you having a laugh?

 

yes and if you drive at me with full fogs on at night trying to blind me i would be extremely pissed off!!!
It is more dangerous than driving around with one headlight!

 

Im also a firm believer of those driving with fogs on should be fined, why?? they do dazzle, reason? lets see.... main lights are set to point into the curb, foglights are not, yes they are set low but they are set straight as well, coming over a rise with some guy with fogs on can and in most cases does dazzle on coming traffic, this means that the on coming car cannot see until the offender has passed them, 3-4 seconds on average that you have NO visibility.....
If your bulbs go, replace them its a 2 min job

Tony

 

As part of my job i have to drive through a lot of dark unlit country lanes and someone coming the other way with foglights on can dazzle you. To me dipped headlights and fogs add up pretty much to high beam no matter where its pointed its a more powerful source of light than ordinary dipped beam.
Driving with fogs on to compensate for having one operational head light is not the sensible option, the sensible option is to leave the car until you have a replacement bulb and the light works properly.
Fogs are called fogs for a reason, they're not standby lights.
Sorry i know its harsh but you broke the law and you got caught, they have been stupidly hard on you but i bet the next time a bulb goes you will replace it straight away, so in effect they have done their job in making sure in future you obide by the laws of the road.
Driving at night with a bulb out made you an easy target.

The "Real" criminals in this country the police should be after are mostly foreign, from a foreign civilisation and our government thinks them filling in a few forms will make them obide by british law. I'm sure 90% of coppers would love to catch a murderer or rapist rather than sitting in a lay by waiting to fine someone for a silly traffic offence. With stupid laws like "You must take your shoes off when raiding a muslim's house" means that normal law-obiding citizens are punished for petty crimes and the majority of "Real" criminals either get away with it or sue the government over Human rights.

 

andythejock01wrx, you might think yourself unlucky, but in fact you have actually been very LUCKY !

In admitting you were driving a car with one headlamp bulb gone, you are admitting you are driving round in a car which is not capable of passing an MOT. If the police decided to charge you for that, as is their right, you would have not only received a fine, but 3 points on your licence too.

Think it can't happen? Think again.

It's over 10 years ago now but that's exactly what happened to me. A headlamp blew just as I was setting out to return home. I checked the sidelights were working (which in my car of the time were front fogs without the reflectors and with low wattage bulbs) and set off home.

When stopped, told them it had just blown, had checked sidelights were working before setting off and that I had spare bulbs at home. I expected a slap on the wrist and a 7 day limit to fix it, but they decided to prosecute instead. 3 points on my licence plus a fine.

The moral of the story is, do not admit that you know a headlamp is out because you lay yourself wide open to 3 points on your licence. Driving without a headlamp and no front fogs is the safest option as far as your licence is concerned

 

Bad news, just another copper trying to get his brownie points as you say, i love all these mugs who say front fogs blind them, do they ****, some people compalin about anything mugs and no i dont drive with my fogs on, but they certainly dont blind you, like a full beam.

 

The thing is with modern cars, it can actually be very difficult to change a headlamp bulb. In most cases requiring removal of the headlight. This does not make it an easy or quick job to change the bulb at night.

 

Maybe if they have HID lights where you have to replace the full unit BUT for normal bulbs, its usually just a plastic cover which is either held on with clips or a screw on type.

Tony

 

No doubt you dont do much night driving?
I still do alot of night time driving and yes they DO glare you.

Tony

 

agree

 

Hi Andy

Sorry to hear about your wee incident. I must admit I get annoyed by people driving around with the fogs on when it is not required, but in your case you made a decision to try and make your car more visible and it backfired. I think the police could have used their discretion and in the circumstances given you a warning. Letting someone of without a warning seems to happen less and less these days though, unless of course you are stealing, murdering, or both. Shame you are not some raping, or murdering low life as you could have probably claimed compensation for being detained in the back of a police car for to long.

 

Precisely !!

 

cheers Stev

Couldn't help noticing that you live on the outskirts of Edinburgh ; we must be pretty close to one another !

I agree. As for those that say the Police were correct in charging me, would they be correct in charging you for doing 71mph on the motorway ? (I'm addressing that question to Tony - I normally respect Scoobynet's boffins !! ). An act can be against the letter of the law, but as Stev says, officers should use their discretion at times for minor offences. I Said as much when I handed my MOT into Wester Hailes Police Station today, but I was advised that the only way to take it further was to complain to the Clerk of the Court in writing.

