Bob from Colorado Springs writes, “What’s driving you crazy? Hello Jayson. Maybe you could help shed some light on an issue I’ve had for many years. Why do drivers operate their vehicles with FOG lights on? I remember when two headlights were enough…now more and more drivers are using fog lights all the time. Fog lights are supposed to be dimmed, just like high beams, when approaching other vehicles…but no one does.”
You are correct Bob, drivers are not supposed to have their fog lights on at night if there isn’t any fog to drive through, but as you see every night, people do it anyway. Why? Most told me, “Why not?”. I took a very non-scientific survey of drivers in the pickup line at my daughter’s school asking if they drive with their fog lights on. The most popular answer of the people who said yes was, “So I can see better”. Many admitted to me they think the additional lights makes their vehicle look better. One woman said she didn’t realize she wasn’t supposed to use them all the time and said she would turn them off. Keep in mind that these answers were coming from drivers who, some of which, didn’t have front license plates or had expired tags so conforming to the “law” didn’t seem like a concern for them.
The common problem caused by these fog lights for other drivers is the lights are annoying and can in some instances, blind on-coming drivers. According to the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, if you are driving with your high beam lights on or your low beam lights with fog lights on, you must dim them before coming within 500 feet of any oncoming vehicle so the oncoming driver is not blinded by the glare. They add that when following another vehicle, you must use your low beam lights, with your fog lights off, if you are within 200 feet of the vehicle ahead of you.
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The state of Colorado also requires vehicles not have a total of more than four front lamps lighted at any time when on a highway and the brightness of any lamp on the front of a vehicle not exceed 300 candlepower, or 3,770 lumens. That would be similar to the light output of a 250-watt LED bulb. The state says the distribution of light that bright is of such intensity to reveal a person and vehicle at a distance of at least three hundred fifty feet ahead.
The state also has specific requirements when operating fog lights. State statutes require any motor vehicle may not be equipped with more than two fog lamps mounted on the front at a height of not less than twelve inches nor more than thirty inches above the level surface upon which the vehicle stands and so aimed that, when the vehicle is not loaded, none of the high-intensity portion of the light to the left of the center of the vehicle shall at a distance of twenty-five feet ahead project higher than a level of four inches below the level of the center of the lamp from which it comes.
Colorado’s Fang Law Firm says if someone uses their fog lights incorrectly or illegally and that causes an accident, the at-fault driver can be held responsible for the crash. This means that his or her car insurance will have to pay for victims’ medical bills and property repairs. They say common headlight errors include driving at night without headlights, driving with broken or faulty headlights, using excessively bright or custom headlights, and driving with the high beams activated regardless of other motorists approaching.
As for how to drive in the fog, Les Schwab as a good article that goes through many of the best practices.
Denver7 Traffic Expert Jayson Luber says he has been covering Denver-metro traffic since Ben-Hur was driving a chariot. (We believe the actual number is over 25 years.) He’s obsessed with letting viewers know what’s happening on their drive and the best way to avoid the problems that spring up. Follow him on Facebook,Twitter or Instagram or listen to his Driving You Crazy podcast on any podcast app including iTunes, iHeartRadio, Spotify and Podbean.
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