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F rom familiarising yourself with your fog lights to when to switch them on and off, our motoring editor answers your questions

The first thing you should do when driving in fog is reduce your speed and ensure you keep a good distance between your car and the vehicle ahead.

"Turn your headlights on but never use the full-beam headlamps in fog as this will only reflect the light back at you, and actually reduce rather than improve visibility."

Keep your distance in fog and use fog lights only when necessary.

What should I do if I find myself driving in fog?

A s we settle into autumn the likelihood of fog increases so it’s always good to be prepared because fog reduces visibility significantly.

The first thing you should do when driving in fog is reduce your speed and ensure you keep a good distance between your car and the vehicle ahead. Remember it’s dangerous to follow the lights of the car in front as you may well allow yourself to get too close.

Follow the edge of the road as a reference point and never stop on the road. When you can’t see where you are going, a natural reaction is to slow down or even stop, but in fog if you come to a sudden stop, other cars might not realise that you’re stopped.

When visibility is really poor it’s often useful to wind down your windows at junctions as this will allow you to listen out for approaching traffic.  

Which lights should I use in foggy weather? Turn your headlights on but never use the full-beam headlamps in fog as this will only reflect the light back at you, and actually reduce rather than improve visibility. While it may sound obvious, always remember to switch on your fog lights when you cannot see more than 100m in front of the vehicle. That’s roughly the length of a football pitch.

Fog lights are specifically designed for use when visibility is very low due to dense fog or falling snow.

"Turn your headlights on but never use the full-beam headlamps in fog as this will only reflect the light back at you, and actually reduce rather than improve visibility."

Do all cars on the roads have fog lights? Since 1998 all new cars are required to be fitted with rear fog lights but not all cars have front ones. Familiarise yourself with where your fog lights are in your car. There’s usually a separate button on the dashboard or on the indicator stalk to switch them on and off.

How will I know my fog lights are on? The fog-light symbol is a lamp with three diagonal lines intersected with a wavy vertical line. If the wavy line is to the right then this refers to the rear fog lights; if it’s to the left of the lamp, it refers to the front fog lights. The indicator light inside the car for the front fog lights is green; amber for the rear ones.

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Top tip: Remember to turn your fog lights off when you are out of the fog as not only will they dazzle other motorists but also your brake lights can be obscured by rear fog lights so other drivers may not know when you are braking.

Got a question? Email sundaymotors@independent.ie

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