Illegal Foglights

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:13 am

Well this is a first for me and something I got to admit I have been having fun with to scare tailgaters.

I got told off by our local Police Officer that running with my tail foglights on is actually illegal in New Zealand.

Yes illegal! Situation was I was heading off the mountain and it was 10-100m visibility most of the way down. Being the cautious driver on goes the Headlights and oh look I reckon this is covered by Foglight conditions to? Of course on the way down I caught up with a dork without lights on (nothing unusual in that) driving dead slow and because another dork probably would come up the hill no way was I passing. Meantime my mate the copper catches up with us.

The problem is rear foglights are not required to be fitted on New Zealand Vheicles as crazy as it seems. He gave me grief about driving down with my brakes on all the way

Until I told him they were foglights

Which brings me to my favorite tailgater manauver

Because the Kiwis dont see rear foglights they instinctively think they are Brake Lights. Pretty good because whilst I scare the poo out of them by "thinking" I am braking. I drop down a gear and pull away

Quite chuffed today on my journey once got out of the cloud and lost my police escort! I actually got 165kph on a straight before I had to slam on the anchors for a 65KPH bend. Got so used to driving at 100kph with twisty roads it was such a buzz to hit 100mph for just 1 Km

Helps also to know the Only cop in the district is behind you.

Someways I was thinking how dumb its not to have foglights considering we do get some good fogs but in others glad because people forget to turn them off. Then again I work in a changable enviroment where people dont bother to even turn headlights on.

Post by **docchevron** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:30 am

It's actually illegal over here to use fogs when visibility is over, er, oh i duno, some distance or other...

I use the same trick though, if I'm in the car and some chav knob is trying to climb into the tailgate I stick the fogs on, 99 times out of 100 they back off.

Of course when I'm in the bus (assuming I've got nobody on-board of course) I just yank the park brake on...Seeing the smoke in the rear view mirror is always good fun!!

Cheers
Chris G

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:11 am

And thats one of the reasons I miss the UK sometimes

Looked over a aussie import Ford and they are not fitted on them! Just wondering if Ford have finally fitted a "Off" switch for the European Fords yet?

cauchoiskev · Post by **cauchoiskev** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:53 am

docchevron1472 wrote: I use the same trick though, if I'm in the car and some chav knob is trying to climb into the tailgate I stick the fogs on, 99 times out of 100 they back off.

True, but 1 time out of 100...

A helpful neighbour gave me that fog-light tip just after I got my license (many moons ago).

One night I was driving on a pitch-dark road, empty except for me... and the plonka who was tailgating me. I'm talking about a one-yard job. I waited for a few miles for him to overtake, but no, he just stayed there.

So, going into a bend, I didn't brake, but flashed the fogs. This worked : he dropped back a few yards. Then...

Then he came screaming past me. I glanced over and saw a hate-filled furious ugly mug staring at me. Uh-oh. He pulled in in front of me, missing the wing by inches, and jumped - and I really mean jumped - on the brakes.

Luckily, I was on my guard (although no way I was expecting that) and managed to avoid him. A few seconds later he tried the same trick again, but I had had the time to back off a bit.

Conclusion : I wouldn't recommend the fog light trick.

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:21 am

I would. Many years back now I`ve got some complete w*nker in a Granada right up my arse (ooh err missus) on the M53 and the traffic in the nearside lane was bumper to bumper. Accelerated to 80 but was that enough? Oh no, siad w*nkers is right on my tail flashing his headlights. Now, I`m usually fairly mild mannered but that was it: I flicked the fog light switch to `on` in my Cortina then flicked the lights on as quick as I could.
F*ck me Mr Granada hit the brakes and used every last bit of his ABS and was crapping himself.
He followed me off the motorway and was waving his mobile phone round like a loon and then gesticulated at me with the old `reverse Winston` sign.
At that point he was stuck in a bit of traffic by a roundabout and what little sense of humour I had left me completely. I got out and chased the f*cker down the road before realising what a prize plonker I looked like legging it after a Frod Granada.

DavidRutherford · Post by **DavidRutherford** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 12:59 am

docchevron1472 wrote:It's actually illegal over here to use fogs when visibility is over, er, oh i duno, some distance or other...

Legal for use ONLY in visibility of under 100 yards, or during falling snow.

/highway code lesson for the day

Post by **docchevron** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 3:47 am

Being a "professional" driver, I obviousley knew that David!!!

