STOP IT!

If you drive with your parking lights on, STOP IT!

If you drive with only your fog lights on, STOP IT!

If you don't turn on your headlights when it's raining or snowing, please do. I know you can see, but it's easier to see you!

I wish auto manufactures would make cars where parking lights could only be working if you aren't moving, and they would automatically turn the headlights on if you put the car in drive (if you turn the light switch to parking lights), and while I'm asking, make it so fog lights can only be enabled if the headlights are turned on!

I drive at least 3 hours a day when it's light, dark, raining, and snowing, and it's not only annoying but can be dangerous when drivers don't use lights properly.

Tahoe wrote: If you drive with your parking lights on, STOP IT!

Sorry but you're E36 M3 out of luck, my Elantra front parking lights turn on with the engine.

I can only imagine the OP's level of rage over this new design fad:

Tahoe wrote: If you drive with only your fog lights on, STOP IT!

That is how fog lights are supposed to be used. When it is foggy, headlights to nothing but give you a wall of glare-back to look at. Fog lights are meant to cut underneath the fog, and are useless unless you turn your normal headlights OFF.

I recall a couple occasions where I could see better just by illuminating the road with my parking lights, because turning the headlights on just obscured everything. Yes, I was still only going about 15mph, but that's the point: it was FOGGY. You can't SEE when it's foggy.

That said, if you are driving on a clear night (or day) and have them on....

agreed.. driving with fog and headlights on is what needs to stop.

in all my years of driving, I can only think of a few times I needed to use the fogs.. if anything, I use the rear fog more than the front fogs because while I can see fine in the weather, I do not want somebody plowing into the back of me in the rain/fog/snow

I can only put the fog lights on if the low beams are on in my expedition. This is how it is set up from the factory so the OP may want to write a carefully written letter to ford instead of berating the car owners.

Or do a little bit of research before taking a hissy fit in public.

The "auto" function of my headlights only turns the parking lights when it's light outside, and turns on the headlights as it gets darker.

I go back to something I said in another thread.

Life in America is so AWESOME, we have to make up stuff to be upset about.

dean1484 wrote: I can only put the fog lights on if the low beams are on in my expedition. This is how it is set up from the factory so the OP may want to write a carefully written letter to ford instead of berating the car owners.

Ford very commonly does stupid crap like that. If they are fog lights, they should turn off with the low beams. If they are driving lights, they should only come on with the high beams.

The little dingus lights that Ford installs are neither fog lights nor driving lights. They're good at illuminating the area five feet in front of the vehicle, which you can't see anyway. Their main purpose is to identify the people who don't know what they're doing but gee look at all the buttons I can push!

(for further reference - rear fog lights on Olds Auroras. More likely to see people driving with them on than off. And they are BRIGHT)

z31maniac wrote: The "auto" function of my headlights only turns the parking lights when it's light outside, and turns on the headlights as it gets darker. I go back to something I said in another thread. Life in America is so AWESOME, we have to make up stuff to be upset about.

I'm not upset, really.

Here's the info from Wiki, make your own decision:

Nighttime standing-vehicle conspicuity to the front is provided by "front position lamps",[15] known as "parking lamps" or "parking lights" in North America,[6] and "front sidelights" in British English.[19] They were designed to use little electricity, so they could be left on for periods of time while parking. Despite the UK term, these are not the same as the side marker lights described below. The front position lamps may emit white or amber light in North America;[6] elsewhere in the world they must emit only white light.[15] Colloquial city light terminology for front position lamps[20] derives from the practice, formerly adhered to in cities like Moscow, London and Paris, of driving at night in built-up areas using these low-intensity lights rather than headlamps.[21] It is now illegal in many countries to drive a vehicle with parking lamps illuminated, unless the headlamps are also illuminated. The UK briefly required Dim-Dip lights, described below, in an attempt to optimise the level of light used at night in built-up areas.

