Can I Leave My Rear Fog Lights On?

Driving in the fog can be a stressful experience. Fog can obscure your view of the road and other passing vehicles. It doesn’t help that other inclement weather can also affect your view of the road. Thankfully, rear fog lights exist to make it much easier for other drivers to see your vehicle.

What Is a Rear Fog Light?

Fog lights aid drivers during low-visibility situations like heavy rains, dust storms, and, of course, fog. They work in tandem with regular headlights and taillights. Front-facing fog lights help drivers see the road by illuminating the ground underneath the fog. They’re mounted lower than typical headlights and angled towards the ground. They also have a sharp cutoff at the top of their designs to prevent light from the fog lights from reflecting off the fog. Rear fog lights work in a similar manner.

While front-facing fog lights tend to be yellow or white, rear fog lights are more often red like your brake lights. Rear fog lights allow other drivers to see your vehicle and take note of your braking patterns while driving in low-visibility conditions.

Rear fog lights can be activated by a flick of your headlight switch. Some vehicles require you to have your headlights in a certain position first before activating the rear fog lights. Activating your rear fog light might differ slightly from vehicle to vehicle. Check your owner’s manual to find out how to activate yours.

Why Is It Dangerous To Leave Rear Fog Lights On?

It’s generally a bad idea to keep your fog lights on during calmer weather. This goes double for rear fog lights. Because of their high-intensity lights, rear fog lights are far more distracting during calm weather. Not only are they blinding, they also diminish the effect of your brake lights. If a rear fog light grabs the attention of the driver behind you, they might not notice right away if you’ve signaled to stop. This can lead to accidents on the road.

When To Use Rear Fog Lights

You should only use your high-intensity rear fog lights when visibility is only until 100 meters or less. This can be during storms or when you’ve been engulfed in fog. Remember to turn your rear and front fog lights off once visibility improves.

Types of Rear Fog Lights

Rear fog lights are typically red, and they come either in red bulbs behind clear lenses or red lenses with a clear bulb. At times, rear fog lights utilize both a red bulb and a red lens.

Of course, other than the basic construction, there are a number of types of rear fog lights out there for different vehicle makes and models. Depending on your vehicle, rear fog lights might have come as stock or as an add-on.

Where To Buy Rear Fog Lights

You can have your dealer install rear fog lights on your vehicle provided there’s an official set of fog lights available for your vehicle. There are also aftermarket options that you can buy online and install yourself. If you have an SUV or a truck, your vehicle might even have the grills needed to make attaching the lights easier. If you’re only looking to purchase replacement rear fog lights online, you can also pay between $50 and $90.

Rear fog lights do an excellent job at cutting through the fog and rain to warn other vehicles of your presence. Just remember not to keep them on all the time to avoid blinding other drivers and potentially causing an accident.