Foggy Season Driving!!

[anjan_c2007]

Here are some winter pictures from Chicago USA- Winter 2011. The blizzard stranded hundreds of motorists, many abandoning their cars and fleeing.A total of 519 vehicles were abandoned along Lake Shore Drive. Today, they're being reunited with owners through a local website link.

With

20 inches of snow and winds that hit 60 mph, the blizzard closed Lake

Shore Drive, Chicago for 34 hours. Overnight, the city ploughed the snow, moved

the stranded vehicles to six holding lots, then reopened Lake Shore at 5.50 am local time.

Source Jalopnik (03/02/2011)

anjan_c20072011-02-04 15:10:54

[anjan_c2007]

More snow effect on cars here through pictures:-

(images via 1, 2, AP Photo/Beth DeFalco)

When your neighbour won't move his car... use laser snow removal!:

Maybe if you prepare for a snowfall with a structure like this... it will be easier on your car:

Snow

drifts are quite common on the roads of Alberta and Saskatchewan - the

last storm of January 11 stranded hundreds of motorists near Calgary

and Strathmore

Source : www.darkroastedblend.com

[neerajd]

worst winter pics I've ever seen... pity the cars!! beautiful things wrapped up, rather loathed in snow... there must be a huge cost to repair them now.

I would also like to know what is meant by side lamps as mentioned in one of the posts by SGIITK.

[anjan_c2007]

More pictures from the ICE'D cars of the Chicago Blizzard

!

 One

of the worst storms in Chicago history (currently the third worst)

touched down Tuesday last (2nd Feb 2011) and continues today. Cars.com

[anjan_c2007]

Source ://blogs.cars.com/

More uploading ! Blizzard in Chicago.

 

 

Who let the dog (s) out?

Thats undoubtedly a Chevrolet Aveo- these tiny, plasticky Chevrolets have alas reached America.

 

We can have a "Identify the car" quiz here with these snowy pictures!

anjan_c20072011-02-11 17:48:32

[TSiVipul]

@friends:
In case of '0' visibility,the best way I adopt is Don't drive.
Though aftermarket hellas are somewhere useful,but as suggested by Vibhor,never use high beam,it worsens the situation.
Rest in my views,in case of extremely dense fog,its better to stay at home until its an emergency.

One question:Is it my imagination or the HID's are really effective in foggy condition??Actually I feel the same in case of my Innova..

 

Edit:

I really need either good lights or good fog lamps.

@sb-alto , Why don't you get a set of HID's installed on your car?

 

Posts merged.

BornFree2011-02-12 16:29:10

[TSiVipul]

Post deleted: Use the Edit option if posting a subsequent post within a short time duration.

BornFree2011-02-12 16:28:30

[TSiVipul]

Hello friends,firstly a small but horrifying experience:

Two days before I made a night trip to Ambala from Meerut and what was special in that trip was that this trip gave me the thrill of the dense foggy drive for at least 100 kms.Now what was really great was that firstly there was dense fog and secondly it was in night,so at many places I felt like I am driving in the middle of nowhere with my eyes ready to come out of their real place and at many points I felt like I am in the middle of a burial of an old horror movie(like those movies used to have many scenes in a burial with a lot of fog and ghosts dancing around) ,in my front what I was seeing was only golden light everywhere(of my own headlights)with some twinkling orange light which was twinkling every second(the indicators or hazard light)and only something red,red like blood approaching me at the back(my tail lights).

But then came my experience(more than 10000 kms of fog driving) to rescue me and I simply followed some of the basic fog-driving rules which were sometime back taught to me by the best driver I have ever seen(our own chauffeur),now here are those basic rules,if today you promise yourself that you will never break these rules,then you will never complain foggy weather and will always enjoy safe journeys any level the fog may be:

WHAT YOUR CAR/BIKE NEEDS:-

1):LIGHTS,first and most important is that the lights of your car must work perfectly and I mean every light weather front or tail or indicators,they all must work.

