Recently we had some early morning fog roll in and it created an interesting learning experience for some unprepared drivers.
On one patch of highway, just east of Houston, 22 separate crashes involved over 50 vehicles.
Why? Fog.
So what do you think is more dangerous? A lot of fog or a little fog? Okay, they’re both dangerous.
The advantage with a lot of fog is that the driver walks out to his car or truck and can see that his visibility is very limited. At that moment, he can choose to not drive. And at that moment, it is an easier decision to make. Of course, some folks are still foolish enough to think “Well, I’ll just use my low beams, drive a little slower and it’ll clear up as I’m driving” – WRONG!!!
That is setting yourself up for a collision. Even if you do drive slower, even stop because you can’t see, that doesn’t mean that the fellow behind you is going to slow or stop. You’ve put yourself in a position to get tagged.
I suspect that you could argue that a little fog is more dangerous if you go out to your vehicle and there is no fog. Then, as you are driving (to work, school, church, the store, whatever your destination is) you come up over a rise or around a tree lined curve and there it is – a patch of fog, and now you’re driving blind. That is scary!
When you know you’re going to have to drive the next morning, wouldn’t it be a good idea to check the weather forecast – either on your TV news channel, the Weather Channel, or online.
You can check it the night before and check it again in the morning. It may only take a few seconds or minutes, but it can save you a lot of grief.
What are the six conditions? You know, that’s the question you ask your student each time she gets in the vehicle. Then you follow that question with “and what adjustments do we need to make?”
Yes, that’s part of your pre-drive check. Make sure your student does that – every time.