Driving in Fog on Pakistan's Motorways: Safety Guide

The safest way to drive in fog on a Pakistani motorway is not to start the trip until you have checked whether the section is open. If you are already on the road, slow down to a speed at which you can stop within the distance you can see, switch on low beams and fog lights, keep a long gap to the car in front and leave at the next interchange or service area if visibility keeps falling. If you break down, get off the carriageway, switch on hazards and get everyone behind the barrier before you call Motorway Police on 130.

Fog and smog are a regular part of winter in Punjab and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In recent winters the National Highways and Motorway Police (NH&MP) has closed sections of the M-2, M-3, M-4, M-11, the Hazara Motorway and the Swat Expressway when visibility dropped too low, often overnight and in the early morning. The guide below explains how to plan around fog and what to do when it catches you out.

Check before you go

Fog closures change by the hour. A stretch that is shut at 4 am may reopen by 10 am, and a road that was clear when you left Islamabad may be closed near Lahore. Before a winter motorway trip, check the latest position from official sources rather than relying on what a friend saw yesterday.

• Call the NH&MP helpline on 130 and ask about the section you plan to use.
• Check NH&MP's official social media accounts, which post closures and reopenings during fog spells.
• Look at the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast for fog warnings in your route's districts.
• If you can, travel between late morning and mid-afternoon, when fog is usually at its thinnest.
• Tell someone your route and expected arrival time, and keep your phone charged.

When a motorway is closed, traffic is usually diverted to the national highway, which may also be foggy and is busier, with slow trucks, tractors and unlit carts. Closing a motorway does not make the alternative road safe. If the fog is dense, the safest choice is often to delay the trip.

How to drive in fog

• Slow down well below the normal limit. Your speed should let you stop within the distance you can clearly see.
• Use low-beam headlights and front and rear fog lights. High beams reflect off the fog and make it harder to see.
• Keep a much larger gap than usual to the vehicle in front. Following its tail lights closely is a common cause of chain collisions.
• Stay in the left lane where you can, away from overtaking traffic, and do not change lanes unless you have to.
• Turn off music, open your window slightly at junctions and listen for traffic you cannot see.
• Use the demister and air conditioning to keep the windscreen clear, and make sure your wipers and washer fluid work before the season starts.
• Avoid driving with hazard lights on while moving; they hide your indicators. Use them if you have to slow suddenly or stop.

Fog tends to sit in patches. You can drive out of a clear stretch into near-zero visibility within seconds, especially near rivers, canals and low-lying farmland. When you see a fog bank ahead, slow down before you enter it, not once you are inside.

During heavy fog spells, Motorway Police may hold traffic at toll plazas or lead it in escorted convoys. Follow their instructions and keep your place in the line; overtaking a convoy in fog puts everyone at risk.

If visibility becomes too poor to continue

If you can no longer see far enough to drive safely, leave the motorway at the next interchange or pull into the next service area and wait. Do not stop on the hard shoulder unless you have no other choice. In fog, drivers behind you may mistake your tail lights for a moving car in the lane and follow them onto the shoulder.

If you are forced to stop on the shoulder, pull as far left as possible, switch on hazards and sidelights, get everyone out through the left-hand doors and move behind the crash barrier, well ahead of the car. Do not sit inside the car and wait. Then call 130 and give your direction of travel and nearest kilometre marker.

Breaking down in fog

A breakdown in fog is more dangerous than a breakdown in clear weather because approaching drivers see your car late. Follow the same steps as any motorway breakdown, but with extra caution.

• Get onto the hard shoulder or, better, into a service area or interchange if the car can still move.
• Switch on hazards and sidelights immediately.
• Only place a warning triangle if you can do it without walking into danger. In thick fog, it is often safer to skip this and get behind the barrier.
• Get everyone out on the side away from traffic and wait behind the barrier, ahead of the car.
• Call Motorway Police on 130, and Rescue 1122 if anyone is hurt.
• Call a recovery service and give your motorway, direction and kilometre marker. Share a WhatsApp live location if you have signal.

Recovery trucks also have to drive slowly in fog, and NH&MP may restrict access to closed sections, so your wait may be longer than in clear weather. Keep warm clothes, water and a torch with you while you wait. Do not try to tow the car with a rope behind another vehicle in low visibility.

Prepare your car for the fog season

• Check that every bulb works: headlights, fog lights, tail lights, brake lights and indicators.
• Clean the headlight lenses; cloudy or yellowed lenses cut light output noticeably.
• Replace worn wiper blades and fill the washer reservoir.
• Make sure the demister, rear screen heater and AC all work.
• Get the battery tested. Cold mornings and long periods with lights, heater and demister on put extra load on it.
• Check tyre tread and pressures, since wet, misty roads reduce grip.
• Carry a warning triangle, reflective vest, torch, warm layers, water and a phone charger.

Fog and smog are not the same

Fog is water droplets in the air; smog is fog or haze mixed with pollution. In Punjab the two often combine from late October into the winter months. Smog can reduce visibility at any time of day and can irritate the eyes and lungs. If you are driving through smog, keep the windows closed, set the air conditioning to recirculate and keep a mask in the car.

Whatever the cause, the rule is the same: if you cannot see, slow down, and if you cannot see enough to drive safely, stop somewhere safe and wait. A delayed journey is far better than a chain collision.