Bulb changed now by the way. I don't think it's so unreasonable that I didn't change it midweek - I leave the house in the dark and return in the dark ! So did the Police act reasonably ?


Andy

 

Hi Andy

Yeh where I live is full of numpties

 

You mean everyone drives around with their frontfogs on all the time ??

I reckon I can just about hear you typing, you're so close !!

Andy

 

Taking a direct quote from a senior police officer (some of you may have seen this on GMTV this week) the speed limit plus 10% plus 2mph, so that 79mph.

There are lots of differences between a speedo and foglights mainly the fact that a speedo isnt accurate but fog lights do come on when you push the button

Tony

 

talking about foggy. I will be going to the Boozer on Thursday 21st with Ali and a few of the neighbours. You up for a few beers?

 

We all know the figure of the limit plus 10% (wasn't aware of the +2mph I must admit). The point I'm making is that my being charged in this set of circumstances is just as unreasonable as someone being charged for doing 71mph in a 70mhp zone !

Anyway, hope you didn't mind me referring to you as "one of Scoobynet's boffins", Tony.

 

Do I know you ??



















Stev, me old mucker,


Have my work's Chrissie night out on the Friday, and I expect to return home comatose after that so want to be fresh "at the off". ~ So the timing isn't ideal. Might pop along for 2 or 3. Will think about it. Chat nearer the time mate.

Andy

 

Just take it to court, even the senior officer said it wouldnt stand up

Tony

 

i don;t see how it wouldn't stand up. Sorry to hear about it and i also think its completly unresonable, but it is still an offence to drive with your fog lights on and thats what you were doing. It is irrelevant that you had a bulb out, thats just another seperate problem with the car. I really don't think you have a hope of getting of with it and the relation mentioned to speeding above is irrelevant. How is the regualtions relating to speeding got anything to do with a strict liability offence such as having your foglights on. With speeding you have the extra 10% (at the officers discretion and depending on the local forces policy) because of the possible inaccuracies with things like speedo's, measuring equipment. With your fog lights their either on or off theres no room for error other than human error!
I really wouldn't take it to court mate because chances are you'll just end up with the same fine and the court costs on top aswell as a load of wasted time and effort. May aswell just pay up and accept that the police love picking up on petty offences because it gives them good statistics with very little effort.
I appologise to all the hard working coppers out there but thats the way it is as i see it!

 

Seems fair comment overall, especially the point re it being "completely unreasonable".

I think a better option would be what the desk clerk said today ~ namely that in general terms, the headlamp offence could have a had a "defective" order placed on it ie that i would have been obliged to return to the station in a set period with a receipt for the replacement part.

 

Ever work on any good case Richard ? I mean somethng intresting, bet you have some storys to tell.

 

Cheers Richard,

I do respect the Old Bill and this hasn't put me off them. It's just put me off all the daft bloody targets they're supposed to meet ! I think "Policing by consent" is important and I don't think this type of petty act helps their cause in maintaining the support of the general public.

Andy

 

Yep, if those in charge insist on applying targets, as they now do, then those minor offences where the officer once used his discretion must always result in a formal charge.

It sucks ! Fair play to them for catching muderers, rapists, Gary Glitter etc though.
Oh, and preventing anarchy too.

 

More like Bobby feckin Ball you left them because of things like this me smells a tall tale

 

sorry to be a b******!

but misuse of fog lights is a top topic for cops and road traffic accident units, not only do you light up your car light an xmas tree and BLIND ONCOMING traffic, you are comiting an offence that could potentially result in the death of another road user.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if your lights don't work, don't drive the car or call the RAC/AA etc.
I can't believe people are advised to use their fog lights if the main beam light has failed.

DON'T DO IT MATE !!

i do not mean to cause offense, but we should all consider the effect this has on other road users. Trust me that's what the breakdown services are there for - to help us with the little breakdowns and well as the non-starters.


cheers.

 

Are you a cop ? Anyway, if my newage scoob front fogs can blind you, your eyes must be angled differently from mine !!

 

Say it over in your head "Fog lights, Fog lights". To put it in simple terms fog lights are fitted to be used when visibility is poor, not when you fancy putting them on or can't be bothered to get a new bulb. If your normal dipped beam lights were sufficient in Fog then you wouldn't have an extra set of lights fitted would you ? So they are brighter than dipped beam, therefore driving with them on in normal conditions is more likely to dazzle an oncoming driver than just regular dipped beam.

 

I was always told the 'get out clause' for when the cops stop you for any problems with your cars lights was to say
'they were working properly when I tested them before I set out on my journey'

Can anyone verify if this is true?