Er....... I'll get me coat....

Cheers
Chris G

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 7:57 pm

Legal for use ONLY in visibility of under 100 yards, or during falling snow.

Sure thats not metres now

I work on a ski area in the winter and most people dont even turn the lights on

Nothing worse than coming down the mountain to see a dark shadow in front of you

but then again most are so wary of the snow they have the Brake Lights on (as good as Fogs) all the way down. Trouble is you dont follow them on a misssed corner

Post by **docchevron** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:05 pm

We're still feet and inches mate, despite Europe's best efforts!

I'll always count in yards / feet / imches and drink OPints of beer. Legal or otherwise.

The pound rules too, the Euro, pfft.

Cheers
Chris G

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:42 pm

Erm the anti European view huh?

Funny this NZ is a British Colony and like its island neighbour Australia we are using Metric quite happily. But the funny thing is occassionally the old Feet and inches comes in when for example you order building materials. Ends up being a combination of usage.

What does bug me is the amount of American spelling coming into the country with the use of computers not being set to regional settings

Same thing I believe is happening in the UK as well?

The other annoyance is keyboards, try finding one over here with a Pound sign on it? The only one we have my parents brought over from the UK with them. That feeling of a USA takeover is probably stronger and more covert than the European takeover.

Start worrying when Mr Blair mentions replacing the pound with the Dollar

Yet we hate Europe but we drive a French Car

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:38 pm

Mr Blair and his band of dishonest followers wanted the Euro here and many calculators and other devices have Euro keys - but the Danes and a few others had referenda and threw the idea out and being the courageous bloke Blair is he conveniently forgot the idea and retrospectively changed his view and started wooing George Bush. We all know where that has landed us - but don't yet understand its full cost. He is now trying to claim that this wasn't his idea either!

Post by **docchevron** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 1:23 am

The entire Nu-Liar government is full of lying, self-obsessed, spin controlled yes men (and wimmin).

Nope, I shall never be european, I am BRITISH, and bloody proud of it!

They can stick the euro and the dollar. Pounds, pence, feet, inches and pints, till the day I die!

Don't get me started on Nu-Liar, I'll happily spend all day pointing out how far they've gone to f*ck this country up.

Rant over, for now....

Cheers
Chris G

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 3:08 am

Why you think I moved to New Zealand

My European Union passport is due to expire in a year and I have not yet paid out the nz$1000 each for my wife and I to hold Kiwi Passports.
I dont hear very often brits complaining about Europe when they hold a European passport and driving licence allowing then to travel in any European country without Visa or permits? especially on the way to Spain

Heck if I moved to Europe I could have driven on the wrong side of the road without changing my Drivers Licence

Yet it New Zealand you must change it within a year of first entering and guess what! You have to sit and pay $80 (30 quid) for a theory test to change it.

Heres the cruncher! If you have already visted New Zealand and plan to come back for another holiday your overseas licence is invalid. Technically making you a unlicensed driver.

Four years out here and my attitude has changed a lot! New Zealand has some bloody irritating policys but then again we were dumped on by the British Goverment in favour of Europe. Yet despite that we still hold on to the Queen being our Monarch and kicked up merry hell when a proposal to change our flag was initiated.

I am in contact with a lot of Eropean and British visitors and well I work with a lot of ex pats and a lot of preconcieved idea and attitudes have been dumped. Guess its because I am now part of the Pacific Community?

Post by **docchevron** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:40 am

Believe me matey, if I could get health insurance over there, oh, and a job(!) I'd be off to NZ or Oz tomorrow.

England has died. I'm no royalist, hate the government (and yes, I always vote, so I've got the right to moan, especially since I didn't vote for TB or his cronies), and everywhere you look here now it's full of alco-pop drinking L&B smoking smack heads, vermin and gutter scum.

BTW, I guess you all know that TONY BLAIR PM is an anagram of I'M TORY PLAN B ??

Cheers
Chris G

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:46 am

I understood that New Zealand ceased to be a colony many years ago - and apart from having the Queen as a head of state - was in the same position India, Canada and Australia.

Europe sounds wonderful with silly subsidies for this and that unnecessary project - till you realise that there are 3 contributor nations only - which is something our politicians conveniently forget to tell us. Still so far it has been effective in preventing war - but will that last when its realised that the Northern countries are paying for the Southern - let's hope everyone's so thick it doesn't happen in my lifetime.