From a legal perspective, is it permissible to drive with fog lights + parking lights but no headlights? Can I get a ticket for driving with this combo? Or do the foglights cover my requirement for driving lights?

I guess this may vary by state... but if you happen to know the case in your state, feel free to reply.

 

well, I was driving in my friends truck
around campus where I go to in VA
and he had his parking lights and the fog lights on
and we were stopped by the campus police
because we didn't have the headlights on
he didn't give us a ticket, but a warning, but
I would think that it would be illegal to
drive around like that because it isn't safe
from my point of view, fog lights are best used
in fog, or when you want to show off like my piaas
when you use your normal headlights

I would discourage from using your foglights
without your headlights.

Hope that helps

 

I use them as daytime DRLs. I wouldn't do it on dark streets or places where I can't see very far. Just wondering if it's illegal to drive like that at night.

 

well, to tell you the truth
driving around here in VA
there are a couple of people that
drive around like that in lighted streets
and I have yet to see them get pulled over
I work in an arena, and there are cops down
there, the next time I work there, I will try to
remember to ask them

but from personal point of view, (if I do the law, that is )
I would make it illiegal. Hope that helps a little

 

ok, i looked at your sounddomain page and i looked at the pics of your fog lights, they are bright as ****.. now you say fog lights, i really didn't think and thought that you were talking stock fog lights.. to let you know the truth, judging from your pics, you could functionally drive around with just those freakin lights cause they're so damn bright, but they are not considered driving lights. now, look on that package and tell me that somewhere on there it doesn't say, "For off-road purposes only." i'm not one to be a hippocrate cause i drive around with my lights on day and night and i use my fog lights (daytime driving with head lights reduces accidents believe it or not).. you can use fog lights to supplement your driving headlights, but under no circumstance, no matter how bright the damn things are, should you drive around with just your fog lights and your parking lights. i tie my fog lights in with my headlights just so i don't forget to turn them off now. driving in the day time with them on is fine and you would never get pulled over for the damn things, but not at night, its not a matter IF you will get pulled over... its just a matter of when, trust me..

 

In Pennsylvania the only rule I know of is no driving lights/fog lights with high beams activated. Meaning you shouldn't splice the wiring so that the foglights stay on with your high beams. I think that is ****, because you can get a ticket for high beaming someone anyway regardless of whether your fog lights are on too or not. The police don't want you to see too much or something, thinking you will be less likely to speed at night. Regarding driving lights, my friend has a set of PIAA's on a volvo 850, and we have never been pulled over at night using just the driving lights. They are so damn bright that you can't even tell the low beam headlights are on or off. Fog lights have a low wide beam pattern for illuminating the road directly in front of you in heavy fog, driving lights have a more concentrated beam of lighting to add to the spread of the stock headlights. If you have a decent set of driving lights then you could probably win an argument with a cop in court. But I would not reccomend using just fog lights. They will not shine far enough ahead of the car. Either way I guess you could get picked off by a cop depending on where you are, but around here it is not much of problem...

 

I NEVER drive around with my parking lights and fog lights alone in the night(hope you liked the pics ). Those pics are just for entertainment purposes. I do and would not drive around like this. It is plain stupid basically. Plus as you said, cops will pull me over. Believe it or not, I have used this and cops passed me going the same and opossite direction of the road and have never been questioned. I use them only in VERY dark areas and in inclement weather. But on city streets or driving around, I don't use them. I would think that some where on the package it says that they are off driving only. But i don't give a rats ***. I use it responsibly and cautiously, and that is what matters. And don't forget all the idoits that drive around High beams and all those German cars with the HID, I need to show them who is boss. As Installshield said, those are focused on the ground, as you saw in the pics, not conentrated to the eyes as the headlights, so, if you don't look towards them, they shouldn't bother them. Anyway, I think that they are phat, better looking than stock, and I pray that I wouldn't have to remove them any time soon(cost me close to $300 for installation and purchase). But, I only use them when I need them, not for cosmetic purposes, which I sometimes do.

 

fog lights are usually classified as any other color light (from the auxillary lights) that is not white, so the white lights that are emitted from the seperate bulbs(wich we call driving lights) are not fog lights , but if you have yellow lights those are supposnced to concidered fog lights..

I think that police would consider it a violation if you are driving at night with just the side lights and the driving lights on and not your headlights , I used to do that in the summer , but only when it was starting to get dark , or in the day time , to basically show off my fog lights with 100 watt bulbs. lol ,,,.... next i will put hid's in my headlights ...
Bruce

 

Fog lights, off road lights, headlights, yellow fogs, spots - they're ALL considered driving lights. And here's the skinny on it:

You are not allowed to use more than TWO sets (pairs) of driving lights at ANY time in the US. Using your high beams, regardless of whether it is a single hi/lo bulb (Pro sedans) or two separate bulbs (P5) counts as TWO sets - this is why the fogs shut down when you use high beams. Other than that, you are fine.

So driving with your fogs on is not in any way illegal, unless you add another set of driving lights or something and use all THREE at once (headlights, stock fogs, driving lights). Driving with headlights on and fogs is perfectly legal.

And you'll NEVER get hasseled for driving with lights on during the day. The same rules apply though - no more than two sets at once. I very frequently use my fogs as DRLs (after performing the wiring mod months ago). Nothing at all wrong with it. And I've gotten one or two looks from fellow P5'ers who seemed to be wondering "hey! MY fogs don't come on alone, only with my headlights!"

No worries, dude - you're fine.


~HH