Driving in the fog: The Do's and Don'ts

Matt Dutkiewicz

Whether or not fog played a role in the fatal accident that occurred Tuesday evening in Rochelle, it's important to know how to drive when it's foggy- especially if it is very dense like it was Tuesday morning & evening.

First and foremost, TURN ON YOUR HEADLIGHTS! I can't begin to tell you how many complaints I saw Tuesday morning of people who did not have their headlights on.  When it is foggy outside, you are very limited with what you can see.  Not only will your headlights allow other drivers to see you, you will be able to see other drivers.

Here are a few more tips for driving in fog:

-Slow down and do not drive faster than your vision.  Often times in very dense and thick fog, it's very easy to lose sense of where you are, or lose sense of your surroundings.  Stay off the phone and concentrate on the road.

Joe Olmo
Bridge in Roscoe

-Increase following distance to ensure enough reaction time and stopping distance.  In very dense and thick fog, you may not be able to see the vehicle in front of you until you're literally feet away from it.  Going too fast and following too closely is how multiple vehicle accidents happen.

-Use your low beam headlights and fog lights.  Do not use your high beams as the light reflects right back at you making it harder to see.

-Turn off your cruise control.  This allows you to be in control of your vehicle.

-Use the right-side pavement line as a guide.  In dense fog, use the white line painted on the right hand side of the road.  Using the center pavement markings may guide you closer to oncoming vehicles, which are also driven by people who may be having a hard time seeing. 

-Signal early.  Doing so will alert vehicles around you of lane changes or turning.