Short braking distances are crucial in panic situations. Especially in fog and haze. In this type of weather, the braking distance is longer on a damp roadway due to rubber tracks and oil stains, especially if it has been dry for a while. In case of (heavy) rainfall, these pollutants wash away. Fog is in many ways a highwayman that often looms up in the form of impenetrable fog banks and patches of fog. It is often forgotten that a clean windscreen improves visibility and ensures better responsiveness. In addition, with limited visibility, the sense of speed is partly lost. This is especially true on highways. Fog is oppressive, it makes the world around you small. The higher the speed, the more dangerous that combination. Then it comes down to the shortest possible braking distance.
Content
- Fog in the city and in the countryside
- Tread depth of car tires on dry, damp and wet road surfaces
- Braking distance at 80 km / h
- Response time
- Response distance table ?? braking distance
- Fog and chain collisions
- Medicines and responsiveness
Fog in the city and in the countryside
The city more or less has its own climate. Compared to the countryside, it is less humid and less cold. Mist is created when moist air cools down and / or mixes with warm, moist air. Miniscule water droplets up to 0.1 millimeter form a cloud of microscopic droplets. There are many factors involved fogging promote and worsen. Such as emissions from power plants and factories. The fog then thickens.
Senses
In addition, fog dampens the ambient noise. Which can dangerous in traffic situations because of the often unnatural silence that then arises. The senses are sharpened and after a while this causes symptoms of fatigue in people who spend a long time on the road, such as truck drivers. The majority of traffic accidents in fog are caused by driving with an unadjusted speed and too short a following distance. Fog banks are very treacherous, where the vision is suddenly reduced to almost zero and the eyes adjust only slowly. Moreover, fog banks appear in an unpredictable way.
Tread depth of car tires on dry, damp and wet road surfaces
Legally, the tread depth of car tires must be at least 1.6 mm over the entire tread. However, it is recommended to replace summer tires with one tread depth of 2 mm, and winter tires at 4 mm. New tires have a tread depth that is 8 mm as standard. Under varying traffic and weather conditions, the braking distance can change drastically at different speeds, as is the case with, for example, aquaplaning. Add to this the reaction distance, which can be quite long and is individually determined.
Dangerous road surface
In fog, the road is usually only damp. It is less known that the road surface is more dangerous than on a wet road. After all, rubber traces and oil stains create a film that mirror smooth may be, depending on the weather conditions in the previous days. During (heavy) rainfall, these road surface contaminants wash away.
Braking distance at 80 km / h
The table below shows how dangerous it is to drive with a tread depth of 1 mm and thus with practically worn tires. This puts oneself and others in danger. Cutting down on the life of tires, in other words driving them for another year even though the tread depth is at the limit (1.6 mm or slightly less), can mean the difference between stopping in time and hitting a child suddenly on the road. crosses the road or makes a whip on the bike.
Response time
The average reaction time before the brake pedal is pressed is about three quarters of a second, the equivalent of about 15 meters at a speed of 80 km / h. This one response time is determined individually and partly depends on the age of the driver, the degree of distraction while driving, but also, for example, on the use of medication. Don’t forget that painkillers are also notorious for having a negative impact on responsiveness.
Response distance table ?? braking distance
The values in the table below are averages and apply at a speed of 80 km / h.
Condition of the road surface | Tread depth tires | Response distance | Braking distance distance |
---|---|---|---|
Dry | > 1 mm | 15 m | 32 m |
Wet (2 mm water) | 5 mm | 15 m | 37 m |
Wet (2 mm water) | 1 mm | 15 m | 44 m |
Moist (fog) | > 1 mm | 15 m | 52 m |
Ice | > 1 mm | 15 m | 191 m |
Fog and chain collisions
In fog, distances are more difficult to estimate than in clear weather. Research shows that many drivers keep too little distance because they regard the rear lights and fog lamps as target points. A clean windscreen (and rear window) is of the utmost importance in that regard. Chain collisions almost always occur due to sticking, reducing the reaction distance and the actual braking distance getting too long to be able to stop in time.
Sudden braking
In view of the above table, sudden braking will cause a speed of 80 km / h have traveled approximately 15 -17 meters before depressing the brake pedal. The reaction time is just under a second, but only for someone who is perfectly healthy and who is actually on the ball when the brakes need to be applied.
Medicines and responsiveness
Certain drugs are known to drastically increase the above reaction rate, but so does fatigue, as does the age of the driver. It follows that if the following traffic is traveling at the same speed and has the same reaction speed, the driver of the tenth car will have traveled a distance of approximately 150-170 meters after the reaction of the first driver.
Safe distance
To a chain collision The minimum (not the safest) distance between each car should therefore be approximately 17 meters. In addition, every car must have good brakes. Not counting many additional factors ?? such as road maintenance and the above points among others ?? that negatively affect the actual stopping distance.