Fog lights misuse causing headache for drivers

Friday, 27 January 2012

It’s a pet hate for every driver with car insurance: you’re driving along a quiet road, minding your own business, when another car comes along with lights that appear brighter than the sun. Suddenly you’re dazzled and left unable to see properly – yes, drivers who use their fog lights in all conditions are a blight on the UK’s roads. We originally picked up on the problem after it was raised on our swiftcover.com Facebook page, and have since carried out research to establish the extent of the problem.

Not only is it dangerous to use your fog lights in good visibility, it’s also illegal, and carries a £30 fixed penalty notice due to the danger it poses to other drivers. However, swiftcover.com found that nearly one in ten drivers use their fog lights when it’s not appropriate. So why does this significant minority keep doing it? According to research by our car insurance team, 14 per cent of the drivers who admitted to using their fog lights outside of fog did it “because it looks good”, and younger drivers (those aged between 18 and 34) were more likely than older drivers to use their lights for this reason. Other drivers claimed to use their fog lights to improve visibility and some even used them to warn off other motorists who were driving too close.

The research also revealed that male drivers were twice as likely to leave their fog lights on when compared to female drivers (10 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively) – a statistic that’s not surprising from a car insurance provider’s perspective. A small minority of drivers also gave other reasons for driving with fog lights on, such as during heavy rain or on unlit, winding country roads.

So when should you use your fog lights? We asked Robin Reames, chief claims officer at swiftcover.com: “Fog lights are designed for a very specific purpose – helping drivers to see and be seen when visibility is severely reduced. If you can see further than 100m then your fog lights should remain off.” A good rule of thumb from our car insurance expert if you struggle to visualise the distance is that it’s roughly the length of a football pitch.

While using your fog lights to draw attention to yourself in an effort to look cool is impossible to condone, especially as a car insurance provider, we do have some sympathy for drivers who have forgotten to turn their fog lights off after leaving a fog patch. Has it ever happened to you? Do you have a trick to help you remember? If so, get over to the swiftcover.com Facebook page or tweet us (@swiftcover) to tell us about it!

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