[Parump]

I would very much like to encourage BMWNA to consider making available the following options available for E46 sedans in the North American market. If you agree with these recommendations, please indicate your support by submitting a response. If we can achieve at least one hundred responses, perhaps they will incorporate these changes into future model years.

1. Rear Fog Lamps: a standard option in European E46's, a serious omission for cars shipped to North America. Every year, needless lives are lost because of fog obscuring car visibility. PLEASE include this life saving feature at minimum as an option for us.

2. Shoulder Belt for the Rear Middle Passenger: California passed a law this year mandating the use of booster seats for children weighing up to sixty pounds or six years of age. Often, it is blunt head trauma occurring within the passenger cabin that causes a fatality. A booster seat placed adjacent to the door is much more dangerous than one located in the center position. PLEASE include a shoulder belt with the middle, rear seat in future E46 sedans (already standard on the Touring model) to enable placement of a booster seat.

Thanks to all who support these suggestions!

 

[legend700]

In a country where most drivers think it is cool to have fog lights on all the time, the rear ones are very annoying when put on unneccessarily. I think Volvos and Jaguars have them here and I found myself following them and being distracted by their brightness in clear wheather.
Never thought three people fit comfortably in the back of a 3 series. An extra belt couldn't hurt I guess.

 

[Parump]

This is a valid criticism of some drivers who illuminate the front fog lamps indiscriminately. However, BMW engineers have anticipated this by wiring two circuits for the front and rear fog lamps, each with a separate switch. I believe that this clever engineering design will reduce the inappropriate use of the rear fog lamp if included in E46's shipped to North America.

Do you agree?

 

[alee]

In a country where most drivers think it is cool to have fog lights on all the time, the rear ones are very annoying when put on unneccessarily. I think Volvos and Jaguars have them here and I found myself following them and being distracted by their brightness in clear wheather.

Rear fogs are extremely useful. While I agree the annoyance factor is very high on vehicles using rear fogs on a clear night, education is the key here.

I've never taken delivery of a car with a rear fog, but I don't envision the sales advisor explaining the rear fog and showing people what it looks like. They probably just say "this is the front fog, this is for the rear fog... now let's talk about the extended warranty".

Properly used, rear fogs are a lifesaver.

 

[legend700]

This is a valid criticism of some drivers who illuminate the front fog lamps indiscriminately. However, BMW engineers have anticipated this by wiring two circuits for the front and rear fog lamps, each with a separate switch. I believe that this clever engineering design will reduce the inappropriate use of the rear fog lamp if included in E46's shipped to North America.

Do you agree?

If used properly I agree that rear fog lights add to safer driving. The two switch design would contribute to that.

 

[Scotes]

I would love to have a rear fog on my 325Ci and I think they should be standard equipment on every car. Not something I gave a lot of thought to until I was driving in some pretty thick stuff and realized that as long as I could see the lights of the car ahead of me I knew I wasn't going to hit him.

I do agree that education with them is the key though - otherwise there will be plenty of idiots driving with them on all the time. Then again how many problems/accidents are caused by drivers not paying attention to what they should have learned when getting their liscense.

As for the rear shoulder belt in the middle I though I had that already. I probably just assumed that all of the belts were shoulder belts as they should be so that is also a good idea.

Something to add... There was a thread a couple of days back either here or on bimmer.org about daytime running lights. A link to an organization against them noted that one thing DRLs did was reduce accidents at night caused by people forgetting to turn their lights on. I think BMW, and all other manufacturers, should make automatic lights standard and not a premium option as it is now. That would be a perfect medium between not having them on when not needed and on when needed in low light - ie. rain - many people never bother to turn their lights on even though conditions warrent it yet an auto feature would turn the on for them.

 

[ff]

If it's foggy enough to need rear lamps, then:

1) You shouldn't be out driving

-or-

2) You should be driving slow enough that you have enough room to stop if you come up a car in front of you that's moving slower that yourself.


Actually, #2 is valid in any type of weather/conditions. If they started putting these on cars here in the states, I wonder how many people would start aiming them up high in order to tick off people that are behind them? Maybe pop in some higher powered bulbs to really drive home the point. This IS America.....