Front fog lamps provide a wide, bar-shaped beam of light with a sharp cutoff at the top, and are generally aimed and mounted low .[11][12] They may produce white or selective yellow light, and are intended for use at low speed to increase the illumination directed towards the road surface and verges in conditions of poor visibility due to rain, fog, dust or snow. They are sometimes used in place of dipped-beam headlamps, reducing the glareback from fog or falling snow, although the legality varies by jurisdiction of using front fog lamps without low beam headlamps. Use of the fog lamps when visibility is not seriously reduced is often prohibited;for example, in New South Wales, Australia: "The driver of a vehicle must not: (a) use any fog light fitted to the vehicle unless the driver is driving in fog, mist or under other atmospheric conditions that restrict visibility" [13] The respective purposes of front fog lamps and driving lamps are often confused, due in part to the misconception that fog lamps are necessarily selective yellow, while any auxiliary lamp that makes white light is a driving lamp. Automakers and aftermarket parts and accessories suppliers frequently refer interchangeably to "fog lamps" and "driving lamps" (or "fog/driving lamps"). In most countries, weather conditions rarely necessitate the use of fog lamps, and there is no legal requirement for them, so their primary purpose is frequently cosmetic. They are often available as optional extras or only on higher trim levels of many cars. A study has shown that in North America more people inappropriately use their fog lamps in dry weather than use them properly in poor weather.[

There is a rant thread for this kinda stuff.

Agreed. I think there only purpose is t make sure that you see the person that you are now going to run over.

How they work is that they can only be turned on when the low beams are on (you can not put them on with parking lights on only). When you flip to high beams they go out. I never use them as they really don't do anything other than make me look like an idiot. They sure don't help visibility. I was thinking of replacing them with some real driving lights but because of how they are molded into the bumper aftermarket units mounted there would look dumb. About the only thing I can think of would be to leave the OE ones in place and mount real driving light under the bumper and just unplug the OE ones and use the power supply for the after marked ones. All a lot of trouble for very little benefit. Being you sit up so high in this truck the low beams are not all that bad in snow / fog.

On my truck the fog lights can be on without the lights. My point is without ranting is fog lights are rarely needed and I have needed them on a few occasions when it was really thick and it helps to light up the sides of the road better. Parking lights are just useless in my opinion while driving and if you feel like you need to be seen then just turn the knob a little farther and you will be seen and you forget when it turns from dusk to dark.

I'm done, now back to watching the F1 race I recorded.

It has been said before by other members and I'll say it again, if you own a Dodge Truck of the Daimler Era, you NEED to drive with the fog lights on or it's like driving without your headlights on; they are extremely dim.

That being said, I am one that drives with their fog lights on. I live out in the middle of nowhere an I want to be seen. If I had the money for driving lights, I'd install them.

I used to be one who hated people who drove with their fog lights on, but fog lights aren't even aimed up high enough to affect oncoming drivers' vision.

Tahoe wrote:

z31maniac wrote: The "auto" function of my headlights only turns the parking lights when it's light outside, and turns on the headlights as it gets darker. I go back to something I said in another thread. Life in America is so AWESOME, we have to make up stuff to be upset about.

I'm not upset, really. Here's the info from Wiki, make your own decision: Nighttime standing-vehicle conspicuity to the front is provided by "front position lamps",[15] known as "parking lamps" or "parking lights" in North America,[6] and "front sidelights" in British English.[19] They were designed to use little electricity, so they could be left on for periods of time while parking. Despite the UK term, these are not the same as the side marker lights described below. The front position lamps may emit white or amber light in North America;[6] elsewhere in the world they must emit only white light.[15] Colloquial city light terminology for front position lamps[20] derives from the practice, formerly adhered to in cities like Moscow, London and Paris, of driving at night in built-up areas using these low-intensity lights rather than headlamps.[21] It is now illegal in many countries to drive a vehicle with parking lamps illuminated, unless the headlamps are also illuminated. The UK briefly required Dim-Dip lights, described below, in an attempt to optimise the level of light used at night in built-up areas. Front fog lamps provide a wide, bar-shaped beam of light with a sharp cutoff at the top, and are generally aimed and mounted low .[11][12] They may produce white or selective yellow light, and are intended for use at low speed to increase the illumination directed towards the road surface and verges in conditions of poor visibility due to rain, fog, dust or snow. They are sometimes used in place of dipped-beam headlamps, reducing the glareback from fog or falling snow, although the legality varies by jurisdiction of using front fog lamps without low beam headlamps. Use of the fog lamps when visibility is not seriously reduced is often prohibited;for example, in New South Wales, Australia: "The driver of a vehicle must not: (a) use any fog light fitted to the vehicle unless the driver is driving in fog, mist or under other atmospheric conditions that restrict visibility" [13] The respective purposes of front fog lamps and driving lamps are often confused, due in part to the misconception that fog lamps are necessarily selective yellow, while any auxiliary lamp that makes white light is a driving lamp. Automakers and aftermarket parts and accessories suppliers frequently refer interchangeably to "fog lamps" and "driving lamps" (or "fog/driving lamps"). In most countries, weather conditions rarely necessitate the use of fog lamps, and there is no legal requirement for them, so their primary purpose is frequently cosmetic. They are often available as optional extras or only on higher trim levels of many cars. A study has shown that in North America more people inappropriately use their fog lamps in dry weather than use them properly in poor weather.[

