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The UK’s roads and motorways become highly congested in the summer months, and with in-car temperatures on a hot day rising as high as 50 degrees Celsius, nerves can quickly become frayed.
These tips may help to avoid this issue and add to your enjoyment of a trouble free summer’s motoring.
| Holidaying in the UK |
With more people avoiding crowded airports for comfort, and non-essential flights for ecological reasons, holidaying in the UK is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Our roads and motorways become extremely congested, especially over the key holiday weekends after school’s break up, and later in the summer for the August bank holiday. In addition, local routes leading to and from major event locations (music festivals being an excellent example) can tailback for many miles. These situations increase the likelihood of traffic accidents and/or cars breaking down. Use local radio or a satellite live-traffic report to check for congestion and avoid blackspots which will have you fiddling with your air conditioning while your car overheats. Try not to spend the hottest part of the day in the car. If you are taking a day trip, prepare the night before, and get an early start so that you can travel before the day gets too hot. If you have a long drive to do, consider starting in the late afternoon, when it’s beginning to cool down, so that you can still reach your destination before bedtime. UK roadsurfaces are often dressed with tar and loose chippings in summer, to reduce skid and protect the road structure. Be on the lookout, as the chippings used fly up and cause damage to windscreens and paintwork. (Your Cover’s Windscreen cover option insures you for rapid, nationwide repair of the kind of windscreen damage most frequently caused by road chippings.) Dust, flies and pollen will rapidly obscure your windscreen both when travelling, and when parked up, especially under certain trees. Keep your washer bottle filled, and carry a bottle of good quality washer fluid to add each time you refill. |
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| Holidaying in Europe |
The carbon footprint of a family flying off to the sun is substantial, and drivers seeking an alternative, have added to the heavy flow of cars travelling from the UK into Europe, via ferries or Eurostar. If you are taking your car into Europe, plan your crossing, and make your bookings as early as possible. Holiday periods pre-book quickly, and your forethought will save your holiday getting off on the wrong foot. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the ferry terminal as there is nothing worse than the stress of worrying whether you will get there on time and rushing can lead to accidents or speeding fines. Once you disembark, remember that if you travel south, you can expect the intensity of the daytime sun to increase rapidly. In combination with unfamiliar roads and driving conventions, this can be extremely disorienting. Avoid driving in the worst heat of the day wherever possible. Be particularly careful of dazzle and glare when driving early or late in the day, when the sun is low in the sky. Always wear good quality sunglasses (avoiding polychromic lenses which tint with the action of the light, as these can fail to change fast enough to keep up with your speed , especially when going in and out of mountain tunnels). Keep your windscreen free of smears which can diffract sunlight and affect your vision. Key autoroutes to popular holiday areas become extremely busy during the summer months. Plan your journey carefully, with regular breaks, and do not attempt more miles than you can safely cover in any one day. Driver fatigue may occur faster than usual in the heat. Book accommodation for overnight stops on your journey well in advance. Check our Safe driving abroad page for advice on taking your car into Europe, as well as documents and useful equipment to take with you. Your Cover’s Foreign travel cover options extend the level of cover you have in the UK to protect you while driving for up to 90 days in Europe as well. |
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| Preparing your car for summer driving |
Don’t leave it until the morning you set off on holiday to think about your car. Check it over, or have it checked over by a garage, a week or so in advance, so that you can have necessary work completed in time. Tyres: Heat causes the air in your tyres to expand, and imperfections in tyre walls come under increased pressure. If your tyres are underinflated, the rubber will experience increased friction on a scalding hot road surface, and tyres are likely to blow out. Check your tyres carefully, and replace any which are imperfect. Ensure all tyres are inflated to the correct pressure for your holiday driving, ie. to allow for a car loaded with passengers in the back and a boot filed with luggage, or for the towing of a caravan. Cooling system: Overheated cars with steam pouring from their bonnets are a feature of our hard shoulders and verges on hot summer days. Check the level in your coolant bottle throughout the summer. Top it up with water as necessary, but be suspicious that there may be a problem if the level requires topping regularly. Check the hose coming from the coolant bottle for dampness, white staining, splits or loose fitting. Have your garage replace anything you find defective. Check the condition of your fan belt and cooling fan. Check the belt visually if you are able while the engine is switched off. You can then check the fan by bringing the engine up to running temperature, and letting it idle for a few minutes. If the fan does not cut in within 5 minutes or so, you should ask your garage to check it. Windows: Check that all your windows, and your sunroof or retractable hood if you have them, open and close properly. Being able to lower the windows on a summer’s day is still one of the great pleasures of motoring. Remember to close all windows and the sunroof/ or hood when you leave your vehicle. Air vents: Check that all of your air vents, and the hoses and intakes that feed them, are clear and working properly. Make sure that you have the vents controls set to ‘open’, set the temperature control to ‘cool’, then run the fan on each of it’s settings and make sure that cool air runs freely from all vents with a force appropriate to each setting. If it does not, ask your garage to clean out and refurbish the system, which frequently becomes obstructed with leaves. Air conditioning: If your car has air conditioning, have it checked by your garage or by an auto-air conditioning specialist, and have it recharged and any faults rectified. Air con is heavy on fuel when working efficiently: when not working properly, its consumption is even harder to justify. Light bulbs: Check that all your car’s lights are working before you set off and make sure you carry spares in case any fail whilst you are away. In some countries, the law states that you should carry spares with you. |
