Modern cars rely just as much on electronic gadgets and tech as they do on the engine itself. Even if your car is ten years old, it probably still has plenty of cables and devices which are used to make your journeys easier and more enjoyable. While these devices are normally extremely useful, having messy and tangled cables can become a hazard, both to your car and to you and your driving. Whether it’s chargers, audio jacks or anything else, it’s important to keep these cables managed and maintained.
What is Cable Management?
Cable management is simply organising and tidying your cables to ensure they don’t get tangled. When wires and cables aren’t stored correctly, they can easily become tangled, especially when they’re jostled around. The longer and thinner the cables are, the more likely they are to get tangled, and this can lead to a lot of issues.
Cable management doesn’t need to be complicated, and it makes a big difference. