Is it possible to use fog lights instead of low beams during daylight hours?

Good afternoon, dear reader.

This article will review the rules of the road that apply to the use of vehicle headlights and lights in various driving situations.

Lighting devices are designed both to illuminate the road ahead of the car (to avoid collision with an obstacle) and to indicate the car itself (to avoid collision with other vehicles).

Unfortunately, many drivers do not know the rules for using headlights and flashlights, and therefore do not use all the opportunities provided to them.

External car lights

At the beginning of this article, a few words about what external lighting devices a car may have. This information is primarily intended for those who are studying at a driving school and do not yet understand what these or other headlights or lanterns are intended for.

Note. The topic “lighting devices” is one of the most difficult in a driving school, because... It is difficult for a driver candidate who has never driven before to remember the similar names of light devices and the rules for their use.

parking lights

Dimensions are small light devices located approximately at the corners of the car (4 pieces in total). They do not shine very brightly and are primarily designed so that drivers of other cars can understand in the dark where your car begins and ends.

As a rule, the car is designed in such a way that when you turn on the low or high beam headlights, the dimensions turn on automatically. That is, low beam without side lights does not work.

Daytime Running Lights

DRLs are light devices in the front of the car (2 pieces), which shine quite brightly. They are designed to improve visibility of the car from the front during daylight hours.

Daytime running lights should not be used at night because... at night, they can blind oncoming drivers due to their high brightness. However, they do not illuminate the road.

In 2021, most cars are equipped with daytime running lights, but such lights are quite rare on cars manufactured before 2010.

Low and high beam headlights

Low beam (2 bulbs) and high beam (2 bulbs) headlights are the main lighting devices that are designed to illuminate the road in front of the car.

In this case, the low beam illuminates the area directly in front of the car, and the high beam illuminates a more distant area. It makes sense to use low beam at low speeds, high beam at higher speeds.

Fog lights

PTF - 2 headlights in the front bumper of a car, designed to illuminate the road in poor visibility conditions.

Fog lights are optional for 2021, so not all vehicle trim levels have them. That is, the car may not have PTF.

Fog light

Fog light - a red light at the rear of the vehicle, designed to improve visibility of the vehicle in poor visibility conditions. This light device is very bright and in good weather it can blind drivers of cars behind.

This lamp is required to be installed on all cars.

What's happened?

In mid-March 2021, the network was overwhelmed with news that supposedly another change would come into force on April 1: the obligation to turn on headlights during the day in Russia was abolished. There are no references either to the initiators of the bill or to the official documents amending the traffic rules. And the news was spread mainly through Telegram and WhatsApp messengers.

According to the innovation, in our country, from April 1, there is no obligation to turn on headlights during daylight hours - specifically low beam and even daytime running lights. That is, something happened to clause 19.5 of the traffic rules, which reads:

During daylight hours, low-beam headlights or daytime running lights must be turned on on all moving vehicles for the purpose of identifying them.

According to various sources, the new law has the following types:

• According to the change, it is allowed not to turn on low beam headlights during the day only in the summer or snowless seasons - from April 1 to September 30 of each year. The reasoning is simple: in summer the daylight hours are much longer than in winter, therefore there is simply no need to use lighting devices;
• You don’t have to turn on the low beams, but daytime running lights are definitely necessary - a strange statement, in fact, because today, even without changes to the traffic rules, this is prescribed;
• In Russia, headlights on have been completely abolished during the daytime - that is, in any season on any car you can not use external lighting devices (except for turn signals, of course) during the day.

Driving during daylight hours

In good visibility

When driving during daylight hours, the vehicle must have one of the following lights on:

• low beam;
• Daytime Running Lights;
• fog lights;

If the car has all the listed devices, then it makes sense to use DRL. These lights are brighter and use less electricity.

When driving, the following can also be turned on:

• parking lights.

It is prohibited to use:

• fog lamp.

In case of insufficient visibility

One of the following lighting fixtures must be used:

• low beam headlights;
• high beam headlights.

In this case, the main beam cannot be used:

• in populated areas on illuminated roads;
• when oncoming vehicles pass;
• when blinding drivers of passing or oncoming cars.

Additionally, the car may include:

• fog lights;
• fog lamp;
• parking lights;
• Daytime Running Lights.

Note. The rear fog light is specifically designed for use in conditions of poor visibility, but in practice no more than 10 percent of drivers use it. The rest, apparently, do not know the relevant rules.

What are daytime running lights?

A car with daytime running lights attracts much more attention than one without them. It is for this reason that we decided to make changes to the traffic rules.

Daytime running lights have certain advantages over conventional headlights. To operate the headlights, you need electrical energy, which is produced by a generator. While the car is moving, the generator charges the battery due to the high speed of movement. In this situation, the headlights will not require much energy. But if the car has to travel in constant traffic jams and traffic lights, the battery will gradually discharge. And the generator will not have time to recharge the battery. As a result, the load on all enabled devices will be felt.

It will be difficult for an old car to cope with the increased load, and as a result, its battery may simply fail.

Daytime running lights consume less energy than headlight bulbs. In this regard, many car factories began to build DRLs into cars. If we talk about side lights, they are not very bright and therefore are practically invisible. Accordingly, they have no effect. They cannot be used in place of DRLs.

Driving in the dark

One of the following lighting fixtures must be used:

• low beam headlights;
• high beam headlights.

In this case, the main beam cannot be used:

• in populated areas on illuminated roads;
• when oncoming vehicles pass;
• when blinding drivers of passing or oncoming cars.

Additionally you can use:

• fog lights;
• fog lamp (only in case of poor visibility);
• parking lights.

What does the law say on this issue?

The Traffic Rules contain information on this matter. Clause 19.5 states that during the day, low-beam or daytime running lamps must be turned on to indicate vehicles on the highway. The possibility of replacing low-beam headlights with fog lights is strictly stated in clause 19.4. These rules must be followed by all road users.

As a result, we can say that the driver’s car should light up during the day:

• low beam headlights;
• fog lights;
• Daytime Running Lights.

It turns out that Russian legislation clearly states that fog lights can be used during the day. Such actions are not a violation.

Stopping and parking a car

At night on an unlit road

Must be included:

• parking lights.

It is prohibited to use:

• fog lamp.

Other lighting devices can be used.

In case of insufficient visibility (during dark or daylight)

Must be included:

• parking lights.

Other lights, including the rear fog lamp, may be used.

What is written in the traffic regulations about light lights

According to existing legislation that regulates the movement of vehicles, increased standards are provided for driving outside the city from October 1 to May 1. At this time of year and under these conditions, daytime running lights should be lit on vehicles. Their main task is to be able to draw the attention of other cars, pedestrians and cyclists that are moving in the opposite direction.

The use of PTF instead of daytime running lights is strictly prohibited, which domestic motorists should pay attention to. These light structures have completely different purposes, and not just design differences. Fog lights produce a wide beam of light horizontally, but a narrow beam vertically. They are located on the lower part of the bumper and do not blind oncoming drivers.

Daytime driving lights face a completely different task. With their help, a car or other vehicle must be visible to all other road users. For this purpose, the light beam should not shine down, but straight and into the distance. The beam of light is located parallel to the road surface.

Section 19 of the Traffic Regulations speaks in more detail about lighting modes on vehicles. It implies mandatory identification of vehicles during daylight hours using DRLs or headlights with low beam. However, clause 19.4 allows the use of PTF instead of low beam sources in situations that do not provide for any other choice.

Misconceptions that may result in a fine

The rules for using low beam headlights are surrounded by many misconceptions and myths that are limited only by the imagination of motorists. However, many drivers take them as the ultimate truth.

The most popular myths are:

• when driving during the day, you can limit yourself to turning on the side lights, and you can not turn on the headlights at all;
• within the city limits you can move without the low beams on, and you only need to use them on the highway;
• This rule is valid from October 1 to April 30.

Many motorists, under the influence of these myths, often attracted the attention of traffic police. Often they were subject to administrative sanctions in the form of fines.

Article 12.20 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation establishes administrative liability for the improper use of external lighting devices. For driving without low beams, a fine of 500 rubles is provided.

Today, driving with low beam headlights, daytime running lights or fog lights on is mandatory, regardless of the time of year or day.

Can a traffic police officer fine you for PTF instead of DRL?

The above sections of the Highway Code inform all drivers that it is acceptable to use low beam headlights to indicate vehicles. Another clause directly allows replacing such light with anti-fog optics. This automatically means that PTFs can act as daylight sources, if such were not provided by the manufacturer.

To summarize the above, not only the daytime running lights themselves, but also low beams or anti-fog lighting sources can fulfill the purpose of daytime running lights. Another thing is that side lights are not endowed with such powers. They do not have the same brightness, and they operate in a slightly different mode. They usually turn on automatically when the engine starts, and turn off when the headlights are activated.

That's why some car enthusiasts are so eager to modify their vehicles with DRLs. Constant use of low beam will certainly lead to the fact that one of the headlights will soon fail due to a burnt-out bulb, especially if a halogen was installed. However, you cannot use the dimensions if DRLs are not provided or one of them is out of order. Traffic police officers can easily fine an unlucky motorist 500 rubles.

As you can see, DRLs differ from PTF both structurally and in their purpose. At night and when it is simply dark throughout the day, the vehicle stands out on the road with side lights or light from the headlights (depending on the situation: low or high beam). The light provided by the running lights will definitely not be enough to illuminate the road in front of the car. We invite you to share the experience of those who have had stories of communication with traffic police officers regarding the lack of daytime running light sources.

#Traffic rules#Headlights