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e Low Visibility Smoke from wildfires and controlled burning, fog and heavy rain will affect your ability to see. When driving in low visibility conditions: ►You must turn on your headlights. 4 Parking lights are not a substitute. Drive with lights on low beam. High beams will reflect off the fog an...

e Low Visibility Smoke from wildfires and controlled burning, fog and heavy rain will affect your ability to see. When driving in low visibility conditions: ►You must turn on your headlights. 4 Parking lights are not a substitute. Drive with lights on low beam. High beams will reflect off the fog and impair visibility even more. ▸ Turn on your headlights when you turn on your windshield wipers. ► Use wipers and defrosters for maximum visibility. Sometimes it is difficult to determine if poor visibility is due to fog or moisture on the windshield. ► Use the right edge of the road or edge lines and center lines as visual guides. ▸ Eliminate all distractions in your vehicle. Turn off the radio, cell phone, etc. ► Watch out for slow-moving and parked vehicles. ► Keep your windshield and head- lights clean to reduce glare and increase visibility. Rain When you turn on your windshield wip- ers, turn on your headlights. Slow down! Roads become slick during rainstorms and especially if it has not rained in a while (oil build-up on the highway). Wet road conditions will increase your braking/stopping distance, so be sure to increase your following distance. Hydroplaning happens when your vehi- cle slides on top of a thin layer of water between your tires and the road. When your tires are not touching the road, you can easily lose control and skid. 48 Tires with low air pressure or bad tread increase the risk of hydroplaning-and so does speeding. (See page 52 for safety tips during hydroplaning.) Brakes often become wet after driving in heavy rain. They may pull to one side or the other, or they may not hold at all. If this happens, slow down and gently push on the brake pedal until your brakes are working again. If you come to a flooded roadway, turn around and find another way to go. Do not attempt to drive through the water! It is impossible to determine the depth or current and your vehicle could become submerged or swept away. Animals There may be times when an animal suddenly runs in front of your vehicle. Do not swerve into oncoming traffic or off the roadway to avoid hitting the animal. This may result in a more seri- ous crash than if your vehicle collided with the animal. To reduce your chances of colliding with an animal: ►Use caution when driving at dawn and dusk; this is when animals are most active. ► Be extra alert when driving on roadways marked with animal crossing signs and near woods and water. ► Scan the sides of the road and watch for the reflection of your headlights in the eyes of animals. ► Deer/vehicle crashes occur most often from October to December. ► Slow down when approaching animals that are standing near the roadway, they may bolt out or change direction.