Really not too happy right now. There was me minding my own business driving home from work and the police decided to pull me over. I couldn't work out what I had done, I was truly perplexed. The copper looked into my dash and pointed out that the lower "fog" lights were on (you know, the ones you need to use so you can actually properly see while driving at night) and he decided that was worth a $100 fine. I couldn't believe it. They also gave me a breath test (I hadn't been drinking at all) and they seemed to keep me waiting forever before they let me go. The whole ordeal felt like nothing more than I was being improperly targeted (harassed) because I drive a sports car. Like the police have nothing better to do. Anyway, what's the story with the lower lights? Has anyone else experienced this before? I'm tempted to write a letter to refute the fine but I'd like to hear from others with Zeds first.
what state are you in? different states could have different laws. im pretty sure though that in victoria you can have any fog lights on at the same time as your low beams. the only ADR i can think off that applies to fog lights is that they have to have an e-marking, which our foggies already have. Chris.
Why is it that we do the right things with our cars, we service them so they run cleaner, we look after them by keeping them in good nick, we have god rubber to keep them on the road, we have good brakes to stop them, we care about our vehicles and yet we seem to be harrassed because we own one. I have been asked by the police why I have my fog lights on with the headlights and I explain that the headlights are so poor that I have to have them on and they seemed fine with that when I show them what I mean, and yet cars with only one headlight drive past and they are not pulled over! Amazing
I'm in Perth. The officer asked me why I had the fog lights on and I explained to him that it's hard to see without them. He still saw fit to fine me for my trouble. He must've thought it'd be better if I don't use the fogs and crash due to poor visibilty.
Same thing has happened to me on a number of occasions, thankfully i've been able to explain and talk reason. As for police targeting, my advise is get over it, i don't mean to sound harsh but its the same with any prejudice, its going to happen, doesn't matter who you are or what you do. Its simple, there are people who drive you sort of car who should not be on the road, or who should be being harassed, how can they determine the difference.
The rules for fog lights are: Not to be used except in adverse atmospheric conditions. The rules for driving lights: Can be used any time but must only turn on when your high beams are on, i.e. extra high beams. Yes, I have mine on alot and I haven't been hassled over it (must have something to do with being mates with the son of the local copper, he just waves ) Least we are better than the late model commodores, they have really bright foggies. Won't be long and I'll pick up a set of HID's, no more dodgy low beams for me
Noob question, but aren't foggies yellow and driving lights clear?? I do 95% of my night driving on suburban roads, and haven't been pulled over for having them on. My driving lights come on EVERY time my low beams are on. Its just the way its wired up. We don't have a separate button to turn them on or off....I just assumed it was standard like that. What buttons setup do you guys have? The only extra button I have on the dash/pods are the old High intensity brake lights (which were removed when I got a new rear bumper. We don't drive the car in extreme fog or rain anyway..
On aus specs, that switch is used to turn on and off the high intensity rear drivers side fog light (not brake light). On J-specs it's used to turn the front fog lights on or off. Most people with Aus specs and front fog lights seem to get them wired into this switch so that they can be switched on/off as required, but it sounds as though yours have been wired directly into your headlight circuit. I too drive around lots with them on and have never been hassled by the police, but I am aware that it is illegal and fine-worthy. I take the stance that I would rather see where I'm going. And I just took the bulb out of the rear fog light so that I didn't look like a goofy Hyundai Excel driver when I have my foggies on.
Yeah, I thought it must have been one of those Aus spec vs Jap spec things...and I realise that the high intensity lights at the rear are not "brake lights" as when the button is pressed, they are always on...unlike your brake lights which only come on when you hit hte brake But thanks for the terminology Do you know if it'd be much trouble redoing the wires so its hooked up to the old high intensity light button rather than the headlights? Cheers, Andrew
I don't know - I paid an electrician $60 to hook mine up which was much better than me screwing it up. I would expect it would be fairly simple for someone electrically minded to do (ie not me!).
I have a J-spec and my fog/driving lights are on all the time when I turn my lights on, just very dull though. I have a button on the right pod that makes them come on brighter when it's pushed in.. A couple of weeks ago I think I saw one of the signs on the freeway from Sydney to Newcastle flash that it is illegal to have them on in some instances. Not too sure about the law on them though. Fran
So is there any chance/way I'd be able to get out of this fine (and point reduction), or am I just going to have to wear it?
