By USAG Stuttgart Safety Office
Take particular care when driving in fog, especially at night. Fog can be patchy, going from a light mist to a thick blanket in an instant. Obviously, the faster you drive in these conditions, the less time you will have to avoid danger.
- As you enter fog, check your mirrors and slow down. If the vision is 50 m and below, the speed must be reduced to 50 km/h or even more depending on the fog density. This applies also on the Autobahn.
- Use your windscreen wipers and demisters.
- Use your foot brake lightly so that your lights warn following drivers.
- Drive with low beam, high beams reflect back off the fog and actually impair visibility even more. Also use fog lights if visibility is reduced so you can be seen. Just remember, it’s an offense to use high-intensity rear fog lights if visibility is greater than 50 meters. The 50 m distance can be measured by the distance between two guide posts along the roadside on roads outside built-up areas.
- Don’t follow tail lights. Use the right edge of the road or painted road markings as a guide and enlarge the safety distance to the vehicle ahead. Quick braking and accelerating should be avoided.
- Listen for traffic you cannot see. Turn off the radio and open the window a little.
- If you park your car on a road, try and get your vehicle completely off the road and move away from the vehicle to avoid injury. You could be rear-ended!