Driving with fog lights on could leave motorists £50 lighter, expert warns

The motoring track day company DrivingExperience.com has warned drivers to know when they should use their fog lights or face fines.

According to the company, motorists who have their fog lights on during clear weather can be faced with a £50 fine.

Dan Jomes, operations manager at DrivingExperience.com, noted that whilst it is easy to forget, drivers should always check that they have turned their fog lights off when the weather clears up.

He explained: “Sometimes it is easy to forget you have put your fog lights on as you can’t see them when driving in lighter conditions.

“Failing to do so could mean that not only could you dazzle an oncoming driver and cause an accident, you could also be hit with a £50 fine due to breaking The Highway Code.”

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According to The Highway Code, drivers should only turn their fog lights on when bad weather conditions means they can see less than 100 metres ahead.

By using more powerful lights than typical headlamps, fog lights can help to improve the driver’s surroundings and make their vehicle clearer to others.

However, drivers must make sure to turn both the front and rear sets off when visibility improves so as not to dazzle any other drivers.

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Dan also noted that, whilst fog lights are used to improve visibility when the weather is bad, they can reduce vision for other road users in some circumstances.

He added: “Last year, nearly 6,000 collisions caused were because a driver’s vision was affected by external factors which could include dazzling lights, so it is important to be alert to the conditions when they improve.

“Fog lights are generally switched on manually by the driver. With more cars now featuring automated systems, it is quite easy to forget they’re on, or even think they’ve turned off naturally when conditions improve.”

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