Heat affects people, animals and vehicles!
Parking tips for hot days
- Park in a shady area or where the shade will be when you return to the vehicle.
- Use a sunshade or window visor to prevent direct sunlight heating up the vehicle
- Keep your windows slightly down if it is safe to do so, allowing air circulation
- If none of the above are possible, on return to your vehicle start the car, turn on the air conditioner and let it cool down before you start driving. Overheating cause fatigue and it is a bad start to your journey. Prevention is better than a cure.
Children and Animals
Overheated cars can cause children and animals to suffer rapid dehydration, heatstroke, suffocation and death. The younger the child, the greater their sensitivity to heatstroke, and the faster they’ll dehydrate. Deaths from heatstroke can happen even when cares are parked in the shade. Do not leave children or animals in cars at any time!
Vehicle overheating
When pulling up behind stopped vehicles in traffic ensure you can still see their tyres once you are stopped. This will create an air gap between your radiator and their hot exhaust fumes. If you are too close, you risk overheating your engine.
If your vehicle overheats:
- Wind down your windows and turn the heaters on to pull the heat out of the engine.
- Cruise carefully at 60kph to allow air to run through the engine bay and radiator, keeping a good distance from the vehicle in front of you
- Monitor the temperature gauge and if the temperature does not drop, pull over and allow the vehicle to cool. DO NOT OPEN THE RADIATOR CAP.
- Call for assistance or wait until the radiator is cool, add coolant and drive to the closest service station or repair centre. Hot radiators WILL cause severe burns if opened while they are hot!