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The enquirer who's just started using fog lights when it's raining is breaking the law unless visibility is seriously reduced, which the Highway Code suggests is less than 100 metres (328 feet):
226 You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet).
You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 236).
236 You MUST NOT use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced (see Rule 226) as they dazzle other road users and can obscure your brake lights. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves.
When it's raining, approaching a car with its front fog lights on can dazzle you, but the effect is far worse coming up behind a car with its rear fog(s) on, even when it's dry - at worst, you can be nearly blinded, especially if your windscreen hasn't been cleaned for a while, and/or you have a heated windscreen with its fine wire element showing (until recently basically Fords, soon to be more widespread I believe). As the Highway Code notes, you can also miss brake lights going on, depending upon the car's rear lighting configuration. At best, you get unpleasant eye strain, especially if you're stationary behind the vehicle in a traffic queue.
That must all sound like a statement of the obvious to experienced/careful drivers, but it's depressingly common to find thoughtless drivers using fogs unnecessarily - and illegally. If only there were still police around to stop them. Rant over.
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