"

"ReSiN8oR" WROTE: -
I was thinking the same thing. I've driven along in both directions day
and night in heavy fog. Times less than 20m visibility. Particularly
around Maddens Plains. At least at night you can see lighting making the
drive easier. I can still vaguely remember a massive pileup one foggy
day years ago. Many cars involved. Ring any one elses bell?

Longish text follows aus.cars:-

NSW Legislative Assembly discussion leading to regulations allowing for the
use of hazard-warning lights on moving vehicles under hazardous weather
conditions causing reduced visibility. Adopted nationally, we now recognised
this as Australian Road Rule 221(e).  Please see commentary at the end of
discussion, advocacy for a mandatory rear fog lamp rule for MA, MB and MC
ADR categories, with a study for heavy vehicle implementation required.
220 ASSEMBLY 18 May, 1988

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 18 May, 1988

HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS Page 52

Mr ZAMMIT (Strathfield) 15.521:

I bring to the notice of the Minister for Administrative Services and
Assistant Minister for Transport the dangerous situation encountered on the
roads by drivers of motor vehicles when fog blankets our countryside.
Honourable members have witnessed the beauty of fog as it tumbles among
mountains and through valleys, but have experienced also the feeling of
alarm that accompanies the sudden and unexpected loss of vision which
blanketing fog presents. Fog can be threatening. We may not see confidently
what is ahead of us, and there may be a nagging fear that some other driver,
foolish, or impatient or inattentive, will not slow down to a sensible
speed, and will overrun us, though we may be acting responsibly. These fears
are well founded. Serious collisions have occurred involving slow or
frequently- stopping vehicles, such as school buses. Numerous pile-ups have
occurred on our freeways, especially when fog has been encountered suddenly
by vehicles travelling at high speed. Some of our steepest and windiest
roads pass through areas that are subject to fog. In some cases the hazards
are compounded by slippery road surfaces.

In 1987 some seven fatal crashes involved investigating police reporting the
presence of fog or mist as a direct contributing factor. A further 452
accidents were directly attributed to poor visibility because of mist or
fog. Those accidents led to injuries and to vehicles being towed from the
scene. According to federal estimates these crashes cost the New South Wales
economy about $9 million a year. In my electorate, which includes the F4
Freeway from Concord through Parramatta to Westmead, in 1987 there were
three deaths, 11 people seriously wounded and 50 people injured in accidents
occasioned during periods of poor visibility, which may have involved fog or
mist.

272 ASSEMBLY 18 May, 1988 Page 53

On 19th January an article in the Daily Mirror referred to a spate of
multicar pile-ups resulting from poor visibility and high speed on the F6
Freeway. An accident on 17th January involving 12 cars resulted in nine
people being injured. It was pointed out that though expressways such as the
F4 and the F6 are among the safest roads in New South Wales, they can be a
potential death trap under conditions of fog or mist. Reference was made in
that article to a system used by the Californian Highway Patrol, known as
operation fogdown. It is said to involve police escorts for convoys of
vehicles, with a police car travelling in front and another at the rear of
the convoy. I am troubled by the suggestion that the police in New South
Wales were considering the introduction of that system, especially in light
of the present demands on police resources. I have been a member of the
Staysafe committee for the past three years and I do not recall the issue of
fog conditions being considered by it.

We cannot stop fog, nor can we locate all roads in areas where fog is
infrequent. We cannot rigidly control at1 drivers all the time, but we can
do more than has been done to encourage drivers to anticipate and to respond
sensibly to this hazard so as to improve the ease with which vehicles can be
seen in the fog. The Minister might wish to comment on this situation and
inform the House what steps the Government will take to alleviate the
horrendous road toll. Last night in the House I mentioned that the road toll
has risen 9 per cent over last year's figure. That rise has occurred in the
first five months of this year. Extended over a 12-month period it would
represent an increase in the road toll of 20 per cent. Such an increase is
unacceptable. I should like to hear of steps the Minister might take to
reduce the horrendous carnage on our roads.

