Letter: Some light on fog lights

Editor,

The practice of equipping many vehicles – especially SUVs and pick-ups – with fog lights has become widespread, and so has the misuse of these lights by drivers who thoughtlessly leave them on all the time! I’m convinced that Morinville and area is one of the worst places for this offence.

If you’re not sure which are the fog lights, they are two lamps low to the ground, usually below or embedded in the front bumper. They are designed to light the ground immediately in front of a vehicle in heavy fog so that the driver can at least see the lines or ruts on the road directly ahead. The problem is that when they are turned on when there is no fog, the vehicle is basically shining four sets of headlights directly at on-coming vehicles. The effect is often the same as driving with your lights on bright. It can be blinding to others.

My guess is that because Highway 2 between Morinville and St. Albert often has fog issues, many drivers from this area turn their fog lights on and then forget about them. Others just leave them on without even considering their effect on other drivers. On one recent morning, I counted seven vehicles with fog lights on within two blocks on 100th Avenue!
Please people. If there is no fog, turn your fog lights off!

Hank Goertzen

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