Quickly Out of the Sun
Rijkswaterstaat is activating the heat protocol for almost the entire country on Monday. This is intended to ensure that anyone who breaks down on the road is quickly helped.
The heat protocol has been in effect for the provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg since Sunday morning at 10:00 AM. From Monday at 10:00 AM, Zeeland, Noord- and Zuid-Holland, Utrecht, Flevoland, Gelderland and Overijssel will be added. The protocol ensures that stranded road users are helped as quickly as possible.
The heat protocol includes sending a recovery vehicle to every breakdown immediately. This is to prevent people from standing on the side of the road in the heat for too long. Because, as Rijkswaterstaat explains, “with high outside temperatures, the temperature of the road surface can rise to above 50 °C”. The protocol is in effect between 10:00 AM and 8:00 PM.
Road users are also advised to bring sufficient water, “even if you are only going on the road for a short distance”. It is also wise to put an umbrella in the car. “If you break down on the side of the road in tropical temperatures, an umbrella offers good protection from the sun.”