As dense fog blankets Northern California, CHP urges safe driving with these tips

Dense fog again engulfed Sacramento and elsewhere in Northern California Monday morning, making for challenging driving conditions. The National Weather Service issued a fog advisory that lasts through 11 a.m.

Visibility in some areas is down to just a quarter of a mile, according to NWS. Before you pull out of the driveway, make sure you’re ready for the fog — start by leaving a little bit early so you have extra time to go slow when visibility is reduced.

Here’s everything you need to know about driving through fog:

Take your time

Driving in adverse conditions always means taking it slow, so leave extra early, particularly during the morning commute. In addition to reducing driving speeds, you should also start pumping the brakes earlier than you normally would to stop since judging distances and speeds of cars ahead of you is more difficult.

Slow down, pay attention to the roadway and don’t drive distracted are the most important things to do during fog, California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer A.J. McTaggart said.

“People don’t understand than when it’s foggy like this, the ground is wet,” McTaggart said. “It’s not quite like it’s raining, you’re not going to hydroplane, but your following distance still needs to increase because it’s going to take more for the car to stop.”

Know which lights to use

If you’ve got specifically designated fog lights on your car, use them. Those lights are angled down at the road rather than straight ahead.

But if your car doesn’t have fog lights, make sure you use low beams instead of high beams. High beams are meant to maximize your visibility distance, but the water molecules in fog reflect the light from high beams, which makes it more difficult to see.

Instead, use your low beams, which don’t cause as much glare.

Before you go, you need to make sure you know your car, McTaggart said.

“A lot of people don’t understand how their lights work,” McTaggart said. “Even if you have autolights you can turn them on. Make sure if you’re not sure, read [your] manual or watch YouTube.”

Watch lane lines

While it may feel strange to not be able to see what’s ahead of you, focusing your eyes on lane lines will help keep you safe in fog. In the thickest of fogs, it’s best to hang in the right lane and use the bright white line to your right as a guide.

Avoid lane changes

Try to stay in the same lane until it’s absolutely necessary to move over. If you change lanes frequently, it’s harder for other drivers to track where you are.