Driving a vehicle in fog is regarded as being by far the most risky weather hazard, especially when it's exceedingly dense fog or combined with other adverse weather conditions. Foggy conditions are the leading reason for large multi-car pile ups. Nevertheless, there are some things you can do to reduce your risk of an accident. These tips, offered by Jungerman CARSTAR, will help you to be safer on foggy
St. Peters, Missouri streets.
Stay Slow
During heavy fog, an extremely frightening thing happens to individuals while they're driving. They unconsciously speed up! Naturally, we all know that accelerating in fog is the worst thing to do, but fog creates an optical illusion. As you look out your car windows, your body perceives that you're going really slowly. Since the majority of individuals get anxious in fog, they don’t look down at their speedometer. As time passes, they begin going faster and faster. This is without a doubt the most dangerous part of driving in fog. Make a conscious effort to look at your speedometer every now and then. There’s a good chance you keep speeding up, without realizing it!
Keep The Headlights On
Always keep your car headlights on when driving a vehicle in foggy conditions to avoid an awful auto body repair bill. Your daytime running lights are not adequate. A lot of people turn their lights off because they feel their headlights are blinding them from reflecting off the fog, but you essentially become a “ghost car” when this occurs. Your headlights are not so that you can see better, it’s so other people can see you! If your vehicle comes with fog lights, use those too. When driving in fog, it is extremely important to stay visible to other people.
Forget The High Beams
You shouldn't utilize your high beam
headlights in foggy environments. Your high beam headlights reflect off of the water vapor and in fact decrease your field of vision. You might feel that your low beam headlights are doing the same thing, but again, keep them on. It is the most effective way for you to be seen.
Follow The Lines
When you're driving any vehicle in fog in the St. Louis area, it is best if you follow the lines on the road with your eyes. This is the best way to ensure you stay in your lane. Motorists are usually drawn to lights, and instinctively, will drive towards lights. So it’s better to watch the lines to make sure you are driving within your lane. Just be sure you are not fixating. You want to keep eyes moving.
Increase Your Following Distance
A safe following distance is a must in fog. Most drivers will “bunch up” in foggy conditions mainly because they feel it’s easier to see. Traveling in fog is scary, but now isn't the time to follow too close. That is among the big reasons massive pile-up’s occur.
When You Stop
Occasionally, foggy conditions grow to be too thick to drive safely. If you find that you are exceeding your comfort zone, it might be best to stop until the fog lifts. Just remember – this is an extremely dangerous situation! If you can’t see, neither can anybody else. Try to get as far off the road as possible. Pull in a driveway, car park, rest area, side street, or some other place where you can escape heavy traffic flow. But if the roadway shoulder is your only option, pull way over. Go into the grass if necessary. If there is a curb, drive on it and park on the opposite side of the curb. Stay buckled up and turn your lights off! When you leave your lights on, people might think you're driving on the roadway and rear-end you. Make sure your foot is off of the brake pedal, and do not use your flashers. Keep all of your lights off. If there's shelter nearby, try to get there quickly. Otherwise, stay inside your motor vehicle and remain buckled up.
Dense fog typically doesn’t last a very long time. The fog might not entirely go away, but stopping for a while should buy you some time and allow the fog to lift a bit. Dense fog has a tendency to migrate from area to area, unless you are in a valley where fog tends to settle. If the fog just gets worse while you are parked, stay put. It is not worth jeopardizing your life to go on. But bear in mind, when driving in fog, stopping on the shoulder of the road should be a last resort!
Dense Fog Is Typically Temporary
Under most “normal” weather conditions, dense fog is short-lived. Usually, you will come across little patches of dense fog on mountain valleys, peaks, near moist open fields, and near bodies of water like streams, rivers, and lakes. Whenever the atmosphere is specifically humid, you might even get spots of fog that appear to wander from place to place. During the worst conditions, usually occurring at night or in early morning hours, the fog could be very dense and cover a span of many miles. This is the most unsafe condition and is often alerted by fog advisories or warnings from the National Weather Service. When fog warnings or advisories are released, simply do not drive (this is especially true during fog warnings). It doesn’t matter how great you and the other motorists on the roadway are, if you can’t see, you can’t possibly drive safely.
If you do end up having a major accident in foggy conditions, think about taking your car or truck to Jungerman CARSTAR. They serve men and women all over St. Peters, St. Charles, O'Fallon, and
Lake St. Louis, Missouri with premium auto body repairs.
