Getting "bright lighted" all the time

[sevobuck]

I noticed that if I drive around with my fog lights on with my low beams everyone flashes their lights at me. I even came up behind a trucker on the highway and he flipped on his back off lights and then proceeded to flip me off as I passed. Anyone else get the "bird" for their lights? P. S. I don't have a bright box either.

 

[rbattelle]

Your fog lamps are probably maligned. Turn them off or realign them.



-Ryan

 

[Matt400]

I agree with Ryan but will will also say that a second pair of lamps like fogs in my eyes are a distraction. I don't mind the added oncoming light when there is fog cuz it helps diffuse the added light.



I will flash a fog user in a non fog condition when the lamps are clearly adjusted up too high.

 

[mroodzant]

I think my 03 headlights suck. But I still get flashed with the low beams and fogs on. Then I flash back the PIAA's. I keep the switch mounted on the gear shifter on the front of the Jacobs switch.

 

[pwr2tow]

I never did understand the logic behind the fog lights coming on when you flip to dim mode. The fog lights should be on when in bright and flip off when going to dim. It really pisses me off meeting those bright lights, the night is dark enough without some one blinding me even more with 2 sets of lights coming at me. They should be outlawed for dim and only run on bright.

 

[bighammer]

I don't mind people having fog lights on in fog or daytime, but a good many (all makes) are poorly aimed or too bright to have on at night with on-coming traffic. I really don't see that they add much light over the low beam anyway, so what's the point?

I noticed if I had them on in our 98 Bonneville, quite a few would flash me, so they're kept off. The goofy thing (another in a long list with that car) is that the car has daytime running lamps. You can't run with fogs only in dense fog or snow-- Headlights are always on and reflecting back.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

I never did understand the logic behind the fog lights coming on when you flip to dim mode. The fog lights should be on when in bright and flip off when going to dim. It really pisses me off meeting those bright lights, the night is dark enough without some one blinding me even more with 2 sets of lights coming at me. They should be outlawed for dim and only run on bright.

The reasoning behind that is when driving in a fog, you shouldn't be using the high beams because the light pattern is too high and just reflects back in your face and doesn't illuminate the roadway. The whole idea of the fog light is to keep the light low to the ground, below the fog, so that you can see the road ahead of you.



Fog lights, if aimed correctly, really shouldn't help illuminate the roadway any better than the dims. They might have a little more forward range but not much more. They should light up the area directly in front and to the sides of the vehicle. I guess by brightening up the area to the right and left of the vehicle makes people feel that they can see more of what's ahead of them.



KC Hilites has a good little picture on their website (http://www.kchilites.com/applications.aspx) that shows what the light patterns supposedly look like.



Jeff

 

[Tom W]

If I kept getting flashed I would assume my lights needed adjusting. Don't be stupid, you may cause an accident.



GET YOUR LIGHTS FIXED

 

[Scrappy]

I refuse to drive my truck @ night w/o the fogs, the stock headlights suck even with the Silverstars. If the aren't aimed right they can bother other drivers but I have the 9005 fog light upgrade and have yet to get flashed.

 

[JasonCzerak]

I feels as I need to follow and break the headlights of the morons that replace a broken light, but are stupid enough to plug it in backwards so that the highbeam part is on, and when they flash, the low beam comes on.



Or, they see a screw and start truning it for a while, ohh my light is just moving, lemme try this one, and the light comes out, they replace, but forget to "read ajust"...



Basicly all the morons with one light higher then the other. Are you seriously telling me they don't notice that while driving?



This should be a ticket-able offence.



Funny tho, some times when I'm infront of these guys, get annoyed, get bachind them at a traffic light, with my highbemas on, with my bumper on the back of theirs, The inside of the car looks like it's daylight

 

[BStoecker]

This is a good reason to get airbags on the rear suspension. Add a little weight to the bed and the headlights aim higher. I used to get truckers ****** off at me while towing before I added the Firestone RideRites. Now I can level out the truck and keep the headlights where they belong instead of blinding someone in their mirrors or in oncoming traffic. Most people have no understanding that lights are made to be adustable. These are the same people that the only way their oil gets changed is by trading in for a newer car.

 

[RustyJC]

I noticed that if I drive around with my fog lights on with my low beams everyone flashes their lights at me.

As others have said, maybe they're trying to tell you something. If you're blinding them, get your lights adjusted.



I live on the Texas Gulf Coast, so we know all about fog. I'm one of the few people anymore, I guess, who only use fog lights in the fog.



