# Cold weather dopers -- Do you wear your winter coat during your commute? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 19, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512 "2012-12-19T11:21:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/1 "2012-12-19T11:21:26Z")
Mundane, I know. But I’ve been idly wondering if commuters in really cold climates just keep their coats on while driving to work. Or do you turn up the heater and ride in your shirtsleeves? As a southerner who rarely encounters cold, I’m incredibly clumsy when bundled up in a coat. It’s constantly hanging on stuff, getting tangled in the seat belt, etc. In all but the coldest weather I just toss it on the seat and endure the few minutes for the heater to start working. I only put it on for the walk to my office. If it’s below freezing, I will drive a mile or so, then shuck out of it at a stoplight or pull over if traffic’s light. How do you handle it when the temps are really low? What about those on public transportation? Do buses and trains keep the heaters up high? Or is it cold enough you just keep bundled up for the trip? I know this is hardly earth-shattering stuff, but I’m curious. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/2 "2012-12-19T12:02:08Z")
My daily commute is a half hour each way. I leave the coat on for that. For drives longer than an hour I’d take it off before starting. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/3 "2012-12-19T12:07:41Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > My daily commute is a half hour each way. I leave the coat on for that. For drives longer than an hour I’d take it off before starting. Yip, same. And when I’m buying a coat, it’s wearability in the car is a factor. For example, I had a jacket that was zip up. The problem with that was if I wore it in the drivers seat zipped up, the front of the jacket puckered up and was annoying. Now I have a jacket with toggles and I just fasten the top toggles. Jacket sits smoothly and I am happy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/4 "2012-12-19T12:09:55Z")
I don’t live somewhere really cold, but I don’t. I have a woolen hat and gloves (well, merino wool/possum fur mix) in the car, but I take my jacket off. I also use the spare car key to pop out and start the car and then lock it, so that when I am ready to leave, the car is defrosted and the cabin warm. Si ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/5 "2012-12-19T12:13:22Z")
My car is in an integral, heated garage. I drive 15 minutes to work and park 8 feet from the back door. I wear boots (and keep a pair of shoes at work) and wear a light hoody to keep warm until the car heats up. My gf has an hour commute to work, plus her parking is inside. Her assigned parking spot is right by the elevator. She carries a coat in her car trunk in case of an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![bot3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@bot3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bot3)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/6 "2012-12-19T12:28:39Z")
My commute to work is so short that the car does not have time to get warm. So, yea I need to bundle up on cold morning. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/7 "2012-12-19T12:30:02Z")
My commute varies in length depending on the job, but I dress in layers during winter (as do most people I imagine.) My minimum commute is typically about 15 miles, which gives the vehicle plenty of time to warm up. So, if the top layer is one of my long coats or bulky jackets, then no. It feels like my movement is restricted when I’m driving when wearing something long or bulky and I don’t like that. Same with gloves. Unless they are fingerless. Scarf and hat may stay on. But since the next layer is a jacket, sweater, sweatshirt or whatever, that stays on. Very cold days (I’m in Michigan) I can’t see me driving in a tee shirt or tank top. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/8 "2012-12-19T12:35:18Z")
My winter “coat” for southern Michigan is two fleece jackets. Not terribly bulky for commuting. I used to live in North Dakota; when it got seriously bone-ass cold, I wore a thigh-length parka - and yes, I wore it in the car for pretty much any drive under a half-hour. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/9 "2012-12-19T13:26:18Z")
My car (which lives in an unheated garage) starts to get warm just as I arrive at most destinations in winter, so yeah, my winter coat stays on at all time in there, except for long, extended car trips. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/10 "2012-12-19T13:29:21Z")
Coat on, heater low. The cold air in my face helps keep me awake after the holiday binge drinking. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/11 "2012-12-19T13:30:00Z")
Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/12 "2012-12-19T14:06:05Z")
I probably don’t need my coat on the train. If I have one long ride I could probably take it off without getting cold if I’m not near the door. I don’t, though, because the hyperspace portal doesn’t work on the train, and it takes up more effective space if I carry it than if I wear it. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/13 "2012-12-19T14:11:27Z")
I wear mine in the car and keep the temperature comfortable. It’s definitely more comfortable that way than freezing for the first 30 mins til things warm up. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/14 "2012-12-19T14:12:08Z")
Mine is a 45-minute drive, and I have the window open a bit for much of that, for smoking, so the cold air coming in necessitates the coat staying on. As stated by others, if it were an hour or more I’d be doffing. If the vehicle is already nice and toasty, and I’m driving with **Mrs\_Doom** , I will sometimes take my coat off for even a short trip; she cranks the heat too much for me. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/15 "2012-12-19T14:37:23Z")
Even in a garage, it’s frikkin’ COLD when you first get into the car and it takes a while to warm up. So yeah, I wear a coat for all but really long drives. I generally like winter, but one thing I really don’t like is getting into a cold car, like when you’re driving home after a dinner out or something. You freeze your ass off walking to the car, then you get in a freezing-cold car, and it takes at least 5 minutes to warm up, sometimes longer. In the meantime you’re hoping your uncontrollable shivering won’t get you in a wreck as you drive. I also remember once at the start of a multi-day roadtrip, it was something like -13 the day we left. The car simply didn’t heat up to the point where it was toasty enough to take our coats completely off. We weren’t freezing, and we didn’t need gloves, but you could definitely feel the cold coming through the (completely closed) windows. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/16 "2012-12-19T15:04:01Z")
I have one coat that’s uncomfortable and restrictive to wear while driving, but I just avoid wearing that one if I have to drive. So yes, I keep my coat on, unzipped (with that one rare exception). I use the subway to commute, and everyone keeps their coats on (unzipped). Yes, sometimes it can get a bit hot. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/17 "2012-12-19T15:20:54Z")
Yes. I live in Chicago. I walk about half a mile to the train, ride that for 10 minutes, then walk a quarter mile to my office. In high school I had a 15 minutes drive to school. When it’s -20 or -30 degrees out, that’s not nearly enough time for the car to warm up, even if you run out and start it a bit before you head out. ---
**Author:** ![jools](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b3f665/32.png) [@jools](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jools)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/18 "2012-12-19T16:30:17Z")
Oh yes. In Montreal with public transport, there’s no way I’m taking of the jacket but I do take off the gloves and hat as soon as I’m in the bus. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/19 "2012-12-19T16:37:01Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > \ > I use the subway to commute, and everyone keeps their coats on (unzipped). Yes, sometimes it can get a bit hot. Shopping hijack - the malls and department stores are shirt-sleeve temperature here all winter, and I DIE shopping in there with my outside gear on. I really hate that. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512/20 "2012-12-19T16:44:46Z")
Yep, have always worn my coat during my commute. On public transportation I keep the coat on, but I might unzip it down the front and take off my hat, loosen my scarf, etc. Heat on public transport is a bit of a crap shoot, and with people getting on and off all the time you get lots of cold drafts. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-weather-dopers-do-you-wear-your-winter-coat-during-your-commute/644512.md?page=2)