Fog lights are only illegel if they r not white!!! personally buddy I think the copper was being a cock head, You should of got his badge number then reported him, for harrasment. anyway. cheers zedipated:zlove:
The J-spec foglight actually has 2 bulbs - the bright "fog" light, and the dull "parker" light. Your car is wired up normally, as it is an ADR to have a parker light on as well as headlights.
'Fraid the copper is correct... There is some contention as to the differences between driving lights and fog lights. The old school brigade would call white lights driving lights and yellow lights fog lights. White is still the best in both applications (search if you want more info on this, has been hottly discussed). I would call driving lights those massive stadium lights strapped the front of some big 4 wheel drives that can be seen from space, and fog lights are the smaller ones in the lower half of the front bar. This rule was brought in to stop people going the other way being dazzled by super bright fog lights at night, if you have ever been on the wrong angle to a new commodore with his foggies on you'll know what I mean...
Yes, the cop may have been nitpicking a bit, and believe me I'd be annoyed at getting done for this, but at the end of the day the law was still broken. To take a calculated risk and sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don't.
You see a hell of a lot of cars driving with them on And usually manufacturers today are smart enough to match them to their main headlights so they don't stand out as much. I had 55W Phillips H3C bulbs in my main headlights and the foggies, so they matched up nicely. If you have yellow ones, you'll be done for sure. As others have stated, you technically shouldn't have them on, though it looks so much better! Unfortunately, I don't think you'll be able to beat this one mate...
My 2c for the Victorians here I am from Victoria, so this may not help anyone from WA, but it might answer some of the questions that the Victorians have: From the Road Safety (Vehicles) Regulations 1999 "front fog light" means a light used to improve the illumination of the road in case of fog, snowfall, heavy rain or a dust storm; "rear fog light" means a light used on a vehicle to make it more easily visible from the rear in dense fog; Division 12?Fog lights 105. Front fog lights (1) A pair of front fog lights may be fitted to a motor vehicle with 4 or more wheels. (2) A pair of front fog lights, or a single front fog light, may be fitted to a motor cycle or trike. (3) A pair of front fog lights fitted to a motor vehicle with 4 or more wheels must have the centre of each light not over 400 millimetres from the nearer side of the vehicle unless the centres of the lights are at least 600 millimetres apart. (4) If the top of the front fog light is higher than the top of any low-beam headlight on the vehicle, the centre of the fog light must not be higher than the centre of the low-beam headlight. (5) A front fog light must? (a) when on? (i) project white or yellow light in front of the vehicle; and (ii) be a low-beam light; and (b) be able to be operated independently of any headlight; and (c) be fitted so the light from it does not reflect off the vehicle into the driver's eyes. 106. Rear fog lights (1) A vehicle may have fitted to its rear? (a) a pair of rear fog lights; or (b) 1 rear fog light fitted on, or to the right, of the centre of the vehicle. (2) Sub-clause (1)(b) applies to a motor cycle with an attached sidecar as if the sidecar were not attached. (3) A rear fog light must? (a) have its centre? (i) not over 1⋅5 metres above ground level; and (ii) at least 100 millimetres from the centre of a brake light; and (b) when on, project red light behind the vehicle; and (c) not use over 27 watts power; and (d) be wired to a visible device in the vehicle that tells the driver that the rear fog light is operating. Okay, heavy reading? Basically, there is no difference between a yellow or white front fog/driving light. They are the same, only the blue ones are illegal. Now, I have read over the Road Safety Act, the Road Rules - Victoria, Road Safety (Drivers) Regulations, Road Safety (Road Rules) Regulations, and the Road Safety (Vehicles) Regulations and found only one offence relating to fog light usage: Road Rule 217 (1) deals with operating a rear fog light other than as permitted. Reading over five acts I could not find any offence relating to the use of front fog lights as long as they are wired independenty to the main head lights and are not aimed higher than the normal low beam lights. The only offences would be relating to using them or not using them in darkness and "hazardous weather conditions". So in my proffessional opinion as both a a Z driver and a cop, there should be no problem using the fog lights. Disclaimer: There are about 50 pieces of legislation relating to road rules and I only checked five. There may be an offence in some other act or regulation that I did not check. If you want to check them all, pay a solicitor to look for you!
