That is incorrect. They are supposed to throw light out at least 25 ft. If they don't, you need to adjust them properly.
Lots of people seem to think that foglights are useless. Take a flashlight and go stand in front of a mirror. Keep the flashlight flat and eye level, what do you see? Nothing, you are blinded by the reflection. Now take the flashlight and keep it level, but lower it two feet, now what happens? You will still see some light, but it is not an almost direct reflection. This would be my logical reasoning as to why fog lights are low on a car and yes, in theory and application, they do help by not reflecting light directly back at you off of water particles in fog.