While keeping a bottle of water in your car is great for staying hydrated on the road when driving long distances or in traffic jams, it may be a good idea to make sure you keep it in a safe car compartment. Doing so can put your life, and the lives of other road users, at risk.
“A fatal accident occurred when a child’s water bottle rolled under the brake pedal of a family car, causing the death of all its passengers.”
These are the reasons why leaving a bottle of water in your car could be a danger to road users:
People generally like to keep their water bottle under the driver’s or passenger’s seat when they are on the road, however, this is a very dangerous behavior. If you lose control of your car, the water bottle, whether big or small, can spread out and get stuck underneath the accelerator or brake pedal of the car.
As this occurs, no matter how hard you push the pedal, you will not get it to work because you will have to apply a lot of force to the pedal to get it to work with the blockage.
While some drivers may be able to push down on their brakes with enough force to make them function, that delayed response will not be enough to avoid a crash because a collision can happen in a matter of seconds.
There are cup holders on many car models. Even though not all cars are equipped with such holders, those that have them are not used for their proper purpose. People frequently use their cup holders to put other objects such as pieces of coins or other garbage.
This kind of “I don’t care” attitude can cost a person his life.
We then encourage drivers to install compartments in their cars for water bottles if their car does not have cup holders. However, if it’s causing too much inconvenience, be sure to put your water bottle in a secure area so it doesn’t roll around while you’re driving. You should also be more careful and clean your car periodically to make sure that no bottles or cans are left under the seat of your car.
Always be sure to keep your bottles where they won’t roll out. Stay safe and hydrated!
