Fog ahead: Experts say refrain from speeding, use blinkers, be attentive

New Delhi: Refrain from 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 road safety organisation said.

"During fog, the chances of rear-end collisions are high. To prevent such collisions, we must avoid sudden turns or mid-road stoppage in fog. Using blinkers while stalled and moving away from your stalled vehicle is a good way to stay safe," Tewari said.

Transport and traffic police departments of several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, as well as Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir have, over the last month, issued fog advisories asking people to drive carefully.

The Delhi Traffic Police had recently advised people to drive with their vehicle's tail lights on, honk periodically and not overtake while passing through dense fog. It also advised that drivers keep their vehicle's windows and mirrors clean, and use defroster and windscreen wipers.

Similar advisories were also issued by other states. These also cautioned people against getting distracted and driving under the influence of alcohol. "Foggy conditions demand patience and attention on the road, speeding or improper overtaking during this period can pose extreme dangers," Tewari said.

In 2022, there were 34,262 road accidents due to misty and foggy weather conditions, compared to 28,934 in 2021, according to a report of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways titled 'Road Accidents in India-2022'.

It also stated that 14,583 people were killed and 30,796 injured in 2022 in these accidents due to misty and foggy weather. In 2021, 13,372 people were killed and 25,360 injured.

Due to hail or sleet, the report said, there were 4,083 road accidents in 2022, compared to 3,911 in 2021. In 2022, the death figure due to accidents in this weather condition was 1,871 in 2022 against 1,872 in 2021.

The data was given under the report's 'Road Accidents by Weather Conditions' section.

The report, however, mentioned that the data of road accidents for 2022, showed almost three-fourths of accidents and fatalities took place under sunny or clear weather conditions.

"The accidents under adverse weather conditions such as rainy, foggy and hail/sleet accounted for 16.6 per cent of total road accidents during 2022," it said. There were a total of 4,61,312 accidents 2022, the report stated.