Winter is Back -Tips To Drive in Fog & Bad Visibility

• Fazal Wahab


• 26 Dec 2022

 

Winter is here, and the possible daily foggy conditions are as well. Every other day you might read or watch news about prevailing fog conditions. Fog is a hazardous weather roadway condition and has caused the loss of numerous precious lives across the country, especially in the provinces of Punjab and KPK, every year. It’s always recommended to stay away from the road in low visibility unless it’s very urgent. There are a few tips that everyone should follow to remain safe. Remember, these are just tips and should not be taken as a guarantee.

Some Tips to Drive in Fog

Any unnecessary movement on the roads should be avoided at all costs. If in case you need to travel, make sure you ;

• Check up-to-date weather by following TV news and radio.
• For major highway and motorway conditions reported by NHMP, Click here > Travel Advisory. 
• Fog Update from National Weather Forecasting Centre, Click > Highways  .
• Fog Update from National Weather Forecasting Centre, Click > Motorways
• Or dial 130 and get connected with National Highway Motorway Police for updates.
• Avoid Distracted driving. It is dangerous in normal driving conditions, so it is just multiplying the danger in foggy weather. It’s a NO-NO.
• Everyone in the vehicle must restrain themselves using seat belts, including the rear seat passengers. Well, this is a must regardless of weather conditions.
• Try to avoid traveling in foggy conditions. Fog is not a fun situation; it is a serious weather condition. As you know, it gets foggy in the late evenings and early mornings; try planning your trip accordingly.
• The most neglected advice. driving fast instead of slow. Please drive slowly. People think they are on a motorway, so the road is wide open. Yes, sir, the road is wide open, but you don’t have radars and autopilot. This is the main reason you see serious accidents and multi-vehicle pile-ups every year.

Using Head & Tail lights in Fog

• Make sure your car exterior lighting is in full working condition, including headlights and tail lights. Also, if you have fog lights, use them. FOG lights both at the front and rear are recommended. Don’t use any light fixtures on the back, which blinds the following-up vehicles. There is nonsense behavior among specific individuals who use HID at the rear end and cause problems for other drivers. Globally, the approved fog light color for the rear end is bright red and light intensity more than the regular brake light.
• Please drive with low beams. Driving with a high beam will only blind you more as the lights reflect from the fog.
• Again, I will press on the fact that HID in your cars will further deteriorate your visibility as scattered light from your headlight will bounce in every other direction, getting reflected from fog and creating a white screen at the front. Many people get extra bright and put HID in fog lights. If an HID bulb doesn’t belong in headlight, it does not belong in the fog light. Fog lights are below headlights and close to the roadway, and the purpose is the lit up the edge of the road. The fog lights have a cut-off wide and low, and one reason is to lit the area closer to the driver and on the edge of the car. The HID in fog ultimately kills the purpose of the fog light. Please have some sense and respect another motorist.
• Use road markings to help guide you. As marking is more pronounced on motorways, keeping with the edge of the road or center lane marking will be easy. Please be vigilant and look at the front for any vehicle upfront. On urban roads and GT roads, be very careful as every other moving thing is on the road, rickshaws, bicycles, scooters, and so on. So drive slow to have enough reaction time in case an alien appears from nowhere.
• Don’t tailgate, which means driving close bumper to other vehicles in front. Keep a safe following distance and keep the next car in your sight. There is no need to drive fast to catch him. You never know; he might be slow or stopped ahead. Once you drive in fog, you lose orientation means you don’t know the surroundings, so it is tough to imagine how fast you are going. Many pile up happens just because of this.
• Yes, the music is good, but the road and prevailing conditions need your attention. Keep the music low, or the best is to switch it off so that you can judge your surroundings and listen to other vehicles or any horn from other cars.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

• • I know it’s freezing cold, but your life is also vital. Open windows an inch, and also keep the “Recirculating function”/ button on your heater/ climate control in the off position. The reason is to eliminate the condensation and fog building up inside your car. Once your windows are closed, and you press the Recirculate button, the temperature differential between in and out of the car increases, and condensation happens; hence you have fog outside and inside your car on your windows. Wiping it off with tissue will only make it worse. So don’t let it happen in the first place.
  • There is no need to overtake and do lane changes. Just drive slowly and clear the foggy area. Yes, you think driving fast makes you feel that you have made an achievement. But you didn’t; it’s careless behavior.
  •  Leave a safe braking distance between you and the vehicle ahead. Don’t stop in the middle of the road. If you have difficulty driving, try moving slowly toward the shoulder of the road. Watch out for other stopped or moving vehicles around you. It’s always better to stop at the petrol pump or service area rather than standing on the side of the road.
  • Sometimes there are clear patches among foggy areas. Driver speed up but then caught up again in the fog, thus becoming a cause of serious accidents. Please drive slowly and carefully until you are entirely out of foggy areas.
  •  Everywhere in the world, it’s recommended to use Hazard light/ Double indicators only when you are stopped. The purpose of hazard lights is to inform other drivers that your car has stopped. In many countries, it’s inappropriate to use it while going through the fog. In Pakistan, it became a trend to use hazard lights while going through the fog, a dangerous and wrong trend. Driver’s education is needed in this respect. Follow Motorway/ Highway officials’ directions in this regard.
  • If you get into an accident, leave the roadway immediately, even away from the shoulder and far from the accident spot and your vehicle, until the rescue arrives. This is important so you can remain safe from any chain reaction accident. If possible, switch on the hazard lights.
  • Be patient, remain calm, cover the obstacle safely, and not become part of another statistic in the news.

  Remember! Better Late Than Never. DRIVE SLOW or, preferably abandon your travel plans.