Driving In Fog, Mist And Haze - JMC JIMMY 1993 Owner's Manual

Your Driving and the Road
You might not be aware of hydroplaning. You could drive along for some
time without realizing your tires aren't in constant contact with the road. You
could find out the hard way: when you have to slow, turn, move out
to
pass-or if you get hit by a gust of wind. You could suddenly find yourself
out of control.
Hydroplaning doesn't happen often. But
it
can if your tires haven't much tread
or
i f the pressure in one or more is low.
It
can happen i f a lot of water is
standing on the road. If you can see reflections from trees, telephone poles,
or other vehicles, and raindrops "dimple" the water's surface, there could be
hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There just isn't a hard and
fast rule about hydroplaning. The best advice
is to slow down when it is
raining, and be
careful.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
Turn on your headlights-not just your parking lights-to help make you
more visible to others.
Look for hard-to-see vehicles coming from behind. You may want to use
your headlights even in daytime if it's raining hard.
Besides slowing down, allow some extra following distance. And be
especially careful when you pass another vehicle. Allow yourself more
clear room ahead, and be prepared to have your view restricted by road.
spray. If the road spray is
so heavy you are actually blinded, drop back.
Don't pass until conditions improve. Going more slowly is better than
having an accident.
Use your defogger if
it
helps.
Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See "Tires" in the Index.)
Driving in
Fog, Mist
and Haze
Fog can occur with high humidity or heavy frost. It can be so mild that you
can see through it for several hundred feet (meters). Or it might be so thick
that you can see only a few feet (meters) ahead.
It
may come suddenly to
an otherwise clear road. And
it
can be a major hazard.
When you drive into a fog patch, your visibility will be reduced quickly. The
biggest dangers are striking the vehicle ahead or being struck by the one behind.
Try to
"read the f o g density down the road. I f the vehicle ahead starts to
become less clear or, at night, i f the taillights are harder to see, the fog
is
probably thickening. Slow down to give traffic behind you a chance to slow down.
Everybody then has
a
better chance
to
avoid hitting the vehicle ahead.
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