Only the other day I commented on the lack of bad weather which is not teaching our younger drivers the proper skills of survival on our UK roads, very little snow, ice and fog, but what lovely sunny days we have been getting.

Working in Reading and Bracknell area’s driving around in the latest Audi 6 (if you have been pondering over whether to buy one, the answer is yes), what a car; so flexible, the handling is superb, but lets talk more of that at a later date.

It does not matter what car you have there is nothing to help you cope with the very low sun, shining through the trees causing dazzle on the roads, at many points the vision is completely lost, so slow down, lower the window to hear of any traffic, watch for pedestrians walking towards you on your side of the road.

How nice to be in such lovely weather, but driving home later in the day and early evening, what have we now got, yes, fog really dense in places, but nothing seems to have changed, drivers with NO lights on, some with only side lights, drivers travelling much too close, not slowing down, and as the hours tick by distances to stop has really decreased.

Everybody in a hurry to get home, all in a bubble containing the false sense of security. Fog restricts vision, we all know we have less time to adjust to hazards and how to avoid them, but everybody pushes along regardless.

In thick fog on motorways it is easy to pick up speed because you cannot see how quickly you are approaching and passing things, don’t treat the lights in front as a lighthouse, and just follow them.

At junctions lower windows to hear, be very careful turning right, especially across dual carriageways, don’t miss use fog lamps, all cars in Europe must have front and rear fog lamps fitted, and as the name suggests for use in fog and not slightly misty weather, drivers in the UK can only legally use them in fog and falling snow, if the visibility is below 100 metres.

Sadly you can’t rely on other drivers being sensible, all you can do is be on the defensive, give yourself more time to avoid them, and drive in a way that reduces any risk of yourself and others.

If everyone thought of the word ‘FOG‘ it would be a much safer world.

With our changing weather this is this week’s motoring hint, you always hear it first on the ‘BLOG’ until the next time, stay safe and drive safe.

Mike Daniels AcciDON’T – Making drivers safer world wide. Retraining Drivers for Insurance Companies please dont let us meet you by Accident…….