When heavy showers affect road visibility, motorists should turn on their vehicles’ headlamps to see the road ahead. While newer cars may come with factory-fitted fog lights, using them indiscriminately is actually an offence!

Here are some FAQs about fog lamps:

(1) The fog lamps should bear approved markings to show that they have met internationally recognised standards such as those adopted in the countries of the European Union, Japan and the United States.

(2) The front fog lamps must cast a white or yellow light. They must be installed not more than 400mm from the sides of the vehicle and at least 600mm apart from each other. They should also be located below the headlights and at least 250mm above the road surface.

(3) The rear fog lamp mounted on a vehicle can be a single unit or a matched pair. The rear fog lamp must cast a red light and be located between 250mm and 1,000mm above the road surface. The distance between the rear fog lamp and each stop lamp must be greater than 100mm.

(4) The front fog lamps can only be switched on if the front and rear position lamps are switched on. The rear fog lamps can only be switched on when the front headlamps are switched on.

(5) There should be separate switches in the vehicle for the headlamps and fog lamps.