Driving in Dense Fog
Driving when there is a dense fog hovering above the roadways is understandably a frightening concept to most motorists. If you wake up the morning of a planned long-distance trip or even when you have only planned a grocery shopping excursion, consider simply waiting until the fog has mostly dissipated. This is the simplest and most effective solution. All of the other tactics typically recommended by experts for navigating in especially foggy conditions are meant to be employed only when you absolutely cannot postpone your drive. Many drivers, not thinking of fog as a threat along the same lines as ice or snow, fail to understand the gravity of a thick fog until they begin driving into it.
It is particularly critical to avoid road trips when the roads are shrouded in fog if you are an inexperienced driver. Teenage drivers, for instance, who are new to operating vehicles and are slowly but surely learning how to calmly deal with the various obstacles that can present themselves, are much better off to let a more experienced driver take the wheel if the journey cannot be postponed. This is also true of anyone who feels apprehensive about sitting in the driver's seat when there is dense fog.
Taking Safety Precautions
If you do find that you have to steer your vehicle through fog in order to get to work or another important appointment of some sort, there are recommendations on things you can do to maximize your chance of remaining safe. These are simple measures, but ones whose importance cannot be overstated. One of the first things you can do if you notice thick fog hanging over the streets, whether it has been there since you departed your house in the morning or you have just driven into it, is to squelch distractions. Do not allow yourself to become overconfident simply because you have a great deal of driving experience or have steered through fog on numerous occasions in the past.
Every instance of heavy fog is different; each entails different cars on the road with you and different motorists with varying levels of comfort and expertise. Because of this, it is critical to remain alert and to watch tirelessly for other drivers around you. In terms of distractions, cutting off the radio, ignoring or altogether silencing your mobile, and resisting the urge to eat or drink anything as you drive can prove enormously helpful. If you are traveling with a companion, make sure to tell that person immediately if you find conversation to be a distraction and need the silence to adequately concentrate on the road.
As far things you will do pertinent to the operation of your car, you will need to make sure that your headlights are on their low-beam versus high-beam setting. This is a common mistake that young or nervous drivers make when faced with heavy fog. Out of the desire to see as far ahead as possible, they instinctively flick on their high-beams. Doing so, however, can mean that those lights are reflected right back into your eyes. It is important to keep your lights on, just on their lower setting.
Driving in dense fog should also involve signaling far in advance if you need to make a turn. It is every bit as important for you to make yourself visible to other drivers as it is for you to keep an eye out for them. If you want to pull over, try your best of locate an appropriate exit before doing so. Pulling over on the main road when visibility is low can easily encourage collisions.