Do we really need to drive with our lights on - Foggy

[Tidybuoy]

This is a pet peeve of mine. Here in Central California, it can get pretty foggy. I am amazed at how many people do not turn on their headlights. Some people rely on their daytime driving lights and completely ignore the fact that they could be rear-ended when someone doesn't see them.

Today, it was moderately foggy (it can get much worse) and I counted 34 cars with their lights off. This was just the 1.5 mile section to the freeway.

Am I out of line by thinking that there are too many idiots on our roads??

Taken at 8am today.

[flatbutt]

Waaaay too many idiots. We have a lights on law when it's raining and at dusk but I see a lot of cars w/out lights on in the rain. As a MCist this really chaps my azz.

[masraum]

Yeah, tons of idiots. Lots of folks think that the DRL is "lights on" even at night and are tooling around with dim lights in the front and none in the back.

Lots of folks don't turn on their lights when it's raining, and that's just as bad as fog.

[sammyg2]

I've driven in the tule fog between here and Fresno.
it was so bad I was going about 15 mph on the freeway and couldn't see anything. i was thinking about pulling over and getting out of the truck and walking away but i figured if I did a hundred cars would run into the back of it.

How anyone could try to drive in that soup without lights on is beyond me.

[Moses]

Last time I drove in thick fog was an early morning on a near empty I-5. I would watch for road signs and adjust my speed based on stopping distance as signs came into view. Maximum safe speed was 20 MPH. I was puttering along in the slow lane and somebody passed me in the fast lane going 70+. I held my breath waiting to hear a crash. No crash. But WTF was that guy thinking?

[pavulon]

along these lines are the on coming glare issues (could just be my issue) created by people running at night with their fog lights but the weather is crystal clear.

[Heel n Toe]

Just do the best you can to keep yourself safe and don't expend any energy being perturbed at the idiots.

Also, be glad you can see as much as you can... the visibility in that photo is pretty good overall... you can see the traffic lights pretty well. Looks like about 100 yards.

If it was at night and half the idiots were driving with their brights on, that's another level of idiocy... and can be tough to deal with. Just don't look directly at the brights... watch the white lines at the right edge of your lane and you're golden.

[Rick Lee]

I regularly see cars with NO lights on at all, late at night in Phoenix. WTF are the cops doing?

I got pulled over in Germany once for running my fog lights in a torrential downpour. Female cop got soaked walking up to my window. I was sure she was gonna cite me. She asked if I had heard her command on the loudspeaker. Nope. She then said no fog lights allowed unless visibility is less than 30m. No ticket. I couldn't believe it. Live and learn.

[ckelly78z]

It has become a normal habit of mine to turn on my full headlights even in daytime sunshine. I like the thought of having everyone else on the road seeing me coming easily.

Pet Peeve is people who refuse to dim their bright lights for oncoming traffic, or follow 2 car lengths behind with their bright lights in my mirrors.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I regularly see cars with NO lights on at all, late at night in Phoenix. WTF are the cops doing?

I've seen that in town here. I think it probably happens when people come out of a restaurant in a brightly lit parking lot and street lights are plenty bright enough for them to see where they're going.

Does seem strange when you have to consider the fact that their dash lights wouldn't be on, though.

[Tidybuoy]

Regarding speed in the fog.....I drive these conditions regularly so I feel somewhat comfortable and do not panic. Fortunately, recent years have only had 10-15 dense fog days. This year may be worse since we had some decent rain, enough to produce fog, but then no rain for long periods. These conditions are perfect for dense fog. Last year, it never stopped raining so we have very little fog.

Most people on the freeway during rush hour are going 70-80mph in the fog. That sounds excessive but it's almost safer to drive the same speed rather than go 20. I personally keep a large distance between me and the car in front but then drive the flow of traffic. Occasionally, you will encounter someone going 25 or 30 and that is a recipe for a rear-end. Drive 25-30 with your lights off and you are playing Russian Roulette with your life and the guy that hits you.

We have giant electronic message boards all over our freeways. They never have messages to turn on you lights but always have clever blurbs like "click it or ticket, Driving High is DUI, Abduction Alert". We need foggy day messages too.

