MrCjolsen

Today was my first foggy bike commute. What's good is that nearly my whole commute is bike lanes, wide roads or streets or paths.

As I was going down a frontage road, a guy coming off the freeway runs the stop sign, and pulls out in front of me. No biggy, I'm on a bike and at 20 mph the aviation term is "traffic not a factor." He's long gone before I reach the intersection.

Had I been in a car, however, there's a good likelyhood that I might have plowed into him at 40-60 mph.

That got me thinking. A very easy way to die in a car on a foggy morning is to have someone pull out in front of you with no lights on. You can't see them and they might not see you due to cell phones, fogged windows, or basic idiocy. When you see them, it's too late.

Or, if I'm pulling out into the road, I'm not going to see an oncoming car if it doesn't have it's lights on. Since my windows are up, I can't hear it either.

On a bike, however, I have to be very close in order for a driver to pull out in front of me and not have time to stop. And if I'm pulling out, I can usually hear an unlit car before it becomes visible. Moreover, when I pull out, I'm entering a bike lane most of the time so if the car does not swerve (no more likely in the fog than on a sunny day) it really doesn't matter if the car sees me or not.

nmanhipot

Yet another reason not to wear headphones in both ears while riding. Glad you're safe. What kind of lights were you running? Did they increase or decrease visibility? I can see where a helmet light would actually do more harm than good in heavy fog where a bar light might be OK.

noisebeam

I'd say it means that you should drive according to environmental conditions. You would have been equally fine if you had been driving your car at 20mph in the exact same situation, with 20mph being the safe and prudent speed for the conditions.

Now the other risk, especially when driving slower than others who are not driving at a safe and prudent speed for the heavy fog, low visibility condition is being rear ended. A bright taillight (bike or car) may not be enough for a 50mph driver to see a 20mph vehicle in time to stop with very short visibility.

The bicycle in the later case does have the advantage of being narrow meaning you can pull aside from the path of a vehicle from behind that does not appear to be slowing. Of course this assumes you can see/hear them in time.

Bottom line is very heavy fog is often not safe to drive any type of vehicle in.

Al

caloso

I've thought about this a lot myself, as another Sacto Valley rider. It seems to me the greatest risk in fog is being run down from behind. I try to mitigate that factor as much as possible with blinkies, reflective tape, and a fluorescent yellow jacket.

But as you say, you hear better and move slower on a bike and that's probably a bigger advantage than we realize.

I'm interested in what other fog riders think.

evblazer

I've been hitting fog lately in part of my commute. My bar light is helpful (dinotte 200L) but my helmet light ruins my vision if I leave it at it's normal angle. I guess that is one good thing about the target special I have is it has an adjustable angle so I just angle it up more so it doesn't get in my way but still makes a nice cone of light which other people hopefully can see.

It isn't heavy fog though. As someone mentioned a heavy fog might keep me off the road or at least roads I ride on now knowing how some of the drivers here drive.

CliftonGK1

This morning's visibility on the MUP was about 30', that's how dense the fog was. The only concern I have there is ninja joggers/cyclists, but they're pretty scarce this season.
On the road, my commute is farther from the river so it's not as foggy. I feel confident that my neon lime jersey with reflecty stripes, and my 2 PB superflash lights are enough that anyone coming up from behind will see me. But I also check my mirror to make sure that there isn't someone who's half asleep and fumbling with their coffee, barrelling down on my back wheel.

John C. Ratliff

I have cycled to work in fog, but I don't like it at all. The drivers here don't seem to slow down, so I stay off the main highways, and on either side roads or bike paths.

I have in the past decided to drive to work rather than ride in freezing fog, as not only do the drivers not slow down, but they don't understand that their brakes may not work. In those situations, I'd rather be in a vehicle than on a bicycle.

John

flipped4bikes

The fog I was in a couple of weeks ago was not safe for neither car or bike. Beautiful, crisp, fall day in Maine. Blue, sunny skies except in low lying sections where fog developed into a soup where nothing could be discerned for several hundred yards. And no, no one seemed to take any precautions. I turned on all my lights, but I doubt it made a difference in visibility.

MrCjolsen

The way it is for me, as I mentioned, is that there's a bike lane or very wide road almost the whole route. So for a driver to hit me, I have to be very much in the wrong place at the wrong time when they veer off the road. I've come to think that's no less likely in the fog as opposed to clear conditions.

I think fog does make drivers slow down. It's the one time that driving actually feels dangerous. Also, (based on the my own behavior) drivers tend to stay off the frontage road I use and keep to the freeway when it's foggy. Here the tule fog we get is often not as thick once you get on the freeway. There seemed to be far less traffic on my route today.

Caloso, btw, the road I'm talking about mostly is the frontage road on the north side of 80, between Mace and the Causeway. Ironically, we used it as a drag strip when I was in high school. But not in the fog.

noisebeam

I think it is more likely for a driver to be in the 'wrong' place in heavy fog for a few reasons:
-harder to see you so they won't be avoiding you on the right side of road
-harder to see right side of road edge so a center biased lane position is less likely
-more likely to drive as far right as possible to avoid the 'suddenly appearing' oncoming vehicles/lights as they are harder to see
-driver may see your rear lights in fog and think it is a distant car and go in that direction

Al

SDRider

I don't like riding in extreme fog for fear of not being seen by the cagers. I highly doubt it is safer than driving in it because of this and this alone.

In a car you should never be travelling faster than your ability to stop the car within the distance you can see in front of you. If you are travelling faster than that you are not driving safely.