Fog ahead: Experts say refrain from speeding, use blinkers, be attentive
speeding, avoid abrupt mid-road stops unless absolutely necessary and use indicators. These are some of the expert suggestions to drivers battling dense fog in the winters. The precautions become more important with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting dense fog days this week over parts of east, northwest and north India, including Delhi-NCR.
Since the onset of winters, the country has seen many road accidents, including pile-ups, due to foggy conditions, and these have left several people dead or injured.
On December 27 last year, several commuters were injured in a pile-up on the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida, while a day later, 28 people were injured when a roadways bus collided head-on with a truck on a highway in Bareilly.
In the latest major accident because of low visibility due to fog, 12 people were killed and around 30 injured on January 3 in a head-on collision between a coal-laden truck and a bus on the National Highway-715 in Assam's Golaghat.
The truck was coming from the direction of Jorhat and on the wrong side as a portion of the four-lane highway was damaged.
The bus was on the right track, an official of the Dergaon police station said. He added that «there was fog and both the vehicles were speeding».
Founder and CEO, SaveLIFE Foundation, Piyush Tewari said «a critical aspect to bear in mind during foggy conditions is refraining from speeding».
«Fog can create a misleading sense of slow motion, masking actual high speeds. With foggy conditions necessitating abrupt stoppages, only low speed may prevent accidents,» he said.
During foggy months, drivers should also consciously opt for driving on low-beam as high-beam is reflected back by fog, the CEO of the
