In hot weather, there are few things less comfortable than getting into a baking-hot car.
While many people have been enjoying this summer’s heatwave, vehicles can heat up to uncomfortable temperatures with steering wheels and gear sticks too hot to touch.
Feeling the heat
For professional drivers, their vehicle is their workplace and it must be safe, functional and comfortable.
Whether delivering parcels or taking passengers from one place to another, a hot car is an unpleasant — and even an unhealthy — environment. Throughout the summer, health officials have issued heat warnings, urging people to keep cool and hydrated.
Those who drive for a living have no choice, but getting in and out of a vehicle that can feel like an oven during hot spells can take its toll and creates an unpleasant environment for taxi drivers and chauffeurs who are carrying passengers.
With temperatures inside a closed vehicle reaching 40C within half an hour, drivers need to take steps to make sure that they, as well as any passengers, are comfortable and safe.
Cooling down
The logical thing to do when returning to a locked vehicle is to wind down the windows to let the vehicle’s air conditioner kick in and cool things down.
But the RAC is warning that the practice could land drivers in hot water with the police and councils because they may be breaking vehicle emission laws.
The standard penalty for engine idling is a fixed-penalty notice of £40 from the police, or a penalty charge notice of £80 from a civil enforcement officer. Both fines are reduced if paid quickly.
But allowing the engine to idle and causing air pollution can result in fines of up to £110, depending on where the offence takes place, with some local authorities, such as Islington and Westminster, dishing out harsher punishments.
And the RAC warns that drivers don’t have to be in the vehicle to commit the offence — if they wait outside with the engine and air conditioning running, they face the same penalties.
Paying the penalty
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “Air conditioning is a gamechanger in modern vehicles, making otherwise uncomfortable journeys by road a genuinely pleasant experience.
“We even advise those driving vehicles without air-con to consider delaying any non-essential trips until the heatwave passes.
“But while we’re all desperate to stay cool, just sitting in the car with the engine and air conditioning running and going nowhere isn’t advisable. Due to the air pollution this causes, you risk a fine from a police or civil enforcement officer.”
The RAC says that because the idling offence relates specifically to vehicle emissions and air quality, it is unlikely to be applied to drivers of electric vehicles, although it points out that there is no court precedent.
Keeping cool
The RAC suggests a number of ways to keep vehicles cool during hot spells.
The first is to park in the shade wherever possible, whether under a tree, in a garage or in the shadow of a building. Keeping your car out of direct sunlight is one of the best ways to keep the interior cool.
For those unable to find shade, using windscreen and window visors to block out direct sunlight can also help keep things cooler inside.
Leather seats can become unbearably hot in the summer and the RAC suggests covering them with sheets and blankets to help reduce the temperature.
And, with the risk of idling fines in mind, the RAC suggests that drivers learn how to use their vehicle’s air conditioning system properly so that they can cool the interior as quickly as possible without running the risk of breaking pollution laws.
