What this post contain?
Introduction
What are fog lights ?
Are fog lights legal in India ?
Which fog lights color is better?
Introduction
Fog lights are legal in India. Yes , it’s very much true that fog lights can be used in cars in India but you have to follow certain rules for using fog lights. As we all know that fog lights are of great use in adverse weather conditions and low visibility conditions. One should always take this into consideration that in bad weather condition one must have fog lights fitted in theirs cars because our car lights are our savior in many cases and we cannot deny this fact. Low beam headlights sometimes will be helpful but they won’t give the illumination which is required and many times in worst cases happens just because of the negligence and can costus lives of our people sitting inside the car.
What are fog lights ?
Fog lights are the auxiliary lights which are used to illuminate the road during the bad weather conditions like in the rainy or foggy weather and also used in the low visibility conditions. Some says that fog lights can be used in snowy places but it won’t help much but for some it works well as this light focuses more on the ground but one need a main beam headlights turned on along with the fog lights. The fog lamps are mainly used of higher wavelength as it scatters well and are easy for the drivers to comprehend the road width well. So, yellow and white fog lights are used more commonly than others majorly as both the white fog light and the yellow fog light have higher wavelength. These both lights also pierce the fog effectively thus making visibility much better.
Function of fog lights :- The function of the fog lights are to illuminate the front portion of outside road just ahead of the car in the foggy weather, as in the foggy weather the visibility decreases manifolds and it becomes difficult to see in such bad weather. The fog generally hovers near ground and illumination below that is required which is very well provided by the front fog lights which are placed in the front portion of the car but below the main headlights. The fog lights are not of any use in places where there is hot climate more prevalent but are widely used in places where cold weather is more prevalent through out the year or in some seasons when fog appears abundantly only, then the fog lights can be of great use. In winters or in rainy seasons the road becomes so much unclear ,that the main headlights won’t be much help thus fog lights have to be turned on.
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In winters when the fog is so much intense that one cannot not see beyond few meters and then driving becomes so difficult that other vehicles on the road cannot be seen and this can cause unnecessary bumping because of the non visibility of other vehicles. And then in this moment the role of fog lights comes into play as it helps you to see as it brightens the road ahead of you and you also become visible to the oncoming drivers with the help help of front fitted fog lights. The rear fog lamps are also present which are used for increasing visibility in the rear portion of the cars , the rear fog lights are situated beside the brake lights and are of similar color as that of the brake lights i.e. red color. Only slight color difference is present in the brake lights and the rear fog lights. But the rear fog lights are of so much importance because it makes us visible to the approaching drivers.
Are fog lights legal in India?
Yes, very much fog lights are legal in India but you have to follow certain rules and regulations to use fog lights on your vehicle as it’s unnecessary use can create trouble to the oncoming drivers. In the day time when there is no fog around then the light gets reflected to the eyes of the approaching driver and because of this blinding can happen and the driver can loose their track of the way, this can ultimately result in crashing into some other vehicle thus causing haphazard situations.
when it comes to fog lights in the safety standard ( Central Motor Vehicle Rule ,1989 ) dated back 15/12/1997. Under the ministry of surface transport , which was published by the automotive research association of India on the behalf o the Department of industry, the government of India and ministry of surface transport government of India under lighting, signaling and indicating systems on all motors vehicles other than three wheelers with the engine capacity less than 500cc and ,motor cycles and tractors it is mentioned that fog lights are permissible on a vehicle as they enable illumination of the road effectively in fog, snow , fall, rain, and dust clouds etc .
The permissible number of fog lights was also mentioned for different vehicles having engine capacity les than 500cc, like for pasenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles and trucks, tractors, buses the number mentioned is 2 only. And criteria under which it is allowed for the usage of the fog lights is in a way that fog lights should be mounted on the vehicle in such a way that it should not blind a person standing few meters from the vehicle and if does blind the person then it would be considered illegal. As these lights blinds the person when approaching, so for that reason the use of lamps is strictly restricted under certain conditions of the weather when visibility is low. You cannot roam with your fog lights on in clear weather sky then you will be charged with a fine for breaking the rule.
But now many upper class cars as Audi, Range Rovers , Mercedes coming with LED lights of white colors and this OEM fitted lights are claimed to be adequate at the place of the fog lights and these are not even being charged for their white lights, this is because that OEM cars have gone through multiple tests( eg photometry ,calorimetry, vibration test, oil resistance test , corrosion resistance test , dust test thermal shock test , high voltage test and many more tests) and checks before reaching us.
Also read : Which fog light is better halogen or LED?
Which colored fog lights are better?
For front fog lights mainly white and yellow (high wavelength colors in VBGYOR{ IN ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM }) colored fog lights are both as fog lights and these have very good penetration through the thin and thick fog .Low wavelength lights like the indigo, violet and blue color lights can also used but they causes glaring effects thus, making driving difficult. These fog particles are mere small water droplets which remain suspended in the atmosphere during the night time or in the morning time when the temperature is low and dissipate soon after the sun comes up. The white and yellow fog lights pierce well through the fog and thus widely used and these lights get scattered during the adverse weather finely which makes easier for the driver to see through the rough weather which becomes difficult when normal high beam headlights or low beam headlights are used.
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