The sun is still rarely visible and the temperatures are still far too low in our opinion. There’s a good chance that when you get into your car, you’ll keep your winter coat on. You would think it is super smart, but the ANWB warns that it is better not to do this. This is why!
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Take off your winter coat in the car
Although it can also feel like freezing in the car, according to the ANWB it is better to take off your thick winter coat when you get into your vehicle. “In the event of an accident, it can cause serious injuries and even internal bleeding,” they state on their website. Oops…
Experiment
The ADAC, the German sister club of the ANWB, conducted an experiment in which a normal, daily traffic situation was imitated. This was also “comparable to a rear-end collision in city traffic,” says the organization. In the experiment, an adult wearing a thick winter coat and a child seat with a doll was placed in the car.
The car then started to drive at 16 kilometers per hour, after which an emergency stop took place. The emergency stop worked well in the experiment, but it also turned out that the belt had cut deep into the abdomen. The reason for this, according to the researchers, is that the winter coat had too thick padding, leaving too much space between the belt and the body. This can therefore – even in real life – cause serious injuries to the intestines and even internal bleeding.
Feeling cold in the car?
Okay, so don’t wear a winter coat in the car. Should we suffer from cold while driving? Of course, that is not the intention. For the chilly among us, the ANWB indicates that you can wear the jacket over the belt. This way there is still minimal space between the body and the belt and you don’t feel deathly cold. The same goes for children.
If you have become a little nervous about this warning from the ANWB, you can always set the heating to sauna mode. We have to do something to survive these cold days…
