Fog Lights.

[Smithers]

I'm going to be fitting a pair of OEM fog lights on the NC about the beginning of April, pretty much the same as the inserted pic. I already have the bars fitted that they will be mounted on so should make the job quicker (and cheaper, I'm having Honda do the work).

My question is, is it legal to use them as daytime running lights along with the main headlight? I'm all for being as visible as possible on the road and think these should help to achieve that.

[SometimesSansEngine]

If it really is a fog light, I'm going to go with "no".

Some info/scientific research on triangle of lights tactic for conspicuity can be found here https://scienceofbeingseen.wordpress.com/2018/12/08/17-strategies-alternative-drls/

[megawatt]

Those are normally daytime running lights, depends if there's a dip beam shield in em. Can be set up as fog lights if you want.

[Smithers]

If it really is a fog light, I'm going to go with "no".

Some info/scientific research on triangle of lights tactic for conspicuity can be found here https://scienceofbeingseen.wordpress.com/2018/12/08/17-strategies-alternative-drls/

 

There's a great video in that link with the police showing the way forward with visibility in 1966. A must see!

[Gerontious]

Those are normally daytime running lights, depends if there's a dip beam shield in em. Can be set up as fog lights if you want.

 

Honda only produce fog lights as genuine accessories. With a simple on/off switch.

[fullscreenaging]

I had the ‘fog lights’ dealer fitted to my Versys 1000GT and all ready and waiting for me when I picked her up new two years ago.

Dealer ran through all the switches as is their legal requirement before I rode off.

“This is the fog lights on/off switch”

It’s stayed on from the moment I rode away.

I’ve only ever had a few cars in those two years flash me and gesticulate towards them. I presume it’s towards the fogs, and also presume at that moment in time the angle of the road and the twilight zone’s light refractor had bounced the whole of the known universe’s light into their eyes by the way they were carrying on.

They were obviously set up correctly by the dealer to be at an acceptable level so as not to be that of a full beam, but to give me plenty of light when riding in the dark.

Due to the couple of over reactions from those car drivers I’m guessing they are doing their job in daylight and giving me that bit of added visibility.

[Valko]

I had the ‘fog lights’ dealer fitted to my Versys 1000GT and all ready and waiting for me when I picked her up new two years ago.

Dealer ran through all the switches as is their legal requirement before I rode off.

“This is the fog lights on/off switch”

It’s stayed on from the moment I rode away.

I’ve only ever had a few cars in those two years flash me and gesticulate towards them. I presume it’s towards the fogs, and also presume at that moment in time the angle of the road and the twilight zone’s light refractor had bounced the whole of the known universe’s light into their eyes by the way they were carrying on.

They were obviously set up correctly by the dealer to be at an acceptable level so as not to be that of a full beam, but to give me plenty of light when riding in the dark.

Due to the couple of over reactions from those car drivers I’m guessing they are doing their job in daylight and giving me that bit of added visibility.

 

There is a simple reason why doing fog lights without fog is forbidden - people got distracted/blinded and they crash. In you.

What can go wrong if car hits motorcycle?

If you have the lights for "safety" reason that completely defies the purpose of having them. Just saying. Good luck.

[fullscreenaging]

I had the ‘fog lights’ dealer fitted to my Versys 1000GT and all ready and waiting for me when I picked her up new two years ago.

Dealer ran through all the switches as is their legal requirement before I rode off.

“This is the fog lights on/off switch”

It’s stayed on from the moment I rode away.

I’ve only ever had a few cars in those two years flash me and gesticulate towards them. I presume it’s towards the fogs, and also presume at that moment in time the angle of the road and the twilight zone’s light refractor had bounced the whole of the known universe’s light into their eyes by the way they were carrying on.

They were obviously set up correctly by the dealer to be at an acceptable level so as not to be that of a full beam, but to give me plenty of light when riding in the dark.

Due to the couple of over reactions from those car drivers I’m guessing they are doing their job in daylight and giving me that bit of added visibility.

 

There is a simple reason why doing fog lights without fog is forbidden - people got distracted/blinded and they crash. In you.

What can go wrong if car hits motorcycle?

