Re: Foggy weather driving tips..how to enjoy a foggy weather!
OOPS,I forgot the fifth step in the first post and that fifth and most important thing you must have in your car is the HORN,horn is something that even fog can't stop and this is even more safer that the airbags and ABS in the fog,whenever you find yourself trapped in zero-visibility situation then just blink your head lights and blow your horn,as much you do it,so it is better.
Okay,now I hope you have made your car/bike ready to encounter the fog.So,following the demand of time,let's go straight to the driving seat and share some ideas.In my views,these are the steps tobe followed:
WHILE DRIVING IN DAY TIME:
So its a sweet weekend morning like daily is and you are ready to go for your 50 km long weekend trip,suddenly you open the door of your house and see nothing except a white blanket around you,now you come inside and say to your family(wife and kids)"see its fog,so lets cancel the trip",then your kids cry a lot but fog has now tied your hands.SO IF YOU FOLLOW THESE STEPS THEN YOUR KIDS WON'T CRY AND YOU WILL ENJOY A FOGGY DRIVE,an fact your wife/GF will be quite impressed by the thrill such a drive offers,so the steps to be followed are:
1):Your first work should be to take a cloth and clean the front windshield as well as the ORVMs,side windows and the rear glass,you may have wipers and defogger but wipers don't do the job upto the mark in the fog also the defogger takes some time to get the rear glass de-misted.So its better to get all the glass area cleaned up manually with a cloth.
2):Now after the cleaning is done,now get inside the car and start your heating system as well as defoggers and get the air directed towards the windshield,this will keep the windshield clean throughout the journey,also consider keeping your window quite rolled down(maximum 2-3 mm)this will result in no deposition of mist on the inside of the side glasses and you will get a good and clear all round visibility(but be careful,don't roll the window more than 2-3 mm because that will result in cold air coming inside inermously).
So,with all clear glass area,now its time for you to switch on your head lamps and fog lamps(if available).
3):Now saying Jai Mata Di,its the time to leave,before taking your car out of the house,firstly blow two-three horns and then take the car outside slowly and check the conditions(as there is always difference in house and road).Now your first work is to SWITCH YOUR HAZARD LIGHTS 'ON' and start moving slowly.
Note:PUT YOUR HEADLIGHTS ON THE LOWER BEAM ONLY,A HIGHER BEAM WILL MAKE YOU BLIND INSTEAD OF SHOWING THE WAY.
4):If the road is one way then you can be quite careless and try to keep your car in the middle instead of extreme left or extreme right,make a significant use of horns and dipper.IN CASE THE FOG IS VERY DENSE,THEN SIMPLY ROLL DOWN YOUR WINDOW AND HAVE A LOOK AT THE CONDITION AND POSITION YOUR CAR BY PUTTING YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE WINDOW AND LOOKING AT THE ROAD.The horn must be continuously blown in such a case and STRICLTY,GET YOUR SPEED AS LOW AS POSSIBLE.
5):In case the road is both side running with only two lanes then you need to be extremely cautious.Just keep as slow as possible and in dense fog just have a look by seeing outside from the side window instead of believing your windshield only,IN SUCH A CASE ITS BEST TO FOLLOW THE WHITE STRIPS ON THE CENTER AND BLOW THE HORN AND DIP(HIGH-LOW-HIGH-LOW)YOUR HEAD LIGHTS IF YOU EVEN FEEL THAT SOMETHING MAY BE COMING.Also do it if there is nothing just as a precaution.
6):In case you have got a punctured tyre or a breakdown(in case the car in immovable then nothing can be done)else simply get your car parked at the extreme left(don't switch-off your hazard lights) and try to be as away from the road as possible,roll down your window and try to hear any sounds of any vehicle,if it comes then don't open the door,just do it when no sound is heard.Coming out,try to be as close to your car as much is possible and then inspect the problem,also never go on the highway to get a better view of the problem.
While changing the tyre,put the hazard triangle near the road,quite far from you and then do the work and if you hear anything coming,its better to leave the job for a while and then carry on after the thing has passed.
Most important:YOU MAY BE A SKILLED DRIVER OR A PROFESSIONAL RACER,BUT ITS BETTER AVOID THE OVERTAKES,SIMPLY DON'T DO IT(especially on two-way roads),in case its un-avoidable,then simply blow your horn quite more and try to hear if someone else too does the same.In case a horn comes from opposite side too,then just apply the brakes and cancel your overtaking decision.
Just follow these simple rules and then see,you have reached your destination and all of you are thrilled with your kids(if they are) happy and discussing various things they saw in the fog.And your wife/GF thrilled as well as impressed from your driving skills too...SEE,THIS CAN MAKE YOU FAMOUS EVEN IN THE KITTY PARTIES..