aliveagain
Needs a life
Posts: 5033
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posted March 13, 2008 07:37 PM
fog
Ok,what would you do?I was coming back from New York state around midnight and ran into cloud of fog.Patchy at first and then nothing in front of you.I had no idea of how far the fog reached and luckily was on a deserted highway,I hoped.Would you pull over and wait out the fog?Ride the break down lane which was all that was visible and risk getting rammed in the rear?Who knows if there was a pile up in front of you.Happened about 3 years ago and curious how others would handle it.
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I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
  
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whitehendrix
Zone Head
fails!
Posts: 757
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posted March 14, 2008 12:50 AM
Hmm.. been in this situation actually. many times i've been caught in atrocious weather.. just at the beginning of the month, i got caught in a white out!!! that sucked, but i kept riding for fear of it not subsiding and then really being screwed.
i've ridden on snow tho before, so i didn't worry.
for.. my concern is deer, mostly.. i get out of work at 1am.. theres no traffic to speak of at that time, and i live in B.F.
i treat it like a wet and cold day.. slow down to 1/3 my normal speeds, cover the brake at all times, and try to gauge the road, traffic, and just be uber alert..
if i was on the interstate, i think i migh try to find a plan-b type of road.. i just really don't trust te other motorists around me.. i won't set myself up to be another biker fatality statistic.
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Duct tape is the handyman's secret
weapon. The black is for formal
occasions. - ZRXDean
ill never own a busa unless
someone gives me one.... and then
ill sell it -KZScott
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Sticks_n_Stones
Needs a job
Posts: 3930
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posted March 18, 2008 09:50 AM
I used to live and ride in Sacramento California. That place would get fog like you described on a regular occasion every fall and spring. The kind where even with my gauges covered to erase the glare, leaning over the windshield inches from the headlight, i still could only see a literal couple of feet ahead of me. And I lived on a farm about 10 miles from town where I worked. Bad combo!
Couple of things to do: First off, if you see fog that heavy ahead pull into a pullout or somewhere you can wait for a car to pass. Then follow his taillights. If you see them suddenly shoot up in the air dont follow him into the ditch.  Yes, saw that happen.
If thats not possible, go as fast as you can go (that might only be 5 mph- I averaged about 10-15 mph once I got the hang of it and memorized the road by braille) and still maintain good eye contact with that line in the road. NEVER use the center line unless there is no breakdown (right side) line to follow. Also, get up over your gauges or cover them with something. The glare off those gauges will absolutely blind you. If the fog gets so bad you cant see the line more than a foot or two ahead of your headlights, then get off the bike and walk it with the bike in the lane and your feet walking the dots on the side of the road or right at the edge of the pavement.
No matter what, keep an eye out behind you. The oncoming cars headlights will give them away with plenty of advance warning no matter how bad the fog is. Oncoming cars headlights arent so obvious, because there headlights white glare hides yours until they are really close.
And using that rule about your own headlights hiding other headlights glare, remember that the cars coming up behind you will not see your headlights AT ALL! Or your bikes running light for that matter. They just plain wont see you period until you are within a few feet of them. Which leaves you with a choice: get off the road - way off, or speed up to nearly there speed so that they approach you slowly and have time to realize you are there.
Once they "see" you, wave them around you. The average cars headlights are WAY WAY better in the fog, being half the distance to the ground compared to the high headlights of a bike. Even if they are going to fast for my comfort, I still followed them as far back as I could be (so as not to blind them) and still see there running lights.
Don't worry about coming up on stop signs or lights unexpectedly. There will be no cops around to bust you, and if there were cars there you would have seen there lights glow beforehand. No matter how bad the fog, you will see there headlights in time. Unless you are going WAY to fast! Same with corners. As far as corners go numerous times I arrived home to my surprise having gone through 3 turns in the road and never knew it. Follow the line! The lines will not lead you into a ditch. Unless this guy was painting them at least!
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'06 zx14
Muzzy M10/M14
PCIII w/ Muzzy map
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