Drive Carefully in the Thick East Texas Fog as More is Expected Tomorrow
East Texas was a foggy mess this morning. While most were driving with some extra caution, some still thought they could drive like it was any other day. More thick fog is expected tomorrow morning especially in the rural areas. This makes for a perfect time to remind yourself of some safe driving tips when the fog returns.
Fog, especially in any rural area, can be a huge hassle to drive through. As we saw this morning all across East Texas, the fog, even inside city limits which is normally lighter, was extremely thick and made driving hazardous. Traveling down South Broadway to get to the station this morning, I saw, for the most part, drivers being cautious. There were a select few that were not taking the fog into account making the commute dangerous for some.
What exactly is fog?
Fog is basically a cloud on the ground. It's caused when the humidity causes a lot of water vapor. That vapor starts collecting around dust molecules forming the fog. That's a super basic explanation but you get the idea.
So what should you do when faced with an extreme fog like we saw this morning?
The obvious thing to do is simply slow down. Let's say you're on a country road and the fog is so thick that you can only see a few in front of you. That doesn't give you a lot of time to react if something pops up in front of you like another car or even an animal. Boom! You're in an accident.
That's probably what happened this morning at the traffic light beside Tyler Pipe. Traffic was at a stand still in the South bound lanes while the accident was cleared. Some say that traffic was backed up halfway to Interstate 20. Slow down in thick fog.
Another thing that helps when in dense fog is turn your headlights on. This doesn't allow for you to see better but it does allow the people around you to see you better. This makes you more aware of who is around you allowing you to drive more safely. DO NOT use your high beams. This causes the light to bounce off the water molecules back into your line of sight making it harder for you to see.
There is a possibility of seeing fog once again tomorrow morning. It shouldn't be as thick as this morning but the rural areas of East Texas could see some thick patches in some spots. Just slow down and take that extra minute to keep you and your loved ones safe.