One of the big problems you can encounter while driving is being faced with a fog bank or extreme weather conditions. At this specific time, visibility will be reduced and the likelihood of experiencing a road accident will increase significantly. You will therefore have to be more careful while driving, use fog lights, reduce speed and try to carry out maneuvers carefully to avoid unpleasant scenarios.
What are fog lights?
Fog lights are designed to improve driver visibility in fog, heavy rain, snow or any other type of adverse weather conditions. Unlike standard headlights, which generally project light forward, this element is oriented towards the ground and at a low angleto prevent light from reflecting off water or fog particles and causing glare to the user in question.
These types of lights also have specific features this makes them even more special. As we stated above, light direction is key to avoiding uncomfortable scenarios and they are designed to project a beam of light everywhere. This reduces glare reflected from fog or rain, which could make visibility even more difficult if the light is pointed upwards.
On the other hand, another of their characteristics is their color, since they have a yellow or white color. The first cited, on the other hand, is preferred in certain places, since it is considered to have a greater capacity to cut fog and, above all, to improve contrast. Finally, the intensity of your headlights They are less powerful than on the main ones, but they have a wing closer to the vehicle to help light the path directly in front of the car.
When to use front and rear fog lights
Lead
On the one hand, we will talk about how the front fog light works. It is used when visibility conditions are reduced, usually due to dense fog, rain or snow. In these cases it also helps light the way at short distance and prevents glare from reflecting off fog or water.
When should they be turned on? Well, as a rule, when there is dense fog, there are intense storms (they improve visibility in the short term) or with weak or water fog, that is, when it is close to the ground and conventional headlights. they fail to light the way appropriately.
It is important to note that in some countries, due to regulations, these lights They should not be used in normal traffic conditionsbecause they can be dazzling to other drivers. It is therefore essential to turn them off when they are no longer needed.
Back
On the other hand, rear fog lights are designed to increase visibility of the vehicle for other drivers, particularly those traveling behind vehicles on the road. Likewise, they are particularly useful in helping vehicles behind you see your car from further away.
We should turn them on in situations of dense fog or heavy rain and help improve visibility when it is very low thanks to its bright red light, which will help other drivers to focus on the vehicle.
As with the front lights, the rear fog lights have regulation: they are more powerful than the brake lights, so they should be used sparingly. They should not be turned on in minor low visibility conditions.such as light rain or light fog, because their intensity can dazzle drivers behind and create unnecessary risks. In many countries, improper use of these lights will result in financial penalties for drivers.
How to adjust the fog light
First of all, to activate the front lights, we will activate the vehicle’s own lighting, since, under normal conditions, the fog lights would not be able to turn on without the general lights. Next, you will need to locate the item’s switch, which is usually on the same control as the main lights, i.e. to the left of the steering wheel or near the dashboard.
The next step would be to look for a button or spinner that has a headlight icon with wavy lines below, which represent the fog. We will activate them by turning or pressing the light control until they are fully activated. At the same time, the symbol should light up on the dashboard, indicating – and confirming – that we have carried out the process correctly. Finally, and as we mentioned, it is important to deactivate them once we have overcome extreme visibility conditions.
On the other hand, to activate the rear fog lights, we will carry out the same procedure as for the front lights, but by activating the “button”. Under normal conditions, this is a sort of separate button that contains a rectangle with wavy lines next to it and will normally be red.