Driving in fog

Knowing how to drive in a safe manner in foggy or misty conditions is something that still seems to elude some people. Accidents in these conditions can cause a lethal chain of events, sometimes leading to multiple-accidents, particularly on our motorways.

Because fog can vary in density from one moment to the next, it can make drivers brake suddenly and without warning, and it only takes one driver to make a mistake if they are travelling too fast and cause a major accident 'pile up'.

There are a number of simple rules which, if followed, can dramatically reduce your chances of having an accident, or causing one.

Driving advice for foggy conditions

Even in patchy fog, put your front fog lights on if you have them. If you don't have them, use dipped headlights only. Fog will actually reflect most of the light back at you if you use your lights on full beam

Rear fog lights are designed to be used only in thick fog, if visibility is more than 80 metres they will probably just dazzle the driver behind or obscure the operation of your brake lights

Do not be tempted to 'hang-on' to another drivers tail lights, this may lull you into a false sense of security

SLOW DOWN and keep plenty of distance between you and the car in front. Remember that the density of fog can vary considerably from one moment to the next, so keep your distance

Take extra care at junctions. Thick fog will make it very difficult to judge the speed and distance of oncoming vehicles accurately, be patient and look for larger gaps in the traffic before you pull out

Fog and mist can condense on your windscreen and you may confuse the resulting loss in visibility with the fog outside, so use your wipers intermittently

If you have been involved in a road accident just give us a call on 0845 6768898 for free help and advice, or start your claim enquiry using our online claim form.