Driving in fog can be dangerous, mainly if you don’t implement significant road safety precautions to avoid mishaps. Hence, implementing some basic rules is essential so you can arrive safely.
With more robotic safety practices being added to cars, it’s easy to overlook the easy measures, but it can later cause you trouble. As a result, no matter how experienced you consider yourself, it’s critical to remain alert and focused and maintains total concentration – because traveling in the haze is similar to driving blindly. Obey our top ten tips to keep you and your car safe in fog:
Ease Up
When clarity is restricted, you will have less chance to respond to other automobiles and nearing road curves, so slowing down to a reasonable pace will give you more time to prevent any hazardous situations. Lessen your speed gradually; slamming on the brakes, if you hit a dense patch of fog, the traffic behind will not provide you a warning, and they may collide with you.
Make Use of Your Fog lights
Every car comes standard with at least one back fog light, and many come with front fog lights. Before embarking on a trip, double-check that you know where the fog light circuit is located in your vehicle. Switch them on as soon as you see fog, as they will make your vehicle more noticeable than it would be with just its regular lights. Although fog lights are supposed to be used only when clarity is less than 100 meters, your insurance may be disproved if you don’t use them and have a mishap.
Make Sure Your Headlights Are Turned On
It may seem self-evident, but more cars are equipped with automatic lighting, so you can merely turn the lights on automatically. However, because the lights will only turn on when the outer light falls below a certain threshold, they may not turn on if you drive through a fog surface during the day. Also, in case of emergency, keep the car wreck injuries kit with you. If you indulge in an accident, it’ll provide you immediate aid.
Utilize Headlights Dipped Beams
One of the most important factors to consider when traveling in blurry weather is never switching off your headlights.
The cause for this is clear. If the fog is thick, your high beams will most likely be the only element approaching drivers can see from a length. However, when driving in fog, avoid using high beams. Because fog specular reflection back to you, using increased or full beam, no matter how tempting it may be, will decrease your clarity even more and make the situation painful for you and other drivers.
Maintain Your Distance
This is one of the most basic security precautions for driving in the fog that everyone should be conscious of.
If you’ve ever driven in fog, you’ll realize that most people depend on the car’s rear lights because there’s no other way to manage in such conditions. The main drawback of this method is that you will never know when that car will come to a halt. What occurs if they unexpectedly slam on the brakes while you’re pursuing them closely? Or, given that fog can make roads smooth and slippery, you can engage in a disastrous collision.
Hence, rather than the standard two-second difference between your car and the one in front, have at least a three-second difference to allow yourself more opportunity to respond if they unexpectedly slow down or make an unexpected maneuver.
Maintain the Cleanliness of Your Windows
Everyone should, without mentioning, but you should inspect your mirrors often while driving safely in a haze. This road safety mechanism can be complicated when you are blanketed in a thick layer of fog, but keep checking your wing mirrors to ensure no other cars are nearby.
Because slowing down is recommended in such seasonal changes, you should always be prepared for other, inexperienced drivers to surpass your vehicle, considering the low exposure. Inspecting your mirrors will keep you from being caught off guard. If a car comes too close to yours, strike the horn instantly to prevent collisions.
And since humidity can form in your car’s windows due to poor visibility, use your windscreen wipers and specify your car’s heater to demist to preserve the inside of the windscreen transparent. Leave the heater on a warm configuration, as this will assist the demist feature work more effectively.
Use Your Windscreen Wipers
Do you want to understand how to handle fog on your windshield? Turning on your wipers is the most straightforward answer. Fog humidity can cause light pollution on your windscreen, further affecting your sight and making it difficult to see what’s ahead. Turning on your windshield wipers will not immediately improve your visibility, but a transparent windshield will. Try to keep them on until you reach your place. If you still fail to avoid any accident, go for a whiplash injury treatment immediately.
Use All Senses
Because fog lessens accessibility, you must depend on your other sensations to stay safe.
As previously stated, instead of focusing too much on the vehicle next to you, switch off your stereo and lower the window to hear voices on your route. Because you can’t see what’s in front, listen for the noises of other vehicles going nearby or the car horns of a highway police vehicle, which are frequently activated to mentor drivers on roadways. This will help you decide how congested the street is and how near other automobiles are.
If you have passengers in your car, request them to be silent and concentrate on the noises outside too.
Don’t Cling To the Rear Lights of another Vehicle
Using the rear lights of the vehicle in front of you to make your way across a blurry road not only prevents you from focusing on what else is going on around you, but it can also be risky. Hence, it is better to avoid such a mess.
Postpone Your Trip
As with any other major weather situation, only drive if necessary; if you can work remotely or reschedule a family trip for another day, do so instead of jeopardizing a mishap. Even if you’re on the road and the weather worsens, consider stopping for a pause at a service station or cafeteria or on a longer route, whether you should dedicate the night to a hotel and proceed the next day.
Turn Off Your Rear Lights When Fog Is Reduced
Turn off your fog lights once the weather improves. If the weather isn’t severe or your vehicle is parked, it’s illegal to distract other vehicles with fog lights, and you could be penalized.
Conclusion
If the blurriness becomes too much for you or you become panicked, lift over to the roadside and switch on your high beams. Fog is expected in the early hours of the morning and dissipates once the sun rises. If you’re driving at night in exceedingly heavy fog, you may need to take continuous pauses to relax your eyes.
To summarize, even if you’ve been driving for a long time and think yourself a skilled, don’t overrate your abilities when driving in fog, as it can be unsafe for you and others on the street.
