Tyrol recorded 26 fog-related injury crashes last year

Tyrol recorded 26 crashes involving injuries in fog last year, ORF reports, citing the Austrian automobile club ÖAMTC. On Wednesday evening, a vehicle crashed in dense fog in Navis, injuring two people.

The number of injury crashes in fog in Tyrol has ranged from 15 to 27 a year over the past eight years, according to the ÖAMTC. Dense fog frequently develops on autumn and winter mornings, sharply reducing visibility and increasing the risk of crashes.

Across Austria, there were 730 fog-related crashes involving injuries last year, with 17 deaths, the ÖAMTC said, citing figures from Statistics Austria.

The club said a leading cause is driving too fast for conditions while keeping too little distance from the vehicle ahead. Drivers often instinctively follow the car in front by its taillights, which can create a false sense of security and lead to insufficient gaps, particularly on rural roads and motorways, said Roland Frisch, chief passenger-car instructor at ÖAMTC Fahrtechnik, the club’s driving training service.