Handy Tips for Driving In the Fog

Fog chooses the most ridiculous times to appear… in the morning when you are in a rush to get to work and in the evening when you are dead beat and you just want to go home and unwind. Not every area experiences fog, but again, with the global warming phenomena et al… who knows? If you live in low lying areas, near rivers and lakes, you could experience fog more often than, say, a person who lives in low humidity areas.

Mildly foggy conditions on the road
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fog

Driving in the fog is dangerous. In fact, you are advised to let the fog dissipate rather than drive in it, but then, there is that job to attend to. With caution, you can drive in the fog and arrive alive. How?

Tips for driving in the fog

Be alert and check the speedometer regularly. Dense fog creates an optical illusion in most drivers and in any case you cannot be able to judge the distance between you and the vehicle ahead, since you can’t see far enough. It is better to drive at a crawl and arrive safely. Be safe!

Ensure that you are visible. In the fog, visibility goes down. It is difficult to detect a vehicle that is a few meters behind or in front of you. Most vehicles from BEFOWARD come with factory installed fog lights that give a yellow or clear light. They are set low down and their beam is directed to illuminate the distance but as low as possible. This enables you to see a couple of meters ahead of you even in the thickest of fogs.

Check the Highway Code in your country. There must be something to this effect, that headlights must be kept on at all times when visibility is less than 100 meters.

Do not use high beams. High beam headlights reflect on the water vapor, eventually decreasing your visibility or playing tricks on your eyes. Keep your beams low so that other road users can see you.

Always stay on your lane. It is almost difficult to do so, when there is fog, but it is not as if you have a choice. Preferably, keep your eyes on the lines to ensure you do not veer off the lane and cause an accident.

Keep a safe distance. Most likely, it will be wet, and so the usual stopping distance will not be enough. Keep as long a distance as you can because. If you can only see a few meters ahead, driver slowly, even at a crawl if you must drive. It is also important to switch off the radio or music so that you can listen out for other vehicles, especially at junctions.

Rear fog lights will keep you visible to other drivers behind you
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_lighting

Don’t follow the taillights of the car ahead of you. This is one way for you to clobber their rear bumper nice and clear. If visibility is very poor and you are following the taillights ahead of you, tailgating is inevitable and eventually, there will be no distance between you and the car ahead. This is a recipe for a pile up.

We could go on and on about this, but the best advice is… if the fog is too dense and you don’t feel confident, don’t drive. It won’t last forever. You can wait or hog a bus or train. If you have to drive, ensure you have enough fuel, your car is in excellent condition and that your defrosters are working. When it is foggy, you don’t want your car to die on you on the road.

Tips for Buying a Used Car

The used car market has done incredible lately. When the economy goes down, used car sales go up. This is for good reason too. I am a firm believer that purchasing a used vehicle is smarter than buying new 99% of the time. Is it risky? Sure it is. Most things that could potentially provide huge benefits are. But if done the right way, risk can be minimized and rewards can be maximized.  Buying used instead of new can literally save you thousands of dollars. And I don’t know about you, but I could use thousands of dollars for all sorts of things, like buying another motorcycle, or maybe a snowmobile, or a four-wheeler or some other fun toy. Or maybe to pay rent. Anyways, the point is, if you’re willing to put in a little bit of effort and follow these simple tips, you’ll be driving a very reliable used car before you know it.

Tip #1- Do your research! Decide what kind of car you want before you just go out and buy what seems like a good deal. I don’t just mean what type of car either, like compact car, or minivan, I’m talking make and model such as Ford Taurus or Toyota Camry. If you don’t know exactly what make and model you want then go test drive a few and figure out which one fits your wants, needs, and budget best. If you can’t narrow it down to one then narrow it down to two or three.

Tip #2- Look online! There’s an endless supply of websites devoted to selling cars. Some of the bigger ones are cars.com and beforward.jp. While these are great they’re typically flooded with dealers trying to sell cars. Try to find a website that caters to your local area. Usually the smaller more local websites will let sellers list their cars for free so there are many more private sellers, which means better deals.  For instance, here in Utah ksl.com is very well known for their classifieds section, and I personally have purchased 5 vehicles that I found on their website. All of which I got a great deal on.

