19.8. How is it permitted to use fog lights at night?
UAЯк дозволено використовувати протитуманні фари в темну пору доби?
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This exam question focuses on nighttime driving safety and the correct use of external lighting devices. At night, mistakes with headlight usage directly affect road visibility and timely detection of obstacles, and can also create danger for oncoming drivers. That is why the traffic rules establish a clear procedure for when and which lights may be used, and this topic often appears in the theoretical exam.
The question tests knowledge of Section 19 of the Traffic Rules of Ukraine, "Use of External Lighting Devices," specifically clauses 19.5 and 19.1. The logic is as follows: at night, the basic mandatory lighting for driving is low or high beam headlights (this is required by clause 19.1), and according to clause 19.5, fog lights at night on unlit road sections are allowed only as an addition to this main lighting. That is, fog lights cannot be the only lights switched on during nighttime driving, because they do not provide the required lighting distance.
When analyzing the answer choices, the correct one is where fog lights are used only together with low or high beam headlights: this directly follows from the wording of clause 19.5 for nighttime and is consistent with the obligation in clause 19.1. The option suggesting the use of fog lights only separately from low beams contradicts the requirements of Section 19 and effectively leaves the vehicle without proper main lighting at night. The option "both separately and together" is correct only for conditions of poor visibility in general, but not for nighttime driving on unlit sections, so within the scope of this exam question, it is considered incorrect.
Practically, this means: at night, fog lights may be switched on to better illuminate the near area of the road in fog, rain, or snowfall, but they only work as an addition to low or high beams. This understanding of the traffic rules helps not only to correctly pass the theoretical exam, but also to avoid dangerous situations and improper use of lighting devices in real driving.
Clause 19.5 (Section 19 "Use of external lighting devices")
"Fog lights may be used in conditions of insufficient visibility either separately or together with low or high beam headlights, and at night on unlit road sections — only together with low or high beam headlights."
Brief application: at night, fog lights cannot be the only lights turned on for driving — they are allowed only as an addition to the low or high beam headlights (especially on unlit road sections), which is exactly what the question checks.
Clause 19.1 (Section 19 "Use of external lighting devices")
"At night and in conditions of insufficient visibility, regardless of the degree of road illumination, the following must be switched on on the vehicle: a) on motor vehicles — low or high beam headlights; ..."
Brief application: at night, the mandatory base is low or high beam headlights; fog lights may be used only together with them, not instead of them.
Clause 1.10 (term "Nighttime")
"Nighttime — the part of the day from sunset to sunrise."
Brief application: the question directly concerns this time interval, when the special requirements of Section 19 regarding the mandatory use of headlights apply.
Clause 1.10 (term "Insufficient visibility")
"Insufficient visibility — road visibility in the direction of travel of less than 300 m in twilight, fog, rain, snowfall, etc."
Brief application: this term is used in clause 19.5 to define the conditions when fog lights may be used (including separately), but at night there is a restriction — only together with low or high beam headlights.
That is, the correct answer is "Only together with low or high beam headlights," given that clause 19.5 directly establishes that at night (on unlit sections) fog lights may only be used together with low or high beam headlights, and clause 19.1 additionally requires the mandatory use of low or high beam headlights at night.
At night, the driver is required to provide sufficient road illumination with the standard headlights, that is, to turn on the low or high beam. This is a basic requirement for safe driving at night, because fog lights alone do not provide the necessary lighting range and cannot replace the main headlights.
Clause 19.5 of the Traffic Rules of Ukraine specifically regulates the use of fog lights. It allows their use in various conditions of poor visibility, but makes a clear clarification for nighttime on unlit sections: fog lights may only be used together with low or high beam headlights. That is, at night they serve only as an addition to the main lighting, not as an independent mode.
Imagine this situation: you are driving at night outside the city where there are no streetlights, or you encounter fog. Fog lights can help better illuminate the road surface closer to the car, but in order to see the road at a sufficient distance and react to obstacles in time, the low or high beam headlights must be turned on. That is why the rules do not allow driving at night using only fog lights.
Therefore, the correct answer is "Only together with low or high beam headlights," since according to clause 19.5, at night fog lights are allowed only as additional lighting and cannot be used separately from the main headlights.