BTW, this was last night:

[wdfifteen]

This time of the year there are a lot of local fog banks. If there is a big snow and then some warmer weather fog develops over bodies of water. You can be driving along in the clear and drive right into a fog bank that is only a few hundred yards across. It's very disconcerting.

[pete3799]

I see this all the time. Fog, snow, doesn't matter they're too stupid to turn their lights on.

Almost nailed one the other day while plowing. Had the 11' plow and 10' wing down. I'm riding with the left side tires on the yellow line (2 lane black top road) strobes going, snowing hard......next thing i know a white car appears coming at me. I swerve they swerve (i'm sure they saw me long before i saw them). Missed by inches.

[Bill Douglas]

Reminds me of the time it was raining cat and dogs around here. Only about 25 meters visibility if that. Then I have a moron truck driver driving along behind me about a meter away. Grrr, then I realise I've left the .45 at home so I couldn't let rip at the guy.

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

Does seem strange when you have to consider the fact that their dash lights wouldn't be on, though.

My Subaru has the dash lights on all the time.

[Norm K]

Originally Posted by Tidybuoy

Regarding speed in the fog.....I drive these conditions regularly so I feel somewhat comfortable and do not panic. Fortunately, recent years have only had 10-15 dense fog days. This year may be worse since we had some decent rain, enough to produce fog, but then no rain for long periods. These conditions are perfect for dense fog. Last year, it never stopped raining so we have very little fog.

Most people on the freeway during rush hour are going 70-80mph in the fog. That sounds excessive but it's almost safer to drive the same speed rather than go 20. I personally keep a large distance between me and the car in front but then drive the flow of traffic. Occasionally, you will encounter someone going 25 or 30 and that is a recipe for a rear-end. Drive 25-30 with your lights off and you are playing Russian Roulette with your life and the guy that hits you.

We have giant electronic message boards all over our freeways. They never have messages to turn on you lights but always have clever blurbs like "click it or ticket, Driving High is DUI, Abduction Alert". We need foggy day messages too.

BTW, this was last night:

I gotta believe that's not the dense fog you referred to early on.

_

[notmytarga]

Lights, headlights, fog lights - all a pet peeve of mine as well. Many drivers don't think of their vehicles visibility and only think of what they can see. "I can see fine"

In older cars the dash lights were only lit when the lights were on. When in Auto mode with newer cars the dash is brighter in the day and dims at night. There are likely a host of people that think their lights are on. My dash has an indicator showing that lights are on - but which lights? I look for reflections in vehicles in front and behind me to clarify my lighting.

Toyota vehicles of late have been losing points in Consumer Reports for having Daytime Running lights that can be turned off mistakenly. I would love to live in Germany where the populace takes these things seriously. I love the fog light rule. Drivers in California can't even figure out the - lights on when its raining LAW!

How I cope with brights:
For oncoming vehicles - close one eye's lids - the pupil and vision system will not accommodate fully and night vision will be maintained when your eyelid opens. This is actually the reason that pirates used eye patches to allow them to transition above and below decks.
For vehicles behind you - adjusting the mirrors laterally so that the sides off your vehicle can only be seen when looking with your head to the far left for the left mirror and fully against the headrest for the right allows you to see what is in the blind spots better rather than seeing what can be seen in the rearview (cabin) mirror. Side (mirror ) benefit - no more being blinded by "bright" drivers behind you.

[Evans, Marv]

I encountered tule fog driving from Fresno to Reedley one night in the late sixties. I couldn't see more than one of two stripes in the center line with my head out the window, but could look up through the top of the windshield and see stars. I luckily ended up stopping for the night at a friend's house. Otherwise I would have pulled way off the road and stayed until the situation improved.

[Tobra]

I have seen pretty thick fog, people from other parts of the country don't appreciate how bad it can get.

I always run with my headlights on, people still don't see me, even if it is not foggy at all. It is like being on a motorcycle or something.

[Holger]

In Sweden the lights turn on automatically, all the time.
Now in Germany I have the habit to turn on the lights manually in my older Toyota when I start the car. Our VW is set to turn on the lights automatically.

Why not turn on the lights, it is easier to be spotted, all the time. No need to turn off the lights. You dont save fuel by turning off the lights.
A car with turned on lights is running. A car with turned off lights is not running. Easy for children to recognize too.