motorchrome

I guess it is thing that American drivers are just not able to understand. Fog lights are designed to increase visibility during fog and/or other inclement weather. There are two flavors of fog lights - front and rear. The front ones are for you, the drivers, to use to better pilot your sled. The rear fog light(s) are designed to increase the distance that a following driver will be able to see your car in the nasty stuff. You know - so as not to unexpectedly plow through the back of your car at high speed. Rear fog lights are fairly rare and seem to be a European tradition. To my knowledge, the only manufacturers to equip U.S. bound cars with rear fog lights are Volvo, Audi, and Mercedes Benz. Some cars have two in the rear, while others have one. If the car has only one light, it is situated on the passing side of the car.

As I drove home the other [crystal clear] night behind some fool in a A4 1.8T, I noticed that he had ALL fog lights blazin'. I guess, with all those lights on, he was going for that "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" look or something. I am not sure. I did not have too much time to get into his head because the HAL-like beam that was shooting out of the rear of his car was searing my retina. To accomplish the mission stated above, rear fog lights are basically pointed straight out. They are much brighter than even brake lights. This is where the searing comes in.

I will admit that front fog lights add an air of sportiness and are generally non-offensive, but this is not the case with the rear lights. I wonder why people would do this. Is it to irritate people? Maybe people just do not understand what they are for. Surely you don't read your owner's manuals. Maybe you had a seizure in your car and just started mashing buttons? Whatever the reason, please, for those of us driving behind your uber-cool ride - turn your fog lights off!