Driving in fog: dipped headlights, and a stopping distance inside what you can see
Fog lights go off once visibility improves, and the tail lights ahead give a false sense of security.
Winter nights and early mornings in Kuwait bring fog, and it often drops suddenly across open motorways. These steps come from the UK’s official Highway Code, in its section on driving in bad weather, and they hold on any road.
Before you reach it
- Check your mirrors, then slow down before you enter a bank of fog, not once you are in it.
- Don’t trust a clear road after a fog warning sign. There may be a bank or drifting patches ahead, and even when it seems to be lifting you can suddenly find yourself in thick fog.
Lights
- Use your headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, which generally means you cannot see more than 100 metres.
- Front and rear fog lights are only for visibility that poor. They dazzle other drivers and can hide your brake lights. Switch them off when visibility improves.
- Watch for drivers who haven’t switched their lights on.
Distance and speed
- Keep a safe gap behind the car in front. Its tail lights give a false sense of security.
- Drive at a speed that lets you stop well within the distance you can see clearly. This matters most on motorways, where speeds are higher.
- Don’t speed up to get away from someone sitting too close behind you.
- Check your mirrors before slowing down, then brake so your brake lights warn the driver behind.
Windscreen and junctions
- Use your wipers and demisters.
- At a junction with limited visibility, stop in the correct position and listen for traffic. When you are sure it is safe, pull out positively, and don’t hesitate somewhere that leaves you in the path of oncoming cars.
Kuwait’s Meteorological Department usually issues fog warnings in advance, so check before an early-morning drive. For roads flooded by rain, see our earlier guide.
Photo: A motorway in thick fog, in Germany. By Markus Spiske, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: UK Government, The Highway Code, “Driving in adverse weather conditions”, rules 226, 234, 235 and 236 (gov.uk), read 10 November 2026.
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