If you have the lights for "safety" reason that completely defies the purpose of having them. Just saying. Good luck.

 

You didn’t read my post correctly.

My ‘fog lights’ are not set up at the same angle as my main beam. In fact no front fog lights whether car or bike are set up to do the job of main beam. They will never blind on coming drivers.

Have you ever tried driving in thick fog with main beam on? It makes your vision worse. Fog lights keep the light low and wide.

[Smithers]

I had the ‘fog lights’ dealer fitted to my Versys 1000GT and all ready and waiting for me when I picked her up new two years ago.

Dealer ran through all the switches as is their legal requirement before I rode off.

“This is the fog lights on/off switch”

It’s stayed on from the moment I rode away.

I’ve only ever had a few cars in those two years flash me and gesticulate towards them. I presume it’s towards the fogs, and also presume at that moment in time the angle of the road and the twilight zone’s light refractor had bounced the whole of the known universe’s light into their eyes by the way they were carrying on.

They were obviously set up correctly by the dealer to be at an acceptable level so as not to be that of a full beam, but to give me plenty of light when riding in the dark.

Due to the couple of over reactions from those car drivers I’m guessing they are doing their job in daylight and giving me that bit of added visibility.

 

There is a simple reason why doing fog lights without fog is forbidden - people got distracted/blinded and they crash. In you.

What can go wrong if car hits motorcycle?

If you have the lights for "safety" reason that completely defies the purpose of having them. Just saying. Good luck.

 

You didn’t read my post correctly.

My ‘fog lights’ are not set up at the same angle as my main beam. In fact no front fog lights whether car or bike are set up to do the job of main beam. They will never blind on coming drivers.

Have you ever tried driving in thick fog with main beam on? It makes your vision worse. Fog lights keep the light low and wide.

 

Bang on 'fullscreenaging', that's why I feel I could use them in non fog conditions as the beams would not interfere with oncoming traffic.

[fastbob]

It's probably worth considering that daytime fog and night time fog are two very different things . In daytime fog you want to be seen but at night time you need to see as well as be seen . Happily I've only encountered both situations a few times but that doesn't make them any less terrifying ! One thought that occures to me is that twin auxiliary lamps on a motorcycle could be misinterpreted by oncoming vehicles as the headlamps of a car that appears further away than the bike actually is .

[Smithers]

It's probably worth considering that daytime fog and night time fog are two very different things . In daytime fog you want to be seen but at night time you need to see as well as be seen . Happily I've only encountered both situations a few times but that doesn't make them any less terrifying ! One thought that occures to me is that twin auxiliary lamps on a motorcycle could be misinterpreted by oncoming vehicles as the headlamps of a car that appears further away than the bike actually is .

 

Fair comment, but perhaps the 3rd one in the middle might indicate a motorcycle. I shall still go ahead and get them fitted and maybe be a bit selective when I use them. I let you know if plod pulls me up for using them in non fog conditions.

[fullscreenaging]

I’ve been past loads of plod over the two years and been fine. Like I say. I’ve never turned them off from day one. Even filtered past a police car the other day.

You’ll be absolutely fine.

[gogs01]

I'm sure fog lights are marked and therefore can be identified as fog lights. This means that they should only be used in foggy conditions. As with many things, it is unlikely that the police will bother, but in years gone by they used to stop cars running fog lights, so it might happen one day.

I'd like to fit auxiliary lights to my RT and I would like them to supplement the dipped beam, so what kind of auxiliary lights are not fog lights and can therefore legitimately be on at all times the dipped beam is on ?

[Smithers]

I'm sure fog lights are marked and therefore can be identified as fog lights. This means that they should only be used in foggy conditions. As with many things, it is unlikely that the police will bother, but in years gone by they used to stop cars running fog lights, so it might happen one day.

I'd like to fit auxiliary lights to my RT and I would like them to supplement the dipped beam, so what kind of auxiliary lights are not fog lights and can therefore legitimately be on at all times the dipped beam is on ?

 

The ones I'm having fitted are definitely fogs, I will ask the technician to make sure they are set to a level where it would be impossible to cause any problems for other road users. I'm with 'fullscreenaging' on this. The likelihood of annoying plod would be minimal.