2):If you have a defogger then its good and if you don't have then also its good because the second important thing you need is a HEATER,just get the heater checked if its not working perfectly,only a heater/defogger and if emergency then an A/C can safe you from those misty and translucent glasses.

3):If you have fog lamps then its quite good but if you don't have them,then get your headlamps covered with the yellow film before thinking even once,this yellow film won't really remove the fog,but will tell the driver coming from the front or moving in the front that you are also on the road even before he comes too close to you.

4):Considering safety point of view,JUST GET YOUR CAR'S TYRES,ELECTRICALS AND OTHER parts checked,if you find anything wrong with anyone of them,then just get them repaired or replaced without thinking even once.Why?Here is one incident to tell you why:

On the midnight of 4th,on the highway between Delhi-Meerut,near the border of the Meerut City a Tata 2515(tri-axle or ten-tyre truck)got its rear right suspension disturbed due to some reason so the driver and cleaner parked the truck on the side and came on the road and started checking the fault.The piece of bad luck was thet at the same time came some heavy vehicle(maybe a bus or truck) from the back ,it brushed with the truck and crushed both driver and the cleaner.

Same was happened a year back with a biker here in Meerut.

So,now you understand how dangerous a breakdown can be in the fog?

Only by strictly following the above four steps you can enjoy safe drives..

TO BE CONTINUED...TSiVipul2011-11-07 10:25:50

[TSiVipul]

OOPS,I forgot the fifth step in the first post and that fifth and most important thing you must have in your car is the HORN,horn is something that even fog can't stop and this is even more safer that the airbags and ABS in the fog,whenever you find yourself trapped in zero-visibility situation then just blink your head lights and blow your horn,as much you do it,so it is better.

Okay,now I hope you have made your car/bike ready to encounter the fog.So,following the demand of time,let's go straight to the driving seat and share some ideas.In my views,these are the steps tobe followed:

WHILE DRIVING IN DAY TIME:

So its a sweet weekend morning like daily is and you are ready to go for your 50 km long weekend trip,suddenly you open the door of your house and see nothing except a white blanket around you,now you come inside and say to your family(wife and kids)"see its fog,so lets cancel the trip",then your kids cry a lot but fog has now tied your hands.SO IF YOU FOLLOW THESE STEPS THEN YOUR KIDS WON'T CRY AND YOU WILL ENJOY A FOGGY DRIVE,an fact your wife/GF will be quite impressed by the thrill such a drive offers,so the steps to be followed are:

1):Your first work should be to take a cloth and clean the front windshield as well as the ORVMs,side windows and the rear glass,you may have wipers and defogger but wipers don't do the job upto the mark in the fog also the defogger takes some time to get the rear glass de-misted.So its better to get all the glass area cleaned up manually with a cloth.

2):Now after the cleaning is done,now get inside the car and start your heating system as well as defoggers and get the air directed towards the windshield,this will keep the windshield clean throughout the journey,also consider keeping your window quite rolled down(maximum 2-3 mm)this will result in no deposition of mist on the inside of the side glasses and you will get a good and clear all round visibility(but be careful,don't roll the window more than 2-3 mm because that will result in cold air coming inside inermously).

So,with all clear glass area,now its time for you to switch on your head lamps and fog lamps(if available).

3):Now saying Jai Mata Di,its the time to leave,before taking your car out of the house,firstly blow two-three horns and then take the car outside slowly and check the conditions(as there is always difference in house and road).Now your first work is to SWITCH YOUR HAZARD LIGHTS 'ON' and start moving slowly.

Note:PUT YOUR HEADLIGHTS ON THE LOWER BEAM ONLY,A HIGHER BEAM WILL MAKE YOU BLIND INSTEAD OF SHOWING THE WAY.