Tip #3- Ask a million questions. Ok, maybe not a million, but a lot. For example, some good questions to ask include:

Why are you selling the car?

How long have you owned the car?

How many owners has the car had?

Has the car had regular maintenance?

Do you have proof of the maintenance?

The more questions you ask the better idea you’ll have as to the car’s history and how well it’s actually been taken care of. This will greatly reduce your chances of buying a “lemon”.

Tip #4- Find a mechanic. One of the best ways to prevent buying a car that will break down 5 minutes after you purchased it is to have a mechanic look at it before you buy it. Many places will charge a minor fee to do a quick overview of the car and make sure there are no major problems with it. This may seem like a bad idea to spend money on a car you don’t even own yet, but in the long run you’ll be happy you did.

Tip #5- Last but not least, negotiate, negotiate, negotiate! When you finally do find that “perfect” car don’t simply pay what the seller is asking. One of the best ways to get a great deal on a used car is to negotiate! Sellers always ask more than they’re actually willing to take. They do this on purpose to leave a little room for negotiation. So don’t just hand them your hard earned money without trying to bargain for a better price. When you finally do come to an agreement you’ll be happy you got a good deal and the seller will be glad the car is sold.

I’ve bought my fair share of used cars and by following these simple yet effective tips I’ve been able to save thousands of dollars and drive good reliable used vehicles. So next time you go to purchase a car remember these tips and you’ll be able to spend the money you saved on that toy you’ve been dreaming of lately. Or rent, of course.

What the Future Holds for Africa’s Roads

Growth in the infrastructure, in the road networks in Africa means a larger market for cars. Could this be why most of the foreign donor aid received from is directed to developing the infrastructure? Africa needs many cars, trucks, vans and buses to keep mobile. Transport, as we know, is the life and blood of the economies of the world.

The twilight years of the 20^th century saw the economy of Africa grow enormously. Today, there are more resources in the continent and with the era of the dictators coming to a close end; she is investing her time in the exploitation of the resources. Recent discoveries of billions of barrels of oil in Northern Kenya, Uganda and elsewhere attest to this. However, even with all reasons for Africa to smile, she isn’t out of the woods yet, but she will be, eventually.

The auto industry in Africa has fuelled this growth! It takes a road to drive a car, much as it takes the driver. Therefore, what promises can the African roads expect from the future? Look around you everywhere and you can see the slumbering giant is waking up, and there is a frenzy of road construction activities everywhere you turn around.

African roads

 

In 20 years time, all of Africa will be connected via paved roads. Let me demonstrate how this is going to happen. Today, it is cheaper and fast to travel via road from Kenya to Tanzania. The Pearl of Africa (Uganda) clears her imports through the Port of Mombasa and then most of the cargo is transported via road to Uganda. That means that three countries are now very well connected. In addition, Uganda is further connected to Rwanda and Burundi, and the connections are growing! Ok, let us now consider what this kind of connection this means for a carmaker, in marketing terms.
In 2012, Kenya had a record 43 million people, Uganda had 36 million and Tanzania had 47 million. Rwanda had 11 million people and Burundi had 9 million people. If you add up all these figures, you will get a ripe 146 million people. Do you know what this means? More hungry mouths to feed? You are right and wrong at the same time. It means a market for manufactured products, a ready market for cars.
 
Japan is the number one supplier of used and new cars to Africa, selling hundreds of thousands of units every year. Our bet is that it will stay at the top for a long time. Quality, affordability and fuel efficiency are the three things on the mind of an African buyer. Japanese brands like Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Isuzu, Hino and Mitsubishi have so far have been able to offer these and so far, they remain unbeaten, at the top of the list of used and new car suppliers to Africa.

Paved roads in Africa

 

The kilometers keep growing. Thanks to all parties that have brought the dream of the Trans-African Highway network to reality, Africa may be connected sooner than anyone expected. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), African Development Bank (ADB) and the African Union (AU) are sponsoring road networks across Africa to help alleviate poverty through trade. A good example of this great ideal is the Mombasa-Nairobi-Kampala road.  Many others have been constructed elsewhere.
So far, South Africa leads in the African countries with the longest paved roads, followed by Nigeria, Libya and many others. The ball is rolling and it will not stop until all kilometers of road can be paved.

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