Tips for Driving in Hot and Cold Climates

Snow, ice, rain, scorching heat: both winter and summer make driving unique for drivers in many ways. But each season also has pitfalls. Let’s learn the best tips for driving in summer and wintertime.

Best tips for driving in hot climates

Since air conditioning is present in almost all cars, driving in hot climates is no longer a sweaty affair. Nevertheless, continuous heat makes special demands on your car. Here are the five tips to get through the hot climate well.

Choose the right sunglasses

Not everything that looks good on the nose is suitable for driving. Brown, gray and gray-green glasses are best, while blue glasses dilute the perception of the colors red and yellow. The degree of tint is also important. Drivers must pay attention to anti-glare levels: Levels 0 to 3 are fine since they absorb up to 92 percent of the light.

Use sun protection when parking

If you park your car in the blazing sun, you not only have to expect hot air and glowing seat belts but in extreme cases also electronic damage. Car components are designed for temperatures between minus 40 and plus 85 degrees. The thermal expansion and subsequent cooling in the airstream can cause hairline cracks to form in the circuit boards. Then there is a risk of control units failing and the vehicle breaking down. If you can't find a parking space in the shade, you should at least put a screen behind the windshield that reflects the sun's rays and keeps the dashboard and steering wheel cool. If you take children with you in the car, you should also cover the rear windows so that the child seats do not get too hot.

Set the air conditioning correctly

Before starting your journey, you should first ventilate well with the doors and windows open so that the pent-up heat can escape. The car cools down faster because there is no outside hot air. The air outlet nozzles should only be aimed at parts of the body that are covered with clothes. The difference between inside and outside temperature should not be too big. Otherwise, there may be a heat shock when getting out of the vehicle. Experts recommend a maximum difference of six degrees.

Best tips for driving in cold climates

In colder climates, safety on the icy and slippery roads is most important. Driving in the cold season can be a real challenge. Therefore, here are our tips for a safe and stress-free journey in winter.

Ensure good visibility

Clear view = safe journey! Make sure to thoroughly clean your car of ice and snow beforehand. Not only the windows are important, but also the roof and the license plate, otherwise you may face a fine. Also, make sure that the windshield wipers are working properly because these can be your lifesavers on the road in winter. If they are worn or obsolete, they will smear the windshield and impair your view.

Equip your car with winter tires

Winter tires stick better not only in winter with ice and snow, but also work well on wet roads and cooler temperatures. The tires should have a tread depth of at least four millimeters to ensure a strong grip and good grip even under extreme conditions. If you are planning to take a rental car vacation in colder climates, think about looking for winter tires and possibly snow chains.

Tip: Caution with diesel cars! If the temperature drops below 20 degrees Celcius, the components of the fuel can crystallize. After that, the only thing that helps is the towing service, as this makes the diesel thick and the engine no longer starts.

Drive properly for cold climates

You also have to adapt your driving style to the winter conditions. In order to prevent the wheels from spinning when moving off, start carefully in second gear and with the clutch slipping. In general, it is advisable to always upshift as early as possible and drive at low speed when it is slippery. As the tire grip decreases on slippery roads, the steering behavior of the car also changes.

You should definitely avoid hectic steering maneuvers, as the driver quickly loses the feeling for the current tire position on black ice.

Distance and braking

In cold climate road conditions, the following applies: slow down early and keep a sufficient distance from the vehicle in front. On a snow-covered road, you should halve your speed compared to the dry route, so your braking distance remains unchanged.