 

[alee]

2) You should be driving slow enough that you have enough room to stop if you come up a car in front of you that's moving slower that yourself.

Unfortunately, that is no insurance policy for me, esp. when the driver behind me thinks he has x-ray vision and charges at me from the rear in rotten visibility.

I think the extra safety benefit of rear fogs is warranted, but again, the real obstacle is educating the proper use of them.

 

[Scotes]

If it's foggy enough to need rear lamps, then:

1) You shouldn't be out driving

-or-

2) You should be driving slow enough that you have enough room to stop if you come up a car in front of you that's moving slower that yourself.

The point of the rear lamp is to be able to see the person ahead of you so that you can ascertain how much room to leave between you and them. If it's night and in-fog visibility of a car ahead of you is 20ft w/o lights, 100ft with regular taillights, and 250ft with a rear fog (all arbitrary numbers...) I'll go with the rear fogs. Unfortunately for me I've not been able to plan when I was going to run into a fog bank - SoCal weather can be that way - so saying one shouldn't be out driving is does not always work well as a solution.

 

[ayn]

Rear fogs are extremely useful. While I agree the annoyance factor is very high on vehicles using rear fogs on a clear night, education is the key here.

I've never taken delivery of a car with a rear fog, but I don't envision the sales advisor explaining the rear fog and showing people what it looks like. They probably just say "this is the front fog, this is for the rear fog... now let's talk about the extended warranty".

Properly used, rear fogs are a lifesaver.

I went with my friend to Houston to take delivery of his S4, and the sales dude never told us when to use the rear fog light or how it looks like when turned on.

the S4 also has a real seat belt in the middle.

--Andrew

 

[Parump]

I am posting an update from the New York Times front page regarding the issue of safety and rear fog lamps. My point is simply that the more responses received, the greater the likelihood of BMWNA offering rear fog lamps as option in future models. Please take a few moments to read this article and post a response.

Thank you for your consideration.


Parump




March 14, 2002
Dozens of Autos Pileup on Georgia Highway
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:50 p.m. ET


RINGGOLD, Ga. (AP) -- Four people were killed on a foggy interstate highway Thursday in a 125-vehicle pileup that left a half-mile trail of mangled cars and trucks, authorities said.

Thirty-nine people were reported injured, 15 of them seriously.

``I heard a big truck screeching. I heard a crash. I heard another crash and then another crash. I just heard crash after crash. I heard people screaming,'' said Debbie Grant, who lives near Interstate 75 in northwestern Georgia, close to the Tennessee line.

The accident happened when a southbound tractor-trailer crossed the median, and slammed into several northbound vehicles. Dozens of other drivers plowed into the pile. It wasn't clear why the truck jumped the median, the state patrol said.

The wrecks involved vehicles in all lanes of the interstate, though the four fatalities were in the northbound lanes. Thousands of commuters use I-75 to reach Chattanooga from their northwest Georgia homes.

``It was so foggy I don't have a clue what happened. I'm alive for some reason. I couldn't see anything. I couldn't see what was going on,'' said Barbara Truett, who nearly hit a pickup truck.

The wreck happened about 40 miles from the site of a 1990 pileup in Tennessee that killed 12 people. It prompted Tennessee officials to install a fog detection system on the highway that uses overhead warning signs to recommend drivers lower their speed and use alternate routes.

Thursday's accident happened on a stretch of highway that did not have fog lights.

Many vehicles were still entangled by afternoon and two bodies remained trapped in the wreckage. The walking injured were taken to a fire station by school bus.

The southbound lanes were reopened Thursday afternoon, but the northbound lanes would likely be closed until early Friday.

No charges were planned against any drivers. ``It did not appear that there was any fault other than fog,'' Sheriff Phil Summers said.

Jeffrey Woods, 38, said his sport utility vehicle ricocheted off a tractor-trailer and under another 18-wheeler.

``I had a bunch of blood flowing from my head,'' Woods told the Huntsville (Ala.) Times. ``I crawled through the window. I was concerned about anything exploding. I could smell diesel.''

Roger Lee said his pickup slammed into the pileup, leaving him with a sprained arm and a black eye. ``You're on the interstate. You don't ever imagine that everything is going to stop,'' he said.