Fog can cover an open road or landscape at anytime. According to Weather Online, fog can develop immediately when warm surface temperatures and cool air collide -- bringing visibility to zero. This fact is critical because although fog may be beautiful and scenic to the bystander, it creates a hazard to travelers. As a result, fog will vary in its density and is a dangerous element for people or objects in motion.
Fog is a result of "condensed water droplets," according to Weather Questions. Hot, wet air moving over atop a cold ground surface can cause fog. Specifically, fog forms when air temperatures cool to levels where the atmosphere cannot handle its mass quantities of water vapor. Humidity can also wreak havoc on fall weather by creating air masses that result in fog.
Fog creates a cloud-like covering over surface areas -- be it land, water or sea. Thick masses of fog are often dense and can rapidly drop visibility levels. Thick patches of fog are dangerous whether or not you possess a Global Positioning System (GPS), according to Maine Coast Guide. While a GPS may give you digital directions on where to go, without proper vision a driver cannot see where he is going. Joggers or boat operators as well, for example, can quickly loose a sense of direction; endangering themselves and others. Trying to battle through fog can result in injury or death.
Drivers, for example, may immediately panic when blinded by fog. Slowing your vehicle down and turning on your headlights is a wise way to regain any sense of control and visibility that you can. Whatever you do: do not speed as a result of panic. In September of 1999, on Highway 401 in Ontario, according to The Vancouver Sun, a massive 87 car pile-up resulted from an accident caused by reduced visibility in thick fog.
The dangers of fog are dramatically reduced if you can stop what you are doing until fog passes. Docking or throwing anchor on a boat along shore can keep a sea traveler safe from the perilous possibility of striking another boat while at sea. Using your car headlights, on the other hand, to reflect the white lines on the side of the road can guide you safely off streets and byways until visibility returns.
