Heat protocol in the province, quick help for unlucky people and watch out with your butt

The predictions of the ANWB that it would be up to 11 percent busier in terms of breakdowns on the road during this tropical weekend have come true. On Friday, 11 percent of extra assistance for stranded motorists was deployed. Yesterday that was 10 percent, this afternoon the counter was already at 150.

“That means that the ANWB helped road users with a breakdown 4,300 times on Friday instead of 3,700. On Saturday there were 4,150,” a spokesperson for the ANWB told NH. “We run considerably higher than other weekends, but so far we have managed to keep waiting times under half an hour.” Those waiting times remain within limits, because the organization has deployed more roadside assistance in busier places.

Heat failure

At salvage company Koppes, which operates in Bergen and Egmond aan Zee, among others, they do not necessarily see a huge peak in breakdowns this first tropical weekend of 2023. “In recent days we have had slightly more orders in Bergen and Egmond aan Zee, but that was not an exceptional number. There are many tourists and it is extremely busy, but at the same time there is a resigned atmosphere.”

According to the ANWB, motorists who are stranded often have a battery ‘that is having a hard time’ or tires that become soft and punctured due to the more extreme temperatures. “The pressure on the cars is increasing, then you get this kind of ‘heat breakdown’,” says the spokesperson.

Text continues below the frame.

Why is this lightning-fast storage not also used on days with less extreme temperatures? Rijkswaterstaat indicates that they consider it irresponsible to keep unlucky people waiting with an asphalt temperature that can rise to 50 degrees. Even when they are in safe places. Anyone standing in a safe place along the road during a fresh ‘spring temperature’ can arrange roadside assistance all by themselves.

Tips for the road

Rijkswaterstaat advises people who travel by car to bring bottled water. Not only for long distances, with the extreme asphalt temperatures, extra water is not superfluous even during the shortest ride.

Also remember to bring an umbrella. Because although there will probably be no rain in the coming days, every spot of shade is one when you’re baking on the roadside. According to Rijkswaterstaat, fire, such as roadside fires, leads to many traffic jams. The organization therefore urges smokers not to just throw butts out the window, but to express them neatly in an ashtray.