TL; DR

Don't care.

Foglights aren't the issue. It's the berkeleying EPIDEMIC of idiots driving around after dark with nothing but their DRLs lit... or, even worse (but no less common) NO LIGHTS AT ALL.

In reply to Duke:

Agreed!

The foglights thing doesn't bother me, I just think it looks stupid at dusk with their parking lights and foglights on and no headlights on while its crystal clear out. It is typically the same kind of people that put "blacked out" headlight and tail light covers on their cars. Its a style thing more so than a safety thing.

I run parking lights with the lower driving lights.......it at least makes my cars slightly more visible without being an shiny happy person and running with low beams on all the time in traffic. Also notice, none of my vehicles have "fog lights" per say....they're all driving lamps.

Tahoe wrote: Here's the info from Wiki, make your own decision: Nighttime standing-vehicle conspicuity to the front is provided by "front position lamps",[15] known as "parking lamps" or "parking lights" in North America,[6] and "front sidelights" in British English.[19] They were designed to use little electricity, so they could be left on for periods of time while parking.

the Porsche 914 had an interesting take on these. With the car off, flip the turnsignal to one side or the other and ONLY that side's parking lamps would illuminate (not blinking). This was done so you could park on the side of a narrow road and only have to worry about illuminating the lights closest to the road for battery savings

dean1484 wrote: I can only put the fog lights on if the low beams are on in my expedition. This is how it is set up from the factory so the OP may want to write a carefully written letter to ford instead of berating the car owners.

Since it is a Ford you might want check out the Focus Fog Light Mod.

My Focus was the same way but all it took to change it was replacing a relay with a piece of 12ga wire. I did it in 2001 as soon as I got the car.

I flash the E36 M3 out of people not using their lights when they should be, 90% of the time, they look at me like I've got 4 heads, and go right back to the iPhone.

I drive with my low beams on all the time, but I don't have fog lights. My marker lights come on with the headlights, there is no way to turn them off and have headlights on. Am I being an shiny happy person? I don't really care. I am not running my highbeams and I want to be seen.

Here in America, we can use our lights any way we darn well please, so long as we dim our high-beams for oncoming traffic and turn on our headlights if it's dark or if it's raining. And in the hypothetical instance that a crazed lunatic ever runs for public office, we can vote for him if we so choose!

I have had far too many close calls with shinny happy people not using their headlights well past sunset and once, in a blizzard. I really hate lifted trucks with HID fog lights on, they are the worst. That being said, I have no problem with people driving with their fog lights on so long as they dim them (like you would you're high-beams) when there is another car approaching. I very occasionally use my parking lights and DRLs when I am on the highway and it is very sunny, but there is water left over from a storm.

@madmachine: all cars sold in Gmany must have "sidelights" where you can illuminate a front and rear light on one side of the car.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: I flash the E36 M3 out of people not using their lights when they should be, 90% of the time, they look at me like I've got 4 heads, and go right back to the iPhone.

So..... you use your lights improperly to teach people that they are using their lights improperly? Interesting.