Chapter 24 · Vehicle evacuation
24.10 Traveling in extreme heat
- Leave early (before dawn) to avoid the hottest hours and the traffic.
- Keep water within reach in the cabin for everyone, pets included. Drink even if you are not thirsty. Bring drinks with electrolytes.
- Watch the engine temperature. In slow traffic with the A/C on max, some cars overheat. If the needle climbs into the red zone: turn off the A/C and turn the heater on full blast with the windows open (it pulls heat from the engine); if it does not come down, pull over in a safe place and turn off the engine. Never open the radiator cap while it is hot.
- Sunshades on the rear side windows and wet towels for the neck.
- Recognize heat exhaustion in people: dizziness, nausea, heavy sweating, headache. Heat stroke (confusion, hot skin, fainting) is an emergency: call 911 (chapter 7).