Rusty

 

[pwr2tow]

For those who think the fog lights give them more seeing distance do a little test. Go out on the road and drive for a while without the fogs on and then turn them on, you will notice that the far distance ahead is not as clear but right in front of you just got better and to the sides just got better. The light is too bright directly in front of you for you to be able to see greater distances. You need those greater distances to see harmful objects further down the road to avoid an accident. Traveling at 55-65 MPH those objects come up pretty fast.



I think most people use there fog lamps for the cool factor they think it gives them. In town thats o. k. because there is other residual light from street lights to soften the glare, something like having your lights on in day light, they do not blind you as bad. At night our eyes compensate for the dark by our pupils dialating to gather more light, thats where we run into problems with people using more light for themselves but don't think of other people who those lights are shining directly into there eyes.

 

[ROCKJEEP]

I got flashed once. Truck full of girls was driving next to me and the all flashed me. :-laf I get flashed all the time for my lights. I did the fog zilla conversion and run silverstars in the head lights. I drive mountain roads almost every night so I need the light. I found myself leaving the hi beams on longer so the car can tell that I clicked down to low beam. I know there going to hate my light bar I'm putting on.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Nobody has ever flashed there lights at me. If they did I would reallign my headlights - period.

 

[TSpecht]

There's an easy fix that's been mentioned. Don't drive with the fog lamps on unless there's fog or other similar vision diminishing conditions. It's annoying, and it actually gain anything except illumination of the lane directly in front and to the sides. The problem with that is your eyes adjust to the increased light and that hurts you at the edges of what the headlights can illuminate, since your eyes are going to be less sensitive to minor changes.


I do use my fog lamps when it's foggy, in extreme cases, I'll sometimes kill the regular headlights and only run with the fog lamps, which seems to help in some situations.

 

[JRBurn]

This is the one thing I that happened right away, I was flashed by 45% of the vehicles I passed. Had the lights adjusted and now only about 25% flash me now, fogs on or off made no difference.

 

[AGrubbs]

Fog lights are not "driving lights".

I very much agree with TSpecht. I sometimes run only the fog's in the snow storms or fog. The low beams refect back so much you can't see anything but a 'white-out' in front of you in those conditions.



Fog lights are for driving in fog, rain or snow. Not for driving on clear nights.



Most Americans don't realize thats how they are supposed to use them. What you want if you don't like the hi/low beams on your truck is some true DRIVEING lights, which are different from fogs. The differences are the reflectors/lenses in driveing lights put the light out in front in a narrower beam, while fogs spray light low to the ground, but in a wide pattern.



The fogs were designed for a purpose- To put light low to the ground, at a wide angle, and not up in the air. The reason for this is that fog, snow, ect will reflect back the light that hits it, which is not what you want to see.

The are to see "under" the fog and snow. You want to see the road and things comeing at you, not the light bounceing back from the fog or snow up high in front of you!



Another thing. . The fogs in my old '87 300SDL mercedes were amber, to reduce glare and penetrate the fog better. They did a good job.

Makes me wonder what people are thinking when they run those K-mart special bulbs... (the "blue light specials"). Guess they didn't pay attention to the studies done on lighting and glare... oh well.



Fog lights are not supposed to be run at the same time with the high beams, or the low beams. If you look up the driving laws in Nebraska, you will find that it is against the law to do so here, even though a lot of people get away with it.

Its a fine, To the tune of at least a $65. 00 fine (maybe even more, as this was 4-5 years ago a friend got ticketed) for "having more than 2 forward white lights on when meeting" someone. You are supposed to shut off fog's when you meet someone, just like your high beams... I really wish that it was enforced here more than it is.



The sad truth is, fog lights spray a wide beam, and thats not what you want if you are unhappy with the low/high beam units on your truck. Fogs will only put "usable" light down close to your truck. IF adjusted otherwise-The rest of it just goes to shine into any oncomeing traffic and and helps to wreck their night vision.



So If you really can't see something until it gets in the fog light pattern, you had better only be driving 35 MPH, or you will be sitting on top of what ever it is that you see before you have a chance to react to it. If thats not the case, then turn them off. . you don't need them then. Either that or you have them grossly misaligned and you deserve to be brighted. .





Just my 1/4 cents (adjusted for inflation).

 

[sevobuck]

Thanks for everyones input. I will try to readjust them and see if that is the problem. What do you think? Maybe use the garage door to shine them on and then make adjustments?

 

[rbattelle]

Another thing. . The fogs in my old '87 300SDL mercedes were amber, to reduce glare and penetrate the fog better. They did a good job.

AMEN! Oo. I want nothing to do with "fog lamps" that are white. Nothing cuts through fog and snow like a nice deep amber lamp. I don't understand why everyone uses bright white/blue lights for fog.



-Ryan