DON’T TAKE FOG LIGHTLY
As most of the parts of Jammu region remained enveloped in dense fog and the conditions are expected to continue for the next three days with adjoining Punjab and other north Indian states also facing the brunt of weather God, it is necessary not to take things lightly especially while driving during these foggy times. As per the weather forecast department dense to very dense fog is likely to continue at least till January 6 in northern plains of the country including some parts of J&K following which, sky will remain partly cloudy for the next two days. These severe climatic conditions call for extra care during travelling and therefore the commuters should take all the precautions to remain safe and also ensure safety of fellow travelers so that everyone should reach his or her destination without any mishap. There are several stretches on the NH 44 in Jammu region which have been entangled by the dense fog and reportedly the visibility has turned very poor making it imperative to take all necessary precautions to drive safely as a small mistake can cause big damage. Recently there were many undated videos that have gone viral on social media showing scores of vehicles hit one after another due to foggy conditions on highways and even some videos have disturbing content where people are lying on the road after such mishaps caused by the poor visibility due to fog. Although there is no authenticity about when and where these mishaps had occurred but for sure many among these are real videos of Indian roads and highways telling the alarming situation arising out of fog. As far as people of Jammu and Kashmir are concerned, most of them are used to of such road conditions because fog and mist is a regular feature on roads and highways passing through high mountain passes and driving of the people here is upto the mark and they are already proficient in dealing such road conditions. Despite the fact that J&K residents are skillful in driving vehicles during testing times, it becomes important to be more cautious while driving under dense fog as chances of mishaps rise under such a condition. The best tip to be safe during foggy days or nights is driving very slow and using fog lights besides following all the traffic norms religiously especially use of head lights in low beam mode as these could help in avoiding bad situations. There is another tip which is advisable during foggy conditions and that is to remain indoors until and unless it is very urgent to be on wheels and drive.