Chapter VII - Preventive conduct at night, in rain or fog

Preventive conduct at night

The risk factors that influence the behavior of the motor vehicle in motion are:

• reduced visibility;
• temporary blindness;
• fatigue.

Measures of preventive conduct at night:

• at night visibility is greatly reduced, when you will drive in the urban area at night the low beam lights will be used (or the high beam lights, only if there are no other road users on the road), increased attention will be paid to the traffic and the travel speed will be reduced near pedestrian crossings;
• unlit roads may be encountered, and visibility is even more affected if the headlights are not properly adjusted or if the windshield is dirty.

• do not use the high beam when you encounter a driver coming from the opposite direction, nor when you are behind a car, close enough to it because you will blind the driver through the rearview mirror. In the situation where you are blinded by the light of the headlights of a motor vehicle coming from the opposite direction you must keep the low beam lights on and reduce the travel speed or if necessary stop until the motor vehicle passes;
• avoid driving when you are tired. Fatigue at the wheel is among the frequent causes of road accidents and usually these result in the most serious consequences. In the case where you have to travel a long distance and you feel tired it is indicated to stop in specially designated places, such as refuges and try to sleep at least 15 minutes.

Preventive conduct in rain

The risk factors that influence the behavior of the motor vehicle in motion are:

• reduced visibility;
• aquaplaning;
• low grip;
• the braking distance increases.

Measures of preventive conduct in rain:

• make sure you have good visibility by cleaning the windshield, the side windows, the rear window and to make sure the good functioning of the windshield wipers and the air conditioning and defogging system;
• very important when it rains is the travel speed which must be reduced to 30 km/h within built-up area and 50 km/h outside built-up area;
• the roads are slippery thus increasing the braking distance, it is recommended to keep a sufficient distance from the vehicle in front of you thus avoiding possible unforeseen situations. Because of the water that comes into contact with the dust on the carriageway a layer of slime is formed and in this case the grip is low;
• if the rain is torrential, visibility will be greatly impaired and the driver of the motor vehicle must stop outside the carriageway.

Preventive conduct in fog

The risk factors that influence the behavior of the motor vehicle in motion are:

• reduced visibility;
• travel speed;
• fatigue of the driver.

Measures of preventive conduct in fog:

• the fog may come in waves, it may quickly change from the density at which you cannot see 10 meters ahead to an apparent visibility of 100 meters and back in a very short interval;
• drive slowly and cautiously. The main cause of accidents consists in the failure to adapt the speed to the visibility and road conditions. Use the hazard warning lights if necessary to make yourself as visible as possible for the other road users;
• during driving use the low beam lights (short beam) and the fog lights, the air conditioning and defogging system. Never use the high beam lights, this will do nothing but worsen the situation because the light hits directly into the fog, making visibility much lower;
• because of the concentration of attention fatigue appears quickly.