Swiss advice: Keep your car from turning into an oven during heatwaves

As Croatia experiences extreme heatwaves, the Swiss Automobile Club (TCS) has issued crucial advice for drivers and passengers to prevent vehicles from becoming dangerous "ovens." The club warns that interior temperatures can reach hazardous levels, posing risks of burns and dehydration.

Leaving children and pets unattended in vehicles is strictly prohibited due to the rapid rise in temperature. Even plastic components can become hot enough to cause burns. TCS recommends ventilating the car by opening windows before driving and using the air conditioning to lower the internal temperature gradually, ideally by no more than six degrees Celsius below the outside temperature to avoid thermal shock.

Simple yet highly effective measures include using sunshades on windows. Tests conducted by TCS demonstrated that cars without sunshades reached 77 degrees Celsius, while those equipped with shades remained at a much safer 37 degrees Celsius, a difference of 40 degrees. Contrary to popular belief, the study found no significant temperature variations between dark and light-colored vehicles. Additionally, leaving windows slightly ajar is ineffective, as it only reduces the interior temperature by about two degrees Celsius after 30 minutes in the sun.

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Plastika i ukrasi u kabini mogu doseći temperaturu od 45 stupnjeva, što već može izazvati opekline i ozljede na koži, a duže izlaganje vodi do brzog dehidracijskog stresa s potencijalno fatalnim posljedicama.