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Your Driving and the Road
Driving in Fbg, 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 fog density
down the road. If the vehicle ahead
starts to become less clear or, at night, if
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.
A patch of dense fog may extend only
for a few feet (meters) or for miles
(kilometers); you can't really tell while
you're in it. You can
only
treat the
situation with extreme care.
One common fog condition-sometimes
called mist or ground fog-can happen
in weather that seems perfect, especially
at night or in the early morning in valley
and low, marshy areas. You can be
suddenly enveloped in thick, wet haze
that may even coat your windshield. You
can often spot these fog patches or mist
layers with your headlights. But
sometimes they can be waiting for you
as you come over a hill or dip into a
shallow valley. Start your windshield
wipers and washer to help clear
accumulated road dirt. Slow down
carefully.
Tips on Driving in Fog
If you get caught in fog,
turn
your
headlights on low beam, even in
daytime. You'll see-and be
seen-better.
Don't use your high beams. The light
will bounce off the water droplets that
make up fog and reflect back at you.
Use your defogger. In high humidity,
even a light buildup of moisture on the
inside of the glass will cut down on your
already limited visibility. Run your
windshield wipers and washer
occasionally. Moisture can build up on
the outside glass, and what seems to be
fog may actually be moisture on the
outside of your windshield.
Treat dense fog as an emergency. Try to
find a place to pull off the road. Of
course you want to respect another's
property, but you might need to put
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