When the heat turns into danger: These 7 mistakes we make while driving in the summer

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1. Do not ventilate

Especially on cheaper cars, it takes forever for the air conditioner to cool a car without air conditioning. So first eliminate the heat build-up: open the doors and/or all the windows while driving, then the system becomes easier – and so do we, because driving at 35 degrees is like having 0.5 per thousand! Then, in air-conditioned vehicles, all windows are closed again: the system uses less fuel and can also regulate better. Plug-in hybrid or electric drives have one good feature: They can often pre-cool remotely via an app.

2. The air conditioner is too cold

The cold has been proven to help cold viruses trigger the common cold. No matter how good it is at first, you should not direct the flow of cooling air from the air conditioning system directly to your body. Also, you shouldn’t choose a very low temperature (we recommend 20 to 22 degrees), especially an automatic system so it won’t cool faster. More information on air conditioning settings here.

3. Leaving the living behind

Whether it’s a small child or a dog: you should never leave a live creature in the car when the temperature is high – no, never even for five minutes and never in the shade (it will be very hot even without the sun). Cars are like greenhouses, in the sun the temperature inside rises to 60 to 80 degrees. The film behind the partition or a slightly open window does little to change that.

4. Drive barefoot

Yes, you are allowed to drive barefoot (or even completely bare), but you must always be in control of the car – and braking barefoot is not good. Just like wearing flip-flops or high heels, after an accident, investigators may conclude that it could have been avoided if they had worn good shoes. Then there are the penalties for identity cancellation and up to recourse by the insurance company.

5. Ignore the residuals of errors

If you clean the windshield only after a long drive on the highway, for example because it is badly smeared in the rain (add cleaning additives to the wiper fluid!), you will get an exemplary clear view. But Lack is also happy with a car wash: otherwise, the summer sun will burn the ruins until a true crater landscape is formed, which can only be replenished at great expense.

6. Extinguish

If you check the tire pressure after driving in the summer heat, the high values ​​should not scare you and let out air: the pressure increases by 0.1 bar every ten degrees, an additional 0.2 to 0.4 bar when the tires are hot then cold tires and in colder weather usually have very little pressure. More details in the extensive tire pressure guide.

7. Very open driving

Just because you bought a convertible (and fear being ridiculed if you didn’t), you’re driving open in the sun. Because of the cooling airflow, open-top newcomers rarely realize how frightening an evening sunburn or even sunstroke with a headache can be. Therefore: Wear at least a hat and choose to drive indoors, especially during lunch hours and in traffic jams.

Source: Blick