It is cold and it takes a while for your car to warm up. Many people get into the car with this cold in a thick winter coat. But driving with a winter coat on is dangerous. This applies to both adults and children.
It's quite a challenge:you step outside and it's freezing. Your first reaction is to put on a thick coat and get in the car with it. It's not much better in the car than outside and the last thing you want is to drive in the cold. But unfortunately, the thick winter coat is a danger while driving, which is emphasized by the ADAC (German ANWB). This also applies to wearing gloves, work shoes, a hat and scarf. You can read below how you can get warm and why wearing a winter coat in the car is an absolute no-go.
Reading tip :Essential winter tips for car drivers
It may seem very strange, but if you get in the car in the winter, you have to take off your thick winter coat. It all has to do with the design of the belt. It is designed in such a way that it should fit as closely as possible to your body. Ideally, it fits tightly on the hip bone in adults and on the thigh in children.
By wearing a thick winter coat, the space between the belt and your body is centimeters larger. And that is precisely where the danger lies. This extra space can cause fatal injuries to your organs in the event of a collision. In this way, the belt has plenty of room to turn and shift in the event of a collision. As a result, the girdle can damage organs such as the spleen and liver.
The risk is even greater for children:they can literally be cut to pieces inside. In addition, there is a good chance that your baby or small child will get too warm by wearing a jacket in a heated car. This in turn entails other risks.
Maybe after reading the above you think that only a winter coat is a problem. Unfortunately, this also applies to winter accessories such as hat, scarf, gloves and sturdy work shoes. Hats and scarves can obstruct your view to such an extent that you cannot respond adequately to dangers. Gloves provide less grip on the handlebars.
For sturdy work shoes, it is more difficult to get a grip on the accelerator and brake pedals. Although there are no major legal regulations regarding the shoes you can or cannot wear in a car, with the exception of wearing slippers in the car, it is advisable to choose different footwear. In the event of an accident, you cannot be blamed for a late response due to shoes that are too heavy.
After reading the above, you may think that you should give up while driving. At least until the car has warmed up sufficiently. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to still drive comfortably in cold temperatures:
Reading tip :This way you stay nice and warm in the winter
Did you know that it is dangerous to drive with a winter coat on?
