Mark Hughes said that pilots cannot override reported weather from ATC. That is incorrectinmy view. Every company I have worked for has encouraged pilots to use their own judgement of visibility etc from the takeoff point. It is a completely different perspective to that of ATC.
Couldn't agree more... we sit in our towers in elevated positions, usually half way down the runway and outside the obstacle clearance fan and do our best to report overall conditions using instruments that maybe measuring conditions in yet another different location, but we don't have an accurate picture of what it is actually like on the ground, at the threshold. The Crew are "Johnny on the spot" and usually have a much clearer picture of what the actual conditions are, and being at the pointy end (and usually the first on the scene at an accident!) have a significantly higher vested interest in getting it right.