Mr SINGLETON

Minister for Administrative Services and Assistant Minister for Transport

(Coffs Harbour) 15.571:

The honourable member for Strathfield has become well known in this House
and throughout the State for his interest in road safety matters. He is
interested also in other forms of transport and fought hard for a better
train service to the Bunvood area. During the past four years he has turned
a former Labor seat into a blue-ribbon Liberal seat and is to be
congratulated on the work he has done. He has become a man of the people in
his electorate. He is well known for his interest in transport issues, and
particularly road safety. He has represented consistently the interests of
his constituents in seeking improved road and rail services.

In the parliamentary sphere he has worked as chairman designate on the
Staysafe committee and has made a significant contribution to improving road
safety in New South Wales. His reference to statistics indicates his depth
of knowledge on road safety. I welcome his constructive comments in raising
this issue of the hazard of driving in fog. Driving in thick fog is one of
the worst experiences suffered by a driver. It is a frequent cause of
accidents in rural areas. In times of fog many roads become high risk areas
because of wet and slippery conditions and poor visibility.

Many country roads, such as the Great Western Highway through the Blue
Mountains, the Bulli-Sublime Point area of the F6 Freeway, and the
tablelands and the valleys of the State, are dangerous in foggy conditions.
This was shown to be the case in the recent multiple vehicle accident to
which the honourable member referred. Many motorists fail to drive
appropriately for the conditions prevailing and are unable to stop quickly
if an emergency arises. In these conditions drivers should be as responsible
as possible.

The previous Government ignored its responsibility to minimize the dangers
associated with driving in fog. Recently the Minister for Transport approved
changes in the regulations to the Motor Traffic Act to allow hazard -

273 18 May, 1988 ASSEMBLY Page 54

lights to be used during fog conditions. These regulations have been amended
on the recommendations of the Traffic Authority, the State Government agency
responsible for co-ordinating traffic management and road safety. Previously
motorists were prohibited from using hazard lights except where a vehicle
was stopped in a hazardous position. Yellow or orange flashing lights are
far more conspicuous than a steady beam from headlights or tail-lights. Now,
when driving in foggy conditions, motorists should turn on their hazard
lights, put their headlights on low beam and drive slowly. This will make
the vehicles more visible and will give other drivers sufficient time to
react to any emergency situation. Driving with hazard lights displayed under
any other circumstance will still, of course, be illegal.

MotAdv-Notes:

a) THE F6 suffered a multi-vehicle pileup exceeding 53 vehicles in fog south
of the then toll gates at the 'big dipper' at the time. NSW has had other
multi-vehicle pileups in fog, heavy rain and the like, numerically in the 9,
14 car range. Low visibility is a causing agent of end-result.

b) HAZARD warning lights at 12v/21watts are NOT as bright as low-beam
headlights (12v/60watts), or front fog lights (12v/55watts).

c) HAZARD warning lights used in this fashion are NOT intended to help you
see ahead as they are not low beam or front fog light in performance
characteristics.

d) THE hazard warning lights allowance, as adopted by NSW back then, now
nationally at ARR 221(e), was intended to act as defacto REAR FOG LAMPS.

e) THE NSW Authority of 1987/1988 would have been better advised to advocate
a change to what is now in 2008 - 'ADR 13, Part 8.5.1'. This stipulates;
Presence: Paragraph 6.11.1 of Appendix A (Rear fog lamps, page 45 of ADR13)
does not apply. The fitment of rear fog lamps is optional in this rule.

f) THE use of hazard warning lights in the manner allowed by ARR regulation
221(e) bears conflict with the United Nations 1968 Convention on Road
Traffic, Road Signs and Signals, Article 32, part 13.

END

wait until there is a bush fire close by and the smoke mizes with the fog
you won't even see the front of your car

I came across this one night many years ago, towing a car on the
trailer, hit the fog at around 70-80kph and everything disappeared and
all I could see was a faint yellow glow from the headlights(couldn't
actually see any light beams cause I couldn't see the front of the car)

I had slowed to slower than walking pace and got a glimpse of the road
and I was on the wrong side, just as I steered left someone went past
going way too fast(probably only 20-30kph) for that sh.t
I crept along and after another 100 metres or so it cleared up

The last time I came across this same thing(at the nearly same place I
might add) was closer to a bridge, this time as I crept through I came
across some morons who had actually stopped, not off the side of the
road, but right in the middle, and there they were standing behind their
cars

Kev