[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Xehaust

...due to poor visibilty, i do put on my hazard lights.

I find it very MESMERIC to have a pair of blinking lights in front of me in dense fog. Not only irritating, I find it tends to make me lose concentration, so vital in such a situation.

[Xehaust]

Well, seeing the feedback so far, i guess its not a good practice. Lets see what a few more people say & i think ill stop this practice of using the hazard lights in extreme fog if the feedback suggests it. After all, i am doing it for the convenience of other drivers only.

Also, can some people give feedback on using the fogs in city limits as well

[Samir Taheer]

Originally Posted by Xehaust

Also, at times wherein there is dense fog, the type wherein you can hardly see 15-20 feet ahead only and are forced to drive very slow due to poor visibilty, i do put on my hazard lights. I experience such fog on trips to Lonavala in the monsoon season.

Putting on the hazards in such fog is a good practice as it improves awareness of your car to other drivers. But it is done purely when there is extreme fog. In general fog, it does not make sense.

P.S. - Mods, i am posting as the editing time for the previous post was over & this thought came to me a little late

I really hope you do stop using your hazard lights - Hazard lights means you are stoped in a position which might be dangerous to others!!!

Greenhorn - If your dipped beam does not illuminate the area directly in front of your cart, why dont you adjust them to do just than??

Also does anyone have a copy of the Indian Highway code to see if these Fog/Aux lamps are legal or not.

Originally Posted by Xehaust

Well, seeing the feedback so far, i guess its not a good practice. Lets see what a few more people say & i think ill stop this practice of using the hazard lights in extreme fog if the feedback suggests it. After all, i am doing it for the convenience of other drivers only.

Also, can some people give feedback on using the fogs in city limits as well

[watashi75]

Originally Posted by Xehaust

Lets see what a few more people say & i think ill stop this practice of using the hazard lights in extreme fog if the feedback suggests it.

The problem is we have local interpretations of hazard lights. If you happen to be in Delhi or Noida you will see everyone driving with hazards in fog. There it would be a hazard to stop and put on hazard lights since everyone assumes that it is a moving car.

Probably some half-baked or ignorant drivers started this tradition and it has caught on. It would be very difficult to stop this tradition now.

[gd1418]

What car do you drive that has Setting 1? Unless you mean the HL assembly that has parking light built in it... like the Matiz or Esteem.

Originally Posted by Xehaust

Staying strictly on the topic,

There are 3 settings in every headlight.
Setting 1: Wherein only a slight tinge of light is there.
Setting 2: Low beam which illuminates the road and if headlights arent focused, tend to blind.
Setting 3: Finally, the high beam.

Personally, i use Setting 1 coupled with the fogs in the city for two reasons.

Add the word NCR to it and include the entire Northern area....:-)

Originally Posted by watashi75

The problem is we have local interpretations of hazard lights. If you happen to be in Delhi or Noida you will see everyone driving with hazards in fog. There it would be a hazard to stop and put on hazard lights since everyone assumes that it is a moving car.

Probably some half-baked or ignorant drivers started this tradition and it has caught on. It would be very difficult to stop this tradition now.

[dushmish]

One thing is for sure that there are more people than I thought who despise fog lamps being used sans fog. And the incorrect usage of hazard lights is also a big irritant. I remember seeing an article that appeared on front page in DNA, Mumbai edition on this. It shared the same sentiment, specially about the drivers on Mumbai Pune expressway.

[harry10]

Interesting thread.
Well as per my observations from my entire driving life i had not felt fog lamps which are factory fitted to be an annoyance to the eye. Yes high beam is an annoyance but fog lamps-No. Even if the fog is not there they help me identifying the great pot holes my government provides me as an incentive of using public roads(and they are everywhere). It increases my visibility of road as most of the times there are no street lights or not working.
I have tested my car's lights and fog lamps to check if they annoy others or irritate the eye and they dont so i use them,simple.

[PaulBarber]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Actually, yes. Hazard lights are for use when stationary.
Using them while moving probably makes it a moving violation!

Is this really so? I thought hazard light was intended to draw attention to the vehicle. It could mean that the vehicle is parked in an awkward place, so take care dont bang on it. Or else that I'm driving real slow, or in low visibility etc.

Even in US, I've seen that people use hazard lights in fog/heavy rain conditions.

