the fogs in my Bimmer, but I'm more likely
to be going faster in the Bimmer, and thus need a better visual reference
sooner.  In the Durango, I'm more likely to be going slower on dark roads,
so illumination is a little less critical.

OTOH, if a bunch of oncoming cars have their fog lights on, and the lights
are aimed up in your eyes instead of down low, NOW you've got
something to complain about!

Scott Miller
Golden Gate Chapter
BMW CCA #44977
1990 325i/is hybrid w/ fogs aimed low

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