How to drive in the fog in UAE

Although a rare occurrence in the UAE, thick fog does descend on UAE roads in the early hours of the morning and can be a hindrance and will take most by surprise.

We’re here to help, and we have a few tips to keep in mind when driving in foggy weather in UAE.

Turn on your fog lights

Over the years, fog lights have become standard on cars, and some countries won’t even allow cars to be imported are sold if they don’t have them. Switching your headlights on improve visibility on the road and also makes your car visible to other road users.

Switch on your headlights

Not only should you turn your fog lights on, but you should also turn your headlights on too. Keep them dipped, don’t use full beam in order not to blind other drivers in front of you.

Slow down

Reduce your speed immediately. Were not saying slam your foot on the brakes, use engine braking to slow your vehicle down. Consider reducing your speed down to at least a third of the roads speed limit. If it says 110 km/h, travel at 80 km/h.

Overspeeding during foggy weather can cause serious accidents.

Increase distance

Instead of keeping two to three car lengths between yourself and the car ahead, double that. During foggy conditions, visibility drops drastically as do reaction times. With the extra distance between yourself and the driver ahead, you have more time to brake and swerve in case of an accident.

Adjust cabin temperature

When the fog arrives as does cool air, with cooler air comes condensation and your windows start to fog up. This limits visibility, and we recommend you adjust the a/c to be a little warmer inside to keep the windows misting down.

Do not use your hazard lights

No, just no. You should never turn your hazard lights (double signal) on when driving in the fog. The only time you should is if there is an accident. Using hazard lights while driving in fog confuses drivers around you and can lead to accidents.

Pull over

If you feel uncomfortable driving in thick fog, don’t do it. Stay home. If you’re already out on the road, pull over into the nearest petrol station and wait it out. Driving in fog can potentially be dangerous as we’ve seen in the past in the UAE.

Stay safe!

And those are our tips! Got any more that we may have missed? Let us know on the comments below.

Image credit: The National