Follow These 7 Tips to Keep Yourself Safe While Driving through Fog

Even the most confident drivers can get nervous when it comes to driving in foggy conditions. When fog is thick, it can become very difficult to make out much in front of you, which is why it is one of the most dangerous weather conditions for drivers. Fog often causes multi-vehicle pileups and other minor collisions. If possible, you should avoid driving in foggy conditions, but if you can’t, you can take a few key steps to help keep yourself safe, as well as the other people who are out on the road. The important tips to keep in mind include the following:

1. Only use low beam lights.

As your visibility decreases, you may be tempted to use your high beams to help light the way. While this is a good move in most situations, in fog, high beam light reflects off water particles in the air and lessens your visibility even further. Only use your regular headlights.

Many vehicles come equipped with specialized fog lights or lamps. Determine if you have these and how to turn them on ahead of time. As a warning, these specialized lights will not do much to increase visibility, but they can help alert other drivers to your presence to avoid a collision.

2. Keep the defroster turned on.

Fog generally occurs when the humidity level is quite high, which means condensation can easily collect on the inside of your windshield. When this happens, it is important not to use a rag or piece of clothing to wipe the glass. Doing this will distract you from the road and will only result in smears that make it even more difficult to see where you are going. Instead, turn on the defroster and keep it running to help evaporate the condensation. Ideally, you should turn it on before condensation becomes an issue.

3. Look out for the lights of other vehicles.

One of the most important things to do when driving in fog is to look out for obstacles, especially other vehicles. Luckily, red taillights help vehicles in front of you stand out from the fog. If you see something red and glowing, assume it is another vehicle. However, you also must pay attention to oncoming traffic to avoid a head-on collision. Because oncoming cars only have white headlights, they are more difficult to see. Pay attention to small changes in light density to help navigate.

4. Use your windshield wipers.

Even though fog is different from rain, the moisture will still collect on your windshield. Because of the way it collects, it can block your ability to see quite a bit before you notice that it is there. To combat this, simply keep your windshield wipers on while you are driving in fog. You can keep them on the lowest setting to make sure your windshield is as clear as possible as you navigate through the weather.

5. Drive slowly through the fog.

A key to staying safe when driving in fog is keeping your speed down. You may be able to see only a few feet in front of you at a time. Keep that in mind as you accelerate, and make sure you will have the time to stop safely if an obstacle appears. You will need to navigate turns, other vehicles, and additional obstacles. Since you may only have a few seconds to react, is important to go very slow. Driving slowly also gives other drivers time to react to your presence.

6. Increase your following distance.

The other key to avoiding a collision is increasing the space between you and the vehicle in front of you. This can be difficult to do because you may not want to lose sight of the one object that is visible, but if you can see the taillights consistently, then you are probably following too closely (unless the fog is not very dense). In typical driving conditions, an appropriate following distance is a few seconds, but during foggy conditions, it is recommended that you increase your following distance to up to 12 seconds.

7. Avoid slamming the brakes.

If you are driving and suddenly enter an area of dense fog, you may be tempted to stop and figure out how to proceed cautiously. However, other vehicles will be coming up behind you with reduced visibility and they may not expect to find a stopped vehicle. While slowing down is advisable, stopping altogether is dangerous, especially if you are still in the travel lane. If you need to stop, do so safely by navigating off the road. If you do not feel comfortable doing this because of limited visibility, proceed forward at a reduced speed until you do.

About the Author

A native of the tri-state area, Patrick James Smith has cultivated a lifelong love for travel during trips for work and leisure alike. In planning for his travels, he has become well-versed in the art of travel hacking and utilizing credit card rewards points to book free vacations around the globe.