Is Fog light banned

[tif0si]

if they are banned what about the cars that already have them, will they have to remove it??

[tsk1979]

I repeat again, they are not banned. all lights on the automobile should confirm to BIS Standards.
There are 3 standards. One for fog lamps, one for automotive lamps and height etc., etc.,
Please read up the motor vehicles act or look at my earlier post.
The standards are 1606(automotive lamps), 8715(Positioning of automotive lamps), 8716(fog lamps)

But the most idiotic thing about this is that you as a commoner cannot find out what is the specification. you have to buy the Standard from BIS!!

Anybody in Auto mag industry etc., has access to the standard?? Or anybody in automobile industry can help.

[autozealot]

Originally Posted by Speedometer

Even if anyone says that roof mounted fog lamps are banned in cars ,then thats wierd !!!!!!!as the buses or other HCV's have fog lamps mounted in front which will be above the roofs of most indian cars .

Hi,
The ban you are talking of is mostly attributed mainly to city driving where you rarely require even your car's hi beam. On the highway, law is not so strict & you can take a chance to use whatever kind of lights/horns you feel like & place wherever one wants to. I often see a tata safari with roof mounted fogs (4 powerful yellow ones ) on NH 8.
You may have noticed that modern day heavy vehicles too have headlights in level or just above that of other passenger cars. I feel that in an SUV one is better off than cars with low ground clearance. But then, I guess its okkay

I dont think that yellow ones are banned if placed correctly on the vehicle. How can a accessory which enables safe & better driving be banned!

[1100D]

All cars in France have yellow headlights.

[amtak]

Originally Posted by 1100D

All cars in France have yellow headlights.

Now that's some news. I remember reading somewhere that in one of the European countries, they have 24 hrs headlight system due to excessive fog in that country.

[gd1418]

Just my two cents:

Lamps touted as fog lamps, of whatever colour, fitted either on roof or on the bull bar in front of the grill are illegal, because instead of doing their duty as fog lamps they actually blind the oncoming traffic.

Fog lamps fitted on the front bumper at the bottom are allowed only in two colours - either yellow or clear white and should be illuminating the tar below and the kerb.

Improper enforcement of law is the bane of our society. Roof lights of any colour are strictly banned in Chandigarh. The HLs also need to half blackened in that city or heavy fines shall be imposed.

In Gujarat the RHS HL should have a yellow sticker in the center. Will somebody please corraborate this?

[Nitin]

I remember a friend of mine telling me the reason why the yellow fog lamps were banned. A lot of people who own estates in Coorg/Munnar/Ooty & other hill stations,would drive their Gypsy/Sierra/M&M Jeeps within the cities,and use their powerful fog lamps once daylight reduced to an extent where headlights had to be put to use. Some people had in excess of 10 fog lights,placed on different parts of the fender/top of the car. A huge number of accidents took place due to the blinding light of these fog lamps. Hence the ban was imposed,and only the white-light fog lamps were allowed.

Most cars come with fog lamps these days. They really help when the visibility is less than 15-20ft. I remember the Qualis I was travelling in,while on a trip to Munnar. As we approached Munnar,the fog was way too dense to drive. Not even 5ft of visibility. The driver put on the fog lamps,and we had to move at 10km/h.

Its a handy thing to have,but if it gets too bright,then it obviously is a pain for others.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by 1100D

All cars in France have yellow headlights.

A small correction to the above statement, I typed "have" instead of "had" so read the statement as "All cars in France had yellow headlights (but not anymore)."

[gendarmee]

fog lamps/yellow Fog lights may not be banned as such.
I remember some santro's sporting yellow ones. old santro's though, not sure which year.
What is banned by law is fixing any part that doesn't come with the car or the manufacturer doesnt approve, basically it covers a very broad spectrum of things.
This inculdes all extra fitting.
I'd hooked up a pair of 6 volt FIAMM horns from my JAWA on my kine, using a bracket on the front shield, got booked the third day, got to know about this "no extra fitting", rule that day, I came around the problem by installing them under the foot board, they heard the horns blast but didnt know which automobile made the noise(never got booked since)
coming to FOG LAMPS, the huge spot light mounted on the bumper or under through a bracket under the hood, kind of fog lamps may be what the dealer refered too, these, usually seen on Jeeps, Ambassadors, even ocatavia's...some gypsy's have it mounted on the roof!
Guys must have seen the "HELLA"(one kind) white cover it sports, as a kid i thought they were horns....there ones have a very bright blinding beam, may be thats why the ban is taken seriously by the cops at places. How ever, 2 qualis cars have it right in my building, and their owners travel a lot by road intra city and inter state.
By my experience, if cops can notice something that for sure looks like is been attached later, it is fined.
BTW- I always drive the Ikon only with the fog lamps & parking lights on.....Makes car look damn good!

[sajands]

"Me too. I also have those yellow foglamps installed in my santro by the dealer & till now i've never been caught by the cops."

People with yellow fog lights are caught but people drving around with fake xexon lights and high beams are free to drive in the city..how fair is this and i thought yellow light is the internationally approved color which is visible in fog. wonder why this sudden shift towards white

[gendarmee]

And those huge fog lamps have a blinding effect on the on coming vehicles causing accidents more than the fog.

[gendarmee]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Just my two cents:

Lamps touted as fog lamps, of whatever colour, fitted either on roof or on the bull bar in front of the grill are illegal, because instead of doing their duty as fog lamps they actually blind the oncoming traffic.

Fog lamps fitted on the front bumper at the bottom are allowed only in two colours - either yellow or clear white and should be illuminating the tar below and the kerb.

Roof lights of any colour are strictly banned in Chandigarh. The HLs also need to half blackened in that city or heavy fines shall be imposed.

I think this person has nailed it.
Simple and precise explanation.
Yea, Cant have the Fog Lamps installed on the top (some SUV's have half a dozen or more)
The 2 qualises I mentioned have the FL installed on the front bumper & has about a quater opaque sticker.
Any head light has to have a half black(opaque sticker).the built in FL are low so they dont need it.
And the Bigger FL's on the bumper should point to the road in front and not into the road, but still arent quite legal, many inter state cars have it though.

[rajtheindian]

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

In UK, use of selective yellow is allowed only on low visibility conditions. So the indian rule might be similar.

In UK cars coming with factory fitted fog lights are not yellow, but I saw couple of 4x4 using them, I think they added later.
I noticed the fog lamps scatters the light, they are not focused like the headlamps

[undead]

i have seen Forest Department Vehicles using Yellow fog lamps .. So how it can be banned.. Yellow fog lamps are the best in hilly fogs ... White dont do much good..

[Nitin]

Originally Posted by undead

i have seen Forest Department Vehicles using Yellow fog lamps .. So how it can be banned.. Yellow fog lamps are the best in hilly fogs ... White dont do much good..

When it comes to Govt. vehicles,no rules are applicable. Be it fog lamps, or a smoke-puffing engine that belches out thick black smoke.