In these challenging times, considering your health and the effort the Government and healthcare professionals are taking to contain the virus, the right thing to do is stay at home except in case of strict necessity (or to perform jobs, at the time of writing this article). So, the first question to ask yourself before you enter the car is: is this journey absolutely necessary to make?

If the answer is yes, try to make the journey alone if possible. If there are others travelling with you, the authorities have instructed to restrict the number to a maximum of 3 people in a car. So, here are some pointers to ensure you do not have an uninvited – and invisible – guest travelling with you. While these steps are relevant to your personal car environment, they are absolutely necessary to follow if you are driving a rented car or shared car.

Three threats to guard against

Theoretically, touch is the only way you could get infected inside an automotive cabin.
1. By touching any surface that was touched by someone who came into contact with an infected area earlier and is now carrying the germ on his or her hand;
2. By touching a surface sneezed or coughed on by an infected passenger.

Now, if you are wondering about airborne transmission of the COVID-19 virus inside a car cabin, well, that is still a grey area. Many reports say it is not a significant driver of the pandemic. (Anyway, it is a good idea to refresh the air once in a while, or when a passenger steps out, by rolling down the window.) This is mostly applicable to taxis or official cars but sometime we could have friends or colleagues traveling with us. You can’t be sure everyone who rides with you have shown responsible behavior by maintaining social hygiene outside, but at least you can be responsible for keeping your automotive space germ-free and safe – for them as well.

Steps to stay safe

1. Keep sanitizers and antibacterial wipes with you – for yourself and your passengers to use
2. Sanitise your hands before driving. You don’t want to deposit on your steering the germs that might have hitched a ride on your hand from somewhere.
3. Clean contact surfaces using antibacterial wipes or a mild disinfectant solution routinely
4. If you stop to refill fuel by yourself, make sure you sanitize your hands immediately afterwards.
5. While using public parking, try to avoid parking meters and use M-parking instead using your own mobile phone.
6. The exterior of your car could be touched by anyone, including your local car wash assistant, but the sun and elements outside could help a bit with that – anyway, the solution here would again be to sanitize your hands after you enter the car.

How to identify high contact surfaces

What are the areas in the cabin that needs cleansing? These are areas that are commonly touched by the driver and the passenger – knowingly and unknowingly. Some of them are obvious – some aren’t. I have listed most of them here to give you a fair idea. Keep them sanitized, especially if the car is a rented or leased car or if there are multiple drivers. Actually, you know what, just keep them sanitized!

The first areas that come to mind are the outside door handle, steering, the gear knob, the seat belts and touch screens. But there are more…

The areas touched by driver

Steering

Gear lever knob

Steering mounted buttons – volume control etc

Mirror controls

Armrest switch or lever

Handbrake

Other controls

The areas that you might overlook

Seat controls on the seat side

Fuel tank opener

Storage pits like cup holders

Seat belts!

The areas commonly touched by front occupants

Doorknobs including boot lid

Power window button or window winder lever

Radio volume button

AC control buttons or knobs

Touch screen and controls

Inside door lever

The sneeze-prone areas

Sometimes, when a sneeze catches you unawares, it is hard to cover it. So here are some areas that have the highest chance of being sneezed on or coughed on. Sanitize them with disinfectant wipes (or an antimicrobial solution and cloth).

Areas exposed to infected droplets:

Dashboard area

AC vent slats

All window glass from inside

Wind shield

Front seat backs (for rear passenger)

Armrest front and rear

If you think I have left out any, you know the pattern now. Cleanse the spots that you think needs to be disinfected. Amidst all this, there are three things you just shouldn’t forget.

Sanitise your hands.

Break the habit of touching your face.

Stay at home.