[revtech]

Originally Posted by harry10

Interesting thread.
Well as per my observations from my entire driving life i had not felt fog lamps which are factory fitted to be an annoyance to the eye. Yes high beam is an annoyance but fog lamps-No. Even if the fog is not there they help me identifying the great pot holes my government provides me as an incentive of using public roads(and they are everywhere). It increases my visibility of road as most of the times there are no street lights or not working.
I have tested my car's lights and fog lamps to check if they annoy others or irritate the eye and they dont so i use them,simple.

thats exactly what ive been tryin to say all along.stock fog lights are adjusted to focus down so they are no problem at all.even after market ones focussed properly are fine.

its aftermarket ones which arent fitted properly that cause problems to other drivers.


rev

[Xehaust]

Originally Posted by gd1418

What car do you drive that has Setting 1? Unless you mean the HL assembly that has parking light built in it... like the Matiz or Esteem.
Add the word NCR to it and include the entire Northern area....:-)

All cars have Setting 1. Let me clarify it, it is when your lights are on wherein they do not illuminate the road, they just tinge the headlamp with some light.

Originally Posted by xehaust

the fogs give peripheral vision very near & around the car & do not blind drivers coming from the opposite direction as the beam is entirely focused downward and does not attain the height required to blind them.
Here, i would like to add that in the case of bigger cars, like SUVs, this does not hold true as these are high ground clearance vehicles and hence, even the fogs are set at a higher height, generally tending to blind the other driver coming from the opposite side.

@revtech & harry10, i too have mentioned the same on the previous page [i.e. Page 4]

@Samir Teheer, ive decided to discontinue this practice of using hazards in fog. I thought it would aid others but have realised that it is used STRICTLY for stationary vehicles.

[dushmish]

Originally Posted by Xehaust

@Samir Teheer, ive decided to discontinue this practice of using hazards in fog. I thought it would aid others but have realised that it is used STRICTLY for stationary vehicles.

Lets get this right friends, hazard light are meant to be used when your car becomes a HAZARD on the road for other vehicles. Such situations can arise when:

1. your car is stalled in way of traffic.
2. you drive in to a one way street from the wrong direction!
3. you are turning your car in a lane, going back and forth
4. you are in way of traffic on a low visibility day

Some of these instances, if you see, are when your car is not stationary but it is a hazard. So hazard lights are not about STRICTLY stationary cars. Further, hazard lights should not be used when your are moving with the traffic at the speed of traffic. e.g. moving in a tunnel or during fog or heavy rains, your car is moving with the traffic so it is not a hazard. Everyone knows all cars are moving. Only the ones not going with the flow should light up the hazard lights.

[Samir Taheer]

Totally agree with ou dushmish.

But what i dont get is - If your having problems seeing the road/potholes etc... why dont people adjust their Headlamps to illuminate the road in front.
1) The bulbs are of a higher voltage so there more light from our headlamps..
2) Adjust properly they wont bother oncoming drivers no matter what kind of bulbs you have, plus they will illuminate that road right in front and around...
3)If its dark - switch on your highbeam.

[gd1418]

Not all cars have this setting. I drive a Scorpio and it doesn't have one. The setting that you are talking about, comes in those cars that don't have a separate parking light unit. In such cases there is a small bulb in the HL assembly itself, that lights up on setting 1.

Originally Posted by Xehaust

All cars have Setting 1. Let me clarify it, it is when your lights are on wherein they do not illuminate the road, they just tinge the headlamp with some light.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Not all cars have this setting. I drive a Scorpio and it doesn't have one. The setting that you are talking about, comes in those cars that don't have a separate parking light unit. In such cases there is a small bulb in the HL assembly itself, that lights up on setting 1.

Roger that, but I think he basically means 'parking lights' as position 1.

[Samir Taheer]

Xehaust - Are you talking about the 3 settings on the lights switch?
So 1 = Palking Lights
2 = Dipped Beam
And if you push or pull depending on your car = Main beam...

Are these the setting you are talking about?

If so, i was under the impression all cars had to have them too, but the bulb for the parking light could be anywhere. in some cars like Alfa Romeos when you put on the parking light the Aux lights come on and another small light not usally in the headlamp housing comes on too. But i am sure all cars had to have parking lights somewhere.