Dear ScottN,

May this find you well. A peace officer can issue a ticket, if s/he chooses to do so, just as any of us can be ticketed for being 2 miles/hour over a speed limit. No one wants to have to waste a day going to Court. Sometimes, there's no alternative. I'd guess the risk is low. You'll be able to show the officer that the high beams are separate from the fog lights, simply by: (a) turning off the fog lights and (b) activating high beams.

Several years ago, on a gray and rainy day, I took my car for a state safety inspection. I used the rear fog lights, on both light clusters. The inspector said he could not pass the car: the "upper brake lights" stayed "on". I tried to explain that these were fog lights. He cut-off my effort to explain. (He also noted that the front brake lines were "cracked". Volvo brake lines have a plastic sheath, under which there is a steel liner, inside of which there is a rubber tube. The plastic sheath does not affect the safety of the system.)I left and reported his incompetence to the State Police, who supervise vehicle safety inspectors.

Do as you think best: most peace officers are well-trained and diligent, and have so much to do, that they'll only take action when something is clearly wrong.

Fog lights are entirely legal, for the reason you state: the Department of Transportation has reviewed the system and approved it.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook