Be careful when driving a car while the weather is misty and foggy
Posted on: 22/Nov/2016 5:56:31 PM
Immediately after the onset of the winter season, it is rather a common occurrence of traffic congestions created by dense fog in the early mornings.
It is again a serial event for more accidents to occur during this period and vehicles colliding one behind the other.
It is always advisable to be more cautious while driving in the foggy environment. Here is a list of things to remember and follow regarding this.
Avoid driving - When it is severely foggy, better avoid driving. If already driving in foggy conditions, park the vehicle in a safe place. Never park the vehicle at roadsides or in risky locations. You can start or resume driving after the foggy conditions abate.
Use low-beam in the headlights - If the trip is an emergency, switch on the low beam on the headlights of the vehicle while driving. However, during severe foggy conditions the ups and downs and the speed-breakers will not be clearly visible.So, in order to make the path visible, keep the mist-lights on.
Never switch on high-beam - Keeping the high-beam on the headlights is always quite risky. In the dense fog, high-beam lights get reflected. So, they would cause a glare affecting our vision. Also, it will be a hindrance for the vehicles coming in the opposite side.
Avoid driving fast - It is best advised to drive the vehicle with moderate speed in foggy conditions. In other words, drive at a speed 50 percent less than your normal driving speed. This is because there are possibilities that you may fail to note the vehicles that are even nearby. It would be quite difficult to stop the vehicle quite abruptly even when applying the brakes.
Heater - Switch on the heater in the vehicle while driving in foggy conditions. It would be comforting in the cold weather and also help clear the white smoke formed in the windshield and make the road ahead clearly visible.
Strategy - While driving, closely follow the lines drawn on the road. Avoid driving towards one end of the road. Otherwise, it may be risky when the road ahead suddenly narrows down or while crossing the narrow bridges.
Use the indicator - While driving in extremely foggy conditions, keep the indicator lamps on. This would help the other vehicles with better visibility. Whenever it is not needed, switch off the indicator lamps and the fog-lights. During less foggy conditions, they may be irritating to the drivers of the other vehicles.
Sufficient Gap - Leave sufficient gap with the vehicle ahead of your vehicle. Avoid talking on cell phones while driving. Focus on the driving and the road ahead.
Music System - It is also advisable to keep the music system off. It will help better focus on the driving and the road ahead and also be cautious and safe when other vehicles tend to overtake.
Focus - Especially while driving on unfamiliar routes/roads, keep extra focus on driving. There is always the danger of failing to recognize the bends ahead or where the road narrows down resulting in mishaps.
Avoid drunken driving - It is best not to drive at all in drunken state. Also, when feeling tired, avoid driving the vehicle especially in foggy conditions.