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| Keeping your car interior comfortable |
Nothing ruins a journey or a holiday as much as endless hours in a sweltering car. Choose between windows, air vents and air conditioning sensibly, and in the most appropriate way for your situation. While air conditioning will rapidly lower the temperature in your car on a sweltering day, it increases your fuel consumption and is thus environmentally undesirable. Air vents will do an adequate job on all but the hottest days, especially if you are driving at motorway speeds, and lowered windows and open sunroofs bring a joy to summer day driving that air conditioning cannot match. If you are fortunate to have a retractable hood, you are the envy of all other motorists on a summer’s day, and should make good use of it. (Don’t forget to protect your eyes, head, neck, shoulders and arms against the sun, however.) |
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| Things to carry in the car |
The following items may be required at any time during the summer, and you might consider buying extras to leave in the car:
On long journeys, take:
For extra shade on hot days, carry in your car:
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| Pets |
Cats and dogs cannot perspire, and cool down by panting and dissipating heat through their paw pads. A car interior with a summer’s day temperature of 50 degrees Celsius or more can cause them extreme distress, and serious harm. If you have any alternative, do not take your pet in the car on a hot day. Never, under any circumstances, leave a pet alone in your car on a hot day, even for a few minutes. There is a serious risk of heat exhaustion, heat stroke, brain damage or death. If you do have to travel with your pet, keep the car interior cool and shaded and carry cool water for the animal to drink. If your pet shows even the slightest sign of distress, stop the car immediately, take the animal into the shade and pour cool (but not too cold) water over the body to gradually reduce the temperature. If you have ice packs, you should use these on the head, neck and chest only. You can find out more by visiting the Petplan website. Petplan is a leader in pet insurance and like Your Cover, is part of Allianz, one of the world’s largest insurance companies serving more than 75 million customers worldwide. |
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| Children |
Children can be hard work on long journeys at any time, and if the car is hot and uncomfortable, and the weather outside looks glorious, they will quickly lose patience. Do everything you can to keep the environment in the car cool. Fit suction window blinds to rear windows when carrying children. Carry lots of cold water. If you have a cold box, keep it stocked with small cartons and bottles, as well as with ‘ice pop’ style frozen drinks. Carry face wipes, or flannels, with a bottle of water, so that children can cool their faces. If at all possible, avoid transporting babies and infants in the car on very hot days. If you cannot avoid doing so, keep them in complete shade, dressed in light, loose fitting cotton clothing, and sun hats at all times. Remember that the inside of a car is a glass house. Even with modern filtering window glass, all passengers are subject to a great deal of sun exposure during summer. Children experience 50% of their entire lifetime sun exposure during childhood, and by protecting them in your car you are both reducing the risk of painful sunburn, and protecting against later-life skin cancers. Apply high factor sun block to arms, shoulders, faces and legs before you set off, and reapply every time you stop. Invest in in-car entertainment systems e.g. story tapes and CD’s or in-car DVD players. These can be relatively inexpensive, standalone items which can be plugged into your car lighter and cost about £100. Of course, if you do decide to invest in this type of entertainment, you may be interested in our Car contents insurance option. But remember to remove them and store them safely out of sight when leaving your car. |
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| Sun burn |
Most auto glass blocks the UVB sunlight that causes sunburns. But it will let through UVA light, which can cause slow tanning. Both UVA and UVB can cause skin cancer and aging, so you can be damaging your skin even through filtered auto glass if you are driving for long periods on hot sunny days. Apply high factor sun blocks whenever you travel in even hazy sunshine. |
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| Hayfever |
Hayfever ruins summer for many people. It’s symptoms are particularly dangerous when driving. One sneeze while driving at motorway speed effectively puts you out of control of your vehicle for a distance of 100 metres or so. If you are a mild sufferer you should do everything possible to suppress symptoms while driving. If you are an acute sufferer, try to avoid driving, especially at those times of day when your symptoms are at their worst.
The Your Cover insurance options include a number of cover options that are particularly relevant during the summer months. Please look at our Foreign travel, Roof box & trailer, and Breakdown insurance options before you pack up your car to enjoy a weekend’s camping holiday on Britain’s beaches, or a driving trip into Europe. |
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Terms and conditions contained in the policy documentation apply. Download the policy documentation here.
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Your Cover is a product from Allianz Insurance plc, registered in England no 84638 at 57 Ladymead, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 1DB, United Kingdom. Allianz Insurance is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, registration number 121849 and this can be checked by visiting the FSA website at www.fsa.gov.uk or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.
