Which lights to use during winter daytime?

[Trixie_I]

Probably quite an odd question, but which lights would be considered a better use-case for safety during winter daytime?

I'm mostly talking about regular weather conditions, the law here states that during winter time, you're supposed to drive with lights on even during daytime when conditions are perfectly nice and sunny.

So while driving around I see some people driving with their headlights on and others with their fog lights on instead.

Which would you use? headlights or fog lights?

does it even matter?

I also heard some new cars are starting to come with daylight lights, wonder if it's something you can get for the space star/mirage or if it's something only possible on cars with a specific setup that allows for that?

[foama]

In the EU DRL's have been mandatory on new cars for years.
In some states of Europe headlights by day are also mandatory, and in most of those states, DRL's are allowed by day as a substitute for headlights. Without DRL's you would have to turn on regular headlights.
Fog lights are not DRL's. The height of fog light beams are exactly measured during the regular mandatory emissions, compliance and safety examinations.

[Trixie_I]

In the EU DRL's have been mandatory on new cars for years.
In some states of Europe headlights by day are also mandatory, and in most of those states, DRL's are allowed by day as a substitute for headlights. Without DRL's you would have to turn on regular headlights.
Fog lights are not DRL's. The height of fog light beams are exactly measured during the regular mandatory emissions, compliance and safety examinations.

Hey thanks a lot, perfect explanation, clears it up for me!

[Mark]

Hey thanks a lot, perfect explanation, clears it up for me!

BUT in Canada I thought the fog lights on a Mirage are set up as day running lights? I don't live in Canada, however. DRL are mandatory there, but not in the States. Some companies have that feature on their vehicles in the States regardless. My Subaru Forester has DRL, but you must manually turn on your headlights for night time driving.

My Chevy Impala (driving school's car) has DRL with automatic headlights. There is a sensor on the front dash that determines when the main headlights & rear lights should come on. You can turn on your headlights manually, but you can't bypass the automatic headlight feature. If you go to turn your headlights off, the dial snaps/springs back to the auto headlights setting.

None of these cars have fog lights, and I have never owned a vehicle with fog lights. My first car was a 1978 Honda Civic Wagon. I've been driving for about 45 years without fog lights. You don't miss something you have never had I guess. Outside of cruise control & a radio, the less features a vehicle has the more I like it! I am very sincere in stating that, too. I am not the norm, however.

[Wallythacker]

Yep, DRL are mandated here in Leafland, and have been longer than I can recall. As such, fog lamps, I guess, can be aimed anywhere it's legal, meaning we don't have tests, annual or otherwise for lights/emission/safety. We had a chat going about aiming fogs was even possible in Canada. Jeez, I forget the answer already.

I like the DRL concept. It's one less thing for me to remember at the end of the day. I haven't killed a battery from leaving lights on for decades. I'll never walk out to my car @ -30F to find a dead battery because lights were left on.

[Mark]

Yep, DRL are mandated here in Leafland, and have been longer than I can recall. As such, fog lamps, I guess, can be aimed anywhere it's legal, meaning we don't have tests, annual or otherwise for lights/emission/safety. We had a chat going about aiming fogs was even possible in Canada. Jeez, I forget the answer already.

I like the DRL concept. It's one less thing for me to remember at the end of the day. I haven't killed a battery from leaving lights on for decades. I'll never walk out to my car @ -30F to find a dead battery because lights were left on.

That's a nice feature on my Mirage. When you turn off your car, the headlights will not stay on & kill your battery even if you forget to turn them off. Never owned a car with that feature. I guess I do like some things like that!

[Fummins]

Drl has been manditory her since 89 or 90’. We had a driver pulled over in a 1991 Mazda one time and they got in shot cause the drl didn’t work.
Some Canada spec mirages used the fog lights as drl. I don’t know if a drl height restriction law out here. Seems like ever mfg uses a different spot.
The dumb side to drl is they can give barely enough light to drive with and I see people every day driving in the dark with no tail lights on. Now big brother had to step in and idiot proof them so automatic or full time(I can’t remember which) headlights and tail lights are gonna be manditory.

My 05 Dodge truck will turn off the headlights and tail lights and even the interior lights after a few minutes automatically. It’s also fancy and tells you when you have a burnt out light bulbs.

[Mark]

Drl has been manditory her since 89 or 90’. We had a driver pulled over in a 1991 Mazda one time and they got in shot cause the drl didn’t work.
Some Canada spec mirages used the fog lights as drl. I don’t know if a drl height restriction law out here. Seems like ever mfg uses a different spot.
The dumb side to drl is they can give barely enough light to drive with and I see people every day driving in the dark with no tail lights on. Now big brother had to step in and idiot proof them so automatic or full time(I can’t remember which) headlights and tail lights are gonna be manditory.

My 05 Dodge truck will turn off the headlights and tail lights and even the interior lights after a few minutes automatically. It’s also fancy and tells you when you have a burnt out light bulbs.

If you are parked in a well lit area (gas station for example), it's easy to forget to turn your headlights on right away. In that respect, I like my Mirage better. My Forester with DRL also has a dash that is lit up all the time. It's easier to overlook your headlights not being on. The dash on my Mirage is dark unless the headlights are turned on, which makes it pretty hard to overlook your lights not being on when it gets dark out.

As far as my driver's education car goes, I wish it didn't have the automatic headlight feature. Teaching kids to turn on their headlights should be part of one's driving lessons. I bring the topic up with them all the time, but it's not the same as doing it yourself.

Some states have a law stating your headlights must be on if your wipers are on (article on that linked below) -

https://www.wkyc.com/article/weather...5-8dfa0546eb1e

Rather than memorize the laws of each state, I encourage kids to turn on their headlight in bad weather (it's just a good practice). It's about being seen, and that's the part they don't get sometimes. It's easy to point out idiots who don't have their lights on while driving with them and that helps, too.

[Wallythacker]

If you are parked in a well lit area (gas station for example), it's easy to forget to turn your headlights on right away. In that respect, I like my Mirage better. My Forester with DRL also has a dash that is lit up all the time. It's easier to overlook your headlights not being on. The dash on my Mirage is dark unless the headlights are turned on, which makes it pretty hard to overlook your lights not being on when it gets dark out.

As far as my driver's education car goes, I wish it didn't have the automatic headlight feature. Teaching kids to turn on their headlights should be part of one's driving lessons. I bring the topic up with them all the time, but it's not the same as doing it yourself.

Some states have a law stating your headlights must be on if your wipers are on (article on that linked below) -

https://www.wkyc.com/article/weather...5-8dfa0546eb1e

Rather than memorize the laws of each state, I encourage kids to turn on their headlight in bad weather (it's just a good practice). It's about being seen, and that's the part they don't get sometimes. It's easy to point out idiots who don't have their lights on while driving with them and that helps, too.

I think Ontario says lights on if visibility isn't at least 500m, regardless of time , season, weather. TBH, I completely forgot I had DRL until this topic.

I gather my Saturn has them also and one bright summer day I turned my lights ON with the switch then went out of town for a bit .I should mention I had a charger connected to top up the battery. When I got home, another bright day, my neighbors came over to tell my about my haunted Saturn. I guess the battery was going up and down in charge so it's light were doing their own thing.

[Ares]

I keep my lights on 24/7 - when driving.