Road trips always increase during Christmas. Business dinners, family dinners, visiting friends and, above all, distributing gifts are held. Due to the latter, most of the journeys are made with numerous packages in the car, in addition to the usual suitcases. And carrying loose packages in the vehicle is a serious danger that can compromise the road safety of drivers, passengers and other road users, in addition to leading to significant penalties. It may even result in a fine.
First of all, did you know that carrying a loose package weighing one kilogram in the passenger compartment can cause the elephant effect when braking and end up exerting a force of 60 kilos? Therefore, there should be no doubt. Whenever you take a trip with extra packages, be they gifts or suitcases, use the trunk. Place them in an orderly manner, making the most of the space possible.
The problem is when the trunk capacity is not enough. From Honda they detail that, if you have a large family, it is likely that you will be forced to keep some gifts inside the vehicle. If you put them in the back seats, watch that no package cover the rear window. While, if you decide to place them in the place of the passenger, prevent them from hindering the vision of the right rear-view mirror, essential when overtaking. In this case, use the seat belts to improve the restraint.
Remember that if you try to manipulate any element while driving you can be fined up to 80 euros. Also, taking your eyes off the road puts your life and the lives of others at risk. If you are carrying dangerous objects such as knives or glassware, it is best to leave them in the trunk.
And although every space counts, since the smallest gifts can be stored inside the glove compartment, in the gaps between seats, on the floor or in the trunk using a storage net, it is important that you avoid placing any object on the rear shelf, as it is an unstable support and, in case of braking, it is quite probable that it will fly off. As you should also prevent the packages from exceeding the head of a passenger. The solution? Place them horizontally whenever you can.