New Jersey motorists experience heavy fog and smoke on the roads from time to time. During these dangerous road conditions, drivers are more likely to be involved in multi-vehicle crashes. Multi-car pileups may occur during thick fog and smoke because drivers do not reduce their speed or maintain safe following distances.
Visibility is significantly reduced when there is thick fog and smoke on the road. High beams do not work on a foggy night because the lights reflect off of the moisture in the air. According to a Florida study on fog and smoke-related crashes, these accidents tend to happen in rural areas in the early morning hours.
One smoke and fog-related crash that happened in Florida in 2012 resulted in 11 deaths and 18 injuries. The accident happened before dawn when thick fog and smoke suddenly blanketed a section of Interstate 75 in Gainesville. Prior to the fatal wreck, a separate three-car accident with no deaths had occurred in the same area. The Florida Highway Patrol had shut the road down after the first accident and reopened it just before the second crash.
Although many motor vehicle accidents that take place in bad weather conditions are unavoidable, drivers still have the obligation to take fog and similar factors into account, and they have a duty of care to others who are on the road. If a car accident was the result of a driver going too fast for the conditions, a person who is injured may have recourse. A personal injury attorney can often use the police investigation report and other evidence to demonstrate that the driver was negligent and should thus be held financially responsible for the injured victim’s losses.