When driving in fog, the accident rate invariably rises. This would be totally avoidable if only drivers exercised common sense and followed the basic safety rules.
Speed
The problem with fog of course is simply a lack of visibility. If someone were to tie a blindfold over your eyes while you were walking down the street, you would naturally slow down to a snail’s pace for fear of bumping into something. But for some reason many drivers feel that the vehicle they are driving will protect them. They carry on at near to normal speeds through even the thickest fog.
The Highway Code advises that you should never drive so fast that you cannot stop well within the distance you can see to be clear. Unfortunately many people cannot judge this distance or simply choose to ignore the advice.
Following Distance
People who lack confidence in their own ability to read the road ahead will make the potentially fatal mistake of following another vehicle too closely. There is the hope that its movements and brake lights will warn them of what lies ahead. To rely on someone else’s judgement in this way is foolish in the extreme; if the other driver reacts late then so will you. This is how so many rear end collisions and motorway pile-ups occur.
It’s vitally important to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle ahead; and you must make allowances for the other driver’s actions. If they have to stop suddenly for any reason you must be able to pull up safely without having to brake heavily yourself.
If you find that someone is following you too closely, don’t make the mistake of speeding up to try and increase the distance. The only safe solution is to drop further back from any vehicle ahead to give yourself even more braking distance.
This is an excerpt from – The Glovebox Guide to Driving at Night & in Bad Weather