Driving in fog is regarded as being by far the most risky weather hazard, especially if it's very dense fog or combined with other unfavorable weather conditions.
Foggy conditions are the biggest cause of large multi-car pile ups. Nevertheless, there are certain things you can do to lower your risk of a collision. These tips, offered by CARSTAR Arnold Auto Body Repair, will help you to be much safer on foggy Arnold, Missouri streets.
Stay Slow
Inside heavy fog, an extremely frightening thing happens to individuals when they are driving. They unconsciously accelerate! Of course, we all know that accelerating in fog is the worst thing you could do, but fog produces an optical illusion. While you look out your car windows, your body perceives that you are driving very slow. Since the majority of individuals become anxious in fog, they don’t look down at their speedometer. Eventually, they start going faster and faster. This is hands down the riskiest aspect of driving in fog. Make a mindful effort to glance 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 any vehicle in foggy conditions to avoid a nasty auto body repair bill. Your daytime running lights are not enough. Many individuals turn their lights off as they feel their headlights are blinding them from reflecting off the fog, but you basically become a “ghost car” when this happens. Your headlights aren’t to help you to see better, it’s so others can see you! If your vehicle features fog lights, use those too. When traveling in fog, it’s extremely important to stay visible to others.
Forget The High Beams
You shouldn't ever use your high beam
headlights in foggy conditions. Your high beam headlights reflect off of the water vapor and in fact reduce your visibility. You may feel that your low beam headlights are doing the same thing, but again, keep them on. It’s the most effective way for you to be seen.
Follow The Lines
When driving a vehicle in fog in the St. Louis area, it is a smart idea to follow the lines on the road with your eyes. This is the best way to be certain to remain in your lane. Drivers are normally drawn to lights, and subconsciously, will drive towards lights. So it is far better to watch the lines to make certain you are driving in your lane. Just be sure you are not fixating. Keep your eyes moving.
Increase Your Following Distance
A good following distance is very important in fog. Many drivers tend to “bunch up” in foggy conditions because they feel it’s easier to see. Driving in fog is scary, but now isn't the time to follow too close. That is one of the big reasons massive pile-up’s occur.
When You Stop
Occasionally, foggy conditions grow to be too thick to drive safely. If you are going above your comfort zone, it might be best to stop until the fog lifts. Remember – this is an extremely risky situation! If you cannot see, neither can anybody else. Try to get as far off the road as you can. Pull in a driveway, parking lot, rest area, side street, or just about any other place where you can avoid heavy traffic flow. But if the roadway shoulder is your only option, pull way over. Go into the grass if needed. If there’s a curb, drive over it and park on the opposite side of the curb. Stay buckled up and turn your lights off! If you leave your lights on, people might think you are driving on the roadway and rear-end you. Ensure that your foot is off of the brake pedal, and don't use your flashers. Keep every one of your lights off. If there's shelter nearby, try to get there quickly. If not, stay in your automobile and stay buckled up.
Dense fog typically does not last a long time. The fog might not entirely go away, but stopping for a while should buy you some time and permit the fog to lift a little. 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’re parked, stay put. It is not worth taking chances with your life to continue. But bear in mind, when traveling in fog, stopping on the shoulder of the road must be a last option!
Dense Fog Is Customarily Temporary
Under most “normal” weather conditions, dense fog is short-lived. Generally, you will encounter small patches of dense fog on mountain valleys, peaks, near moist open fields, and close to bodies of water including streams, rivers, and lakes. Whenever the atmosphere is very humid, you may even get spots of fog that appear to wander from location to location. During the worst conditions, normally occurring at night or in early morning hours, the fog may be very dense and cover a span of many miles. This is the most dangerous condition and is generally alerted by fog advisories or warnings from the National Weather Service. When fog warnings or advisories are issued, simply don't drive (this is especially true in fog warnings). It does not 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 find yourself having any sort of accident in foggy conditions, think about taking your motor vehicle to CARSTAR Arnold Auto Body Repair. They serve people all over Arnold, Oakville, Imperial, Festus, and
St. Louis, MO with premium auto body repairs.
3. Try to avoid overexertion. Attempting to push your automobile, trying to jack it into a new position or shoveling snow takes great effort in storm conditions. You may risk heart attack or other injury.
