Precautions to be taken while driving in foggy conditions

Q: What precautions should we take while driving in foggy conditions like we have in this region of the world now?

Several accidents are taking place. How should we avoid them?

Krishna: As winter intensifies, fogs descend on most   parts of  India. Fogs cause the cold to penetrate through the layers of warm clothing, adding to your distress. The biggest hazard is to physical safety as low visibility potentially causes more accidents than vehicular failure. So, you need to be a little more alert when you venture outside your home. Walking, jogging, exercising, riding, or driving — you need to be more careful than at other times to prevent accidents or collisions.

The best thing to do is not to drive until visibility is good.

If you must drive in foggy conditions, keep the following safety tips in mind:

• • Slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination.
  • Make your vehicle visible to others both ahead of you and behind you by using your low-beam headlights since this means your tail lights will also be on. Use fog lights if you have them.
  • Never use your high-beam lights. Using high beam lights causes glare, making it more difficult for you to see what’s ahead of you on the road.
  • Leave plenty of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you to account for sudden stops or changes in the traffic pattern.
  • To ensure you are staying in the proper lane, follow the lines on the road with your eyes.
  • In extremely dense fog where visibility is near zero, the best course of action is to first turn on your hazard lights, then simply pull into a safe location such as a parking lot of a local business and stop.
  • If there is no parking lot or driveway to pull into, pull your vehicle off to the side of the road as far as possible. Once you come to a stop, turn off all lights except your hazard flashing lights, set the emergency brake, and take your foot off of the brake pedal to be sure the tail lights are not illuminated so that other drivers don't mistakenly run into you.
  • Watch your speed: You may be going faster than you think. If so, reduce speed gradually and avoid passing, changing lanes and crossing traffic.
  •  See and be seen: Use your low-beam headlights. High-beams reflect off the moisture droplets in the fog, making it harder to see. Always have your tail-lights and blinkers on so that other drivers can spot your car and maintain safe distance.
  • Use fog lights: Most mid and low segment cars in India don’t have fog lights.
  • In case your car doesn’t have fog lights, keep yellow cellophane paper handy. Stick it to your car’s headlights and turn the high beam on.
  • Reduce the distractions in your vehicle. For example, turn  off your cell phone and radio.  Roll down your window to help you hear other traffic on the road.
  • Drive closer to the kerb and follow the magnetic blinkers on the side of teh road.
  • Keep a sensible amount of space between your car and the car in front.Less distance gives you lesser time to react when things go  wrong.
  • Turn on your heater: Fog outside .. will often cause condensation inside.
    Check that your windscreen and windows are clean, and that  your light indicators are working.
  • Over time, the headlights tend to turn yellow. Clean them. 
  • Blow the horn repeatedly, especially while changing lanes an at turns.
  • Needless to say, don’t drink and drive.
  • Pull over to the side of the road if you have no visibility. Turn on your emergency flashers, in addition to keeping your low-beam headlights on.
  • Drive safe.