this is a question that has plagued me for years: i have hella 500 driving lamps. the box say's "legal for on road use in all 50 states and canada" however, i keep hearing how driving lights are illegal unless wired to high beam only. for those of you who use the hella 500's or any other "driving" (not off road) lights, do you use yours at night when other traffic is around?

 

When I had my old ones on my bumper, I had them pointed down to the road right in front. I only got flashed twice when i had them turned on, and they were on all the time. I never had to use my highbeams because they lit up the road good enough.

It all depends on how you have them positioned. If you have them straight out, you're gonna blind people.

 

Just check your local laws on the amount of accessory lights you can have. I had fog lights in my bumper and driving light and I had them on in a snow storm once, got pulled over and given a large ticket for it. In michigan you can only have 2 lights besides your headlights.

 

right now, they are pointed down, lower than the actual low beams. they are only 55 watt.

 

same law applies here, which i've known for years.

 

i have mine set up straight
and i get flashed all the time
so i only use them on the back roads....

i'm saving for some LED lights to hide in the grill and i'll remove the bumper lights...

 

I use to 55w driving lights tucked in the grill and have them pointing straight out. I have never been flashed with them on but I typically use them in inclement weather or on back roads.

 

i use mine at night but only when im the only one

 

I use to find them pretty useful driving home in the afternoons when it wasn't that dark but I wanted to make sure other cars saw me... on the new truck I just turn on the parking lights and fogs...

 

I use one pair of mine to light up more of the sides of the road, and the other pair to light up a little ligher than my high beams. Of course I only use those when I'm alone on the road. So far, no problems.

 

i have 4 6 inch kc's on the front of mine, 2 in the grille and 2 on the bull bar. i usually run the lights in the grille at night with my high intensity head and fog lights. the kc's in the grille are set up to aim directly where the headlights are aimed and i get flashed non-stop.. i'm starting to see permanent stars all the time.haha

 

thats the way i have mine. i got my hella 500 clear fogs that that i have aimed right at the ground just above the hood from my point of view that i can trun on when my parkings lights are on and i got my hella 500 drivings aimed above my briights wired so they can only turn on with my brights. i wired them that way so when traffic is comminmg at me the long range lights turn off soon as i turn off my high beams. i think i said that right lol

 

When i had my 55's and 130's i got flashed all the time because they where all pointed in the same direction.... up and i have 8000k hids.

 

I have Hella 500 fogs and have them on the stock fog switch. I don't have my stock fogs installed any more since my valence doesn't exist. I get flashed all the time, and I have them mounted facing the ground not far in front of my truck. I've passed inspection (Pennsylvania) with them for the past 4 years, so I wouldn't say they're "illegal".

 

Terry, state statute 169.56 on auxiliary lights states you can use lamps labeled driving lights at anytime provided they are low enough that you are not blinding anyone. Low beam is to light up objects at 100 feet, high beam at 350 feet.(169.60). You can have up to 4 lamps up to 300 candlepower on at one time, including headlamps. (169.63) I have two KC 55 watt lamps up front but I don't use them on local roads. I use them only for off road. Hope this helps.

 

I run my fog lights when ever I am driving. I have often thought about tieing them directly in with the ignition so they come on when the truck is running. However after a bit of reading this seems to be a bigger PITA than its worth.

But it could be 1PM not a cloud in the sky and my fogs are on if I am on the road. I like to make sure people see me.

 

i have hella's and i only run them when im alone at night.

i have them aimed up so they light up farther down the road.

but i know they're bright enough because ive pissed people off during the day.

on the drive from vegas to reno, theres a long stretch of road where they require headlights on all the time, since its a two lane road, and ive had people honk and stuff when i had the hella's on during the day. lol