From Bottleneck.org
Pea Soup
I was driving in to work the other day in what can be described as a light fog. The headlights of oncoming vehicles passing the street furniture made some rather pretty patterns on the mist, and it crossed my mind that it would be a lovely, but nigh-on impossible, thing to photograph.
So, we reach the motorway, and my passenger Ruth comments on the number of people who are showing their rear fog lights. Having recently passed her driving test, Ruth is quite familiar with the highway code, and pointed out that foglights should be shown when visibility is less than 100m. Since visibility today was getting on for half a mile, she was naturally perplexed as to why so many people had their rear foglight turned on, particularly as she found it quite distracting and dazzling.
The answer is, of course, that they're idiots. Now this doesn't wind me up particularly, I've got used to keeping the bright light out of my direct line of vision, and I've accepted the fact that, at the first hint of a bit of mist, some people will turn on the fog light - because that's what it's for, surely? I've even accepted that fact that, as recently, when visibility is reduced to about 50 meters by a torrential downpour, some people won't turn on their fog light - after all, that's for use in fog, right?
What did get my goat, though, was the car I saw with its front fog lamps turned on. I mean really - were you struggling to see the road?
Now, this morning I was awoken to the sound of foghorns on Southampton Water. Note the subtlety with which that is phrased - I was not awoken by the sound of foghorns, merely to the sound of foghorns - they're not invasive to the extent that they keep you awake, and in fact they're rather a nice, mellow sound, and is one of the reasons I like living here. So it was with no surprise that when I peeled back the curtains this morning I found I could barely see the other side of the street (it seems that the captains of ocean-going container vessels know exactly when it's appropriate to use their fog 'lights'!) As I sipped my morning coffee, content in the knowledge that I had a day off work, and no need to leave the house today, I smiled at the thought of all the happy motorists who will get in their car this morning and punch the fog light button on with great satisfaction - finally, unbeknownst to them, appropriately.