Overview
- Statistik Austria's data released Thursday showed 730 fog-related accidents with personal injury in 2025 and 17 deaths, marking an unusually high national total.
- Lower Austria recorded the largest increase with 219 fog crashes, while Salzburg, Vorarlberg and Tirol saw declines compared with 2024.
- Road-safety experts attribute most crashes to excessive speed and too-small following distances and warn that tailing another car's rear lights gives a false sense of safety.
- The ADAC and ÖAMTC note that daytime running lights and some automatic lighting systems may not turn on low beams in fog, so drivers should switch lights on manually and use rear fog lamps only when visibility is under 50 meters.
- Officials urge simple precautions — cut speed, keep far more distance, avoid overtaking and phone use, and read roadside guide posts to estimate visibility — advice that could shape renewed safety campaigns this autumn and winter.