Fog Lights - Are they effective in fog?

No but they work great when some dbag won't dim
They also help discourage other drivers from running their fog lights in the presence of oncoming traffic

 

Not much fog here in Austin (TX), but when we do get fog, I've found that the fog lights on my 2009 (Gen-2) help a fair amount.

 

I am relying on the radar part of dynamic cruise control and accident avoidance to deal with the fog. Of course this will require testing.

Bob Wilson

 

I've always thought of fog lights as very low beam, a shallow/wide beam directing downwards and towards the shoulder. Unlikely to be blinding oncoming drivers. Maybe you mean "driving" lights?

Our third gen fog lights are also pretty useless, btw. My main use of them is just to flick them on/off, to see if I can even tell the difference.

 

I just installed the fog lamps from Prius Chat on my 2011 Four. I notice a slight difference in the reach of the lighting and a considerable difference in the width.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Is the difference slight and subtle? That's how it is for us.

I sometimes idly think: they might as well just put out "faux" fog lights, that don't even turn on: the main thing is the look.

 

Umm, in my concept of fog lights, the critical factor is that they are mounted as low as realistically possible to the ground (road). That produces the effect of the lit road shining through the fog, rather than just lighting the plume of fog in front of you, obscuring your vision of the road, and everything else in front of you for that matter.

In other words it's not that fog lights are aimed high or low, but that they are mounted low.

 

It works quite well. It's very satisfying feelling the car slow down, when there is nothing in sight ahead. It's also unbelievable that someone would drive in fog with no lights on at all (like the car that was ahead of me). Maybe they should come out with a fog light that blinks or something pointed in the back to help the guy following you notice.

 

When I lived in the UK (…until 1983) I remember that many cars were fitted with extra red lights at the rear which were only used in fog - I remember fitting them as add-ons to my cars.

 

I can't say if the fog lights on my gen2 would have helped in the fog, since the headlights had to be on first, and they just turned the fog into a white wall.

Playing Devil's advocate, driving through a heavy snow storm on night, I only had the parking lights, because I could see farther than with the headlights.

Yes, in Europe, they have rear fog lights, and I understand they don't have to turn on the headlights in order to turn on the fog lights.

 

When I fitted rear fogs to my car, I wired them so that when the side (pilot) lights were off. the fogs came on with the brake-lights, and at night they came on when the side-lights were on, and when they were off, they were off, and when they were on, they were on! (…said the Grand Old Duke of York!) So, during the day, the braking was really lit up, but not dazzling at night, and if it was foggy the rear was lit up anyway!

 

The always on fog light people are the worst! I think half of them don't ever know they are on. As for the other half-- rude and inconsiderate along with a few cruder adjectives.

 

We had heavy, low-lying fog occasionally on my morning commute to work. The fog lights worked well to shine under the fog and side-to-side to keep the lane lines illuminated.

I have always thought they worked well in heavy fog.

 

Are yours OEM fogs, or better/brighter?

I've yet to really need ours, lol. Have encountered a little fog, but in 6+ years nothing significant.

 

I'll go with that explanation

 

Agreed too.
And it logically follows that, to avoid lighting the fog in front of you, having the main beams off might offer better visibility.

 

Regardless of pros and cons of that, I think it's illegal to run fogs without headlight, at least at my location. The cars as delivered do not allow that.

 

Definitely high beams off!

 

Yes. In that regard, fog lights on a car are useless.