Riding in Hanoi’s Winter Drizzle and Fog: Visibility, Grip and Clothing for January to March

For winter riding in Hanoi, Vietnam Tourism lists December to March as the cool-to-cold, misty, cloudy stretch, and a Hanoi forecast for 26 January 2026 mentions drizzle and fog. This article sets out what that forecast (from the Hanoi City Public Administration Service Centre’s website, called the Hanoi portal below), Vietnam’s National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF), the Vietnam Traffic Police Department and road-safety pages from the United Kingdom, Ontario and New Zealand say about visibility, grip and clothing. Each statement is attributed to its page, and the last sections list where the pages stop.

What the sources say about Hanoi’s winter weather

Three pages describe the weather itself. They cover different dates and areas, so the table keeps them apart.

The portal added that morning minimums at four stations (Láng, Hoài Đức, Hà Đông, Ba Vì) ran from 14.7 to 15.8 degrees and that the cold air was expected to weaken from 27 January. The NCHMF line does not name Hanoi, and one day’s forecast is not a monthly pattern, so no page counts drizzly or foggy days.

Visibility in drizzle and fog

The Hanoi portal’s advisory for 26 January 2026 says fog and light fog mixed with drizzle limit long-distance visibility to some extent, and asks people to keep a safe distance between vehicles. The Traffic Police Department’s page, dated 17 January 2021 and addressed to road users, especially on northern mountain roads, during a cold spell, recommends switching on all lights, slowing down and watching carefully when fog blocks the view.

Road-safety pages from other countries add detail. The UK Highway Code (Department for Transport, updated 22 October 2025) says to check mirrors and slow down before entering fog and to be able to pull up well within the distance you can see clearly, and it warns that rear lights can give a false sense of security. It says headlights must be used when visibility is seriously reduced, as a rule when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). Ontario’s Motorcycle Handbook (updated 31 March 2026) describes fog as a thin layer of cloud resting on the ground and advises low-beam lights because the high beam reflects off moisture droplets. New Zealand’s motorcycle road code says full beam in fog makes the light reflect back at the rider and that a park light alone is hard for oncoming drivers to see.

Grip on damp roads

The UK Highway Code says stopping distances in wet weather are at least double those on dry roads because tyres have less grip. It adds that if steering becomes unresponsive, water is probably keeping the tyres from gripping, and the driver should ease off the accelerator and slow down gradually. New Zealand’s motorcycle road code suggests a longer following distance using the 4-second rule, watching for shiny patches, braking progressively rather than hard, and notes that riding at the speed limit on a wet road could be too fast for the conditions.

Ontario’s handbook names specific slippery spots:

The same page advises reducing speed, especially on curves, avoiding sudden changes of speed or direction, and using both brakes together, which it calls more effective than the back brake alone. Its best advice for rain is to sit it out where the ride can be avoided.

Clothing and staying warm

Vietnam Tourism’s Ha Noi chapter says “bundle up” for the cold stretch from late December to March, and the Hanoi portal’s 26 January advisory asks people to keep warm on cold mornings and nights. Neither describes riding gear. The detail comes from Ontario’s Motorcycle Handbook:

• In cold or wet weather, clothes should keep the rider warm and dry as well as protect from injury.
• Rain suits should be one piece and brightly coloured; suits not designed for motorcycle use may balloon out and let wind and water in at freeway speeds.
• A winter jacket should resist wind and fit snugly at the neck, wrists and waist, with layers for extra warmth.
• Gloves matter in cold and warm weather because they give a better hold on the handgrips and controls.

The handbook calls fatigue brought on by the cold probably the greatest danger of winter riding, and says cold lowers tyre pressure and that face-shield fogging is worse in cold weather. Its cold-weather section is built around snow, ice and freezing temperatures, while the Hanoi forecast page above gives minimums of 11-16 degrees C for Hanoi and the Northeast, so its snow and ice advice is not applied here.

Checks before setting off, and the option of waiting

The Traffic Police Department’s page recommends checking the vehicle before departure, especially lights, brakes and tyres. New Zealand’s motorcycle road code says brakes, tyres, lights and steering matter even more in wet weather and says to check the motorcycle before every ride. Ontario lists good tyre tread among its rain tips. A separate guide, Scooter Rental Hanoi: How to Check the Bike First – Complete Pre-Rental Inspection Guide, is about checking the bike before renting it.

Two pages also raise waiting. New Zealand says finding shelter and waiting for things to improve may be safer than riding on, and Ontario says to delay a trip until fog clears if there is a fog warning. For wider riding-safety reading, see Motorbike Riding Safety in Hanoi: Essential Tips, and for an overview of renting in the city, Hanoi Scooter Rental: Complete Guide for Travelers.

Where the sources differ

Fog-light advice is not uniform. The UK Highway Code says front or rear fog lights must not be used unless visibility is seriously reduced, because they dazzle other road users and can hide brake lights. Ontario says to use fog lights in addition to low beams if the vehicle has them. New Zealand says a front fog light can be used when riding in fog. The pages do not reconcile these, and none says which applies to a Hanoi scooter.

What the pages leave out

No page gives monthly counts of drizzly or foggy days for Hanoi, fog visibility distances for the city, road-grip measurements, or temperatures at which to add a layer. The Vietnam Tourism page is undated and gives no unit for “lows of 10 degrees”. The Traffic Police page is from 2021 and is aimed especially at northern mountain roads; the NCHMF page is an outlook for the 2025-26 season, not a forecast for a coming winter. The UK, Ontario and New Zealand pages are written for their own roads and drivers.

None of the pages is written for Hanoi scooters or rental bikes. They do not say whether a bike has fog lights, mirrors or a particular tyre, whether any gear is supplied, or what anything costs. They give no tyre-pressure figures, no helmet, visor or rain-gear models, and, beyond the Hanoi portal’s advice to keep a safe distance between vehicles, no Hanoi-specific guidance on riding in drizzle.

Sources checked

• Traffic Police Department: fog advice (17 January 2021)
• Hanoi portal: 26 January forecast
• UK Highway Code: adverse weather
• Ontario handbook: difficult weather
• Ontario handbook: getting ready to drive
• NZTA: riding in bad weather
• Vietnam Tourism: weather and climate
• NCHMF: seasonal outlook

Thuê xe máy Nguyễn Hà is open 09:00–21:00 daily at Ngõ 5 Nguyễn Văn Cừ, Bồ Đề, Long Biên, Hà Nội (near Gia Lâm bus station). Phone: 0334 699 969.