4):If the road is one way then you can be quite careless and try to keep your car in the middle instead of extreme left or extreme right,make a significant use of horns and dipper.IN CASE THE FOG IS VERY DENSE,THEN SIMPLY ROLL DOWN YOUR WINDOW AND HAVE A LOOK AT THE CONDITION AND POSITION YOUR CAR BY PUTTING YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE WINDOW AND LOOKING AT THE ROAD.The horn must be continuously blown in such a case and STRICLTY,GET YOUR SPEED AS LOW AS POSSIBLE.

5):In case the road is both side running with only two lanes then you need to be extremely cautious.Just keep as slow as possible and in dense fog just have a look by seeing outside from the side window instead of believing your windshield only,IN SUCH A CASE ITS BEST TO FOLLOW THE WHITE STRIPS ON THE CENTER AND BLOW THE HORN AND DIP(HIGH-LOW-HIGH-LOW)YOUR HEAD LIGHTS IF YOU EVEN FEEL THAT SOMETHING MAY BE COMING.Also do it if there is nothing just as a precaution.

6):In case you have got a punctured tyre or a breakdown(in case the car in immovable then nothing can be done)else simply get your car parked at the extreme left(don't switch-off your hazard lights) and try to be as away from the road as possible,roll down your window and try to hear any sounds of any vehicle,if it comes then don't open the door,just do it when no sound is heard.Coming out,try to be as close to your car as much is possible and then inspect the problem,also never go on the highway to get a better view of the problem.

While changing the tyre,put the hazard triangle near the road,quite far from you and then do the work and if you hear anything coming,its better to leave the job for a while and then carry on after the thing has passed.

Most important:YOU MAY BE A SKILLED DRIVER OR A PROFESSIONAL RACER,BUT ITS BETTER AVOID THE OVERTAKES,SIMPLY DON'T DO IT(especially on two-way roads),in case its un-avoidable,then simply blow your horn quite more and try to hear if someone else too does the same.In case a horn comes from opposite side too,then just apply the brakes and cancel your overtaking decision.

Just follow these simple rules and then see,you have reached your destination and all of you are thrilled with your kids(if they are) happy and discussing various things they saw in the fog.And your wife/GF thrilled as well as impressed from your driving skills too...SEE,THIS CAN MAKE YOU FAMOUS EVEN IN THE KITTY PARTIES.. TSiVipul2011-11-07 11:12:46

[TSiVipul]

WHILE DRIVING IN THE NIGHT:

Okay,the trip has been according to the plan till now and you people are quite happy but now the night has came and you are seeing that the fog has started coming again,WELL,ITS THE ALARM TIME BUDDY,its better speed up and cover as much ground as possible before that night+fog combo strikes you.But now its too late and the fog has again trapped you in the night,so here are the steps you must follow:

1):First and most important,its better avoid this drive because this driven won't be thrilling at all,instead it will be horrifying and dangerous too,so again ITS BETTER AVOID DRIVING IN THIS NIGHT+FOG COMBO.

2):NEVER EVER TAKE AN UNKNOWN OR LESS TRAVELLED ROUTE AT THE NIGHT TIME IN A FOGGY WEATHER,ITS BEST TO TAKE THE ROAD OF WHOME YOU KNOW WHAT IS WHERE.Going through an unknown route in a foggy night is equivalent to a suicide attempt.

3):This time you need to be really patient and slow too,the fog in night is felt like its coming in pieces so never ever accelerate if you see a clear stretch because suddenly you can encounter a very densly fogged stretch.

4):FOLLOW ALL THE DAY-TIME DRIVING MENTIONED INSTRUCTIONS.And the above mentioned three and the result will be a complete happy journey.

ON A HILLY ROAD:

Firstly,there is no fog in the hills until the weather is extreme.

If you encounter the fog then also don't worry but just follow the rules,the only change to make is just try to keep in the middle of the road and blow the horn on every turn.

LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT: ITS BETTER TO HAVE A GOOD AND ACTIVE COMPANION WITH YOU WHILE FOGGY DRIVES.TSiVipul2011-11-07 11:31:50

[BonFre]

Threads merged.