Louisiana Drivers – Smack Your Car Every Morning, Here’s Why

Dear Louisiana Drivers, do you know why the number 25.9 is significant to you? No, it's not the number of potholes you hit on the way to work every day. No, it's not the amount of state government agencies that will be taking your money once remote radars go into effect on the I-10 basin bridge. And no, 25.9 is not the number of times you'll want to show someone your middle finger while driving in Baton Rouge. That number is much higher.

What 25.9 is to Louisiana drivers is the amount of time you spend in your car during your average daily commute. I realize some of you drive longer and some of you drive much shorter, that's how averages work. But what this article is about is what happens before you start the clock on your 25.9 minutes of commuting, carpooling, or driving for whatever reason you drive.

The weather is certainly a factor in Louisiana driving conditions. Here lately we have had some rather chilly mornings and rumor has it that we aren't quite done with the "cold".  Next week temperatures across Louisiana will once again drop into the 30s as Old Man Winter gives us one last blast before the blast furnace that is Louisiana summer kicks in.

Louisiana Drivers Pound the Hood of Your Car on Cool Mornings

Oddly enough, warmth plays a key factor in the reason that you need to get physical with your car's hood every morning. You see, when you pull into your driveway garage, or carport at night your vehicle's engine is quite warm. This warmth attracts animals, especially cats, who are looking for a place to stay warm on a cold night.

Sometimes to stay warm a cat or other small creature will crawl under your car's hood. That's where they will spend the night until you come out the next morning and crank your vehicle. You know there are a lot of moving parts beneath the hood of your car and you know that's no place for a live animal.

So, the banging on the hood before you get into the vehicle alerts the cat or creature that something is about to happen. It allows them to scurry off before you fire up the car's motor. I don't want to describe how it looks when you don't remember to bang on your car's hood and a cat or kitten is involved. It's a pretty ugly scene. Not the kind of scene that you want to explain to your school-age children on the way to elementary school.

It's a simple thing to do which means it's not going to be easy to remember, but we do hope you will.