Drivers are being warned to remove three items from their cars now before the heatwave takes full effect.
That’s because high summer temperatures can have a devastating effect on your safety behind the wheel – for reasons you almost certainly never expected.
This week an amber heat health alert has been issued by the UKHSA, with temperatures set to soar as high as 34C, according to the Met Office, and the UK Health Security Agency has warned of a possible risk to life as a result.
Now drivers are being told to remove three items before the heat becomes seriously hot this weekend.
First is bottled water. It’s easy to accidentally leave bottled water in the car after a long day, but as temperatures rise, chemicals from the plastic bottle can leach into the water, making it less safe to drink. In some extreme cases, they can magnify sunlight and could cause a fire inside a car. The best course of action is to take the bottle out of the car to keep the car safe and the water tasting normal.
Second is medicine. You may not realise, but most typical over the counter medicines like paracetamol, calpol and other painkillers have a maximum temperature they stay safe at.
If you leave a packet of painkillers in a hot car, they may stop working as well or become ineffective completely.
In fact, most commercial painkillers and medicines are only rated up to 25C, which means you could even end up making yourself feel worse. Just this week, it was advised that people should store some medicines in the fridge.
Sun cream, also known as sun block or sunscreen, or even sun tan lotion, is another issue when left in a hot car. It can go off inside the bottle and could even explode due to the pressure in the heat. It’s advised to treat it like out of date sun cream and replace it.
What should you keep in your car during a heatwave?
Make sure you have plenty of petrol (or diesel) because fuel runs out faster in a heatwave. You also need to ensure the car has enough water and oil, both of which are vital on hot days, and that your aircon gas is topped up. Other than that, take care and drive carefully in the sunshine and keep an eye on your engine’s temperature gauge to avoid costly breakdowns in the sun.