Whether you’re on a road trip or just your daily commute, you may find yourself suddenly driving in fog. It can come on very unexpectedly, and it can reduce visibility to almost nothing. It doesn’t feel as inherently dangerous as a snowstorm or a severe thunderstorm, but it can be just as problematic.
Unfortunately, people sometimes make mistakes when driving in fog that increase their odds of an accident. To help keep you from making consequential missteps, here are some tips to keep in mind while you’re behind the wheel in foggy conditions.
Don’t use your high beams
First of all, people will often flip on the high beams when they’re trying to increase visibility. But this doesn’t work in the fog because the high beams just illuminate the water particles and make it more difficult to see. You should turn on your low beams and taillights, or you can use your fog lights or running lights instead.
Slow down
As with any inclement weather conditions, you’ll also want to adjust your speed for those conditions. In the fog, it’s usually a good idea to slow down and maintain longer following distances. If something unexpected occurs ahead of you, you’ll have more time to react, even though your visibility isn’t as good as usual.
Move to the side if you have to stop
In some cases, people will drive into a bank of fog, immediately worry about crashing into another car, and decide that they’re going to stop and wait for the fog to clear. They just think that it is too dangerous to keep driving.
But if you come to a stop in a travel lane, even with your flashers on, you could simply be creating an extraordinary hazard for drivers behind you. You are now at risk of being rear-ended by someone who can’t see your car at all. That’s why it’s often best to keep moving slowly or, if you think you have to stop, to pull as far as you can off to the side of the road. Even better is to stop and wait in a parking lot.
These tips can help, but you can also see how weather conditions can cause severe accidents. If you have suffered injuries caused by another driver’s negligence in poor conditions, be sure to seek legal guidance accordingly.