Car fog lamp menace

The merest hint of mist at this time of year is enough for motorists to switch on that most irritating of Christmastime lights – the rear fog lamp.

In theory fog lamps make perfect sense. In practice they appear flawed for the following reasons:

• There are no regulations to stipulate that a fog lamp must be a single light positioned centrally so as not to be confused with brake lights. When there are two fog lamps and they are positioned beneath or as part of the rear light cluster, which is commonly the case, they are bright enough to be indistinguishable from brake lights.
• There is a risk that fog lamps give drivers a false sense of security that encourages them to drive at speed in fog. If fog is thick enough to warrant fog lamps, surely it makes sense to slow to a speed at which tail lights are visible.
• The Highway Code states a driver must not use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced, but this is subjective and drivers switch them on too readily.

What is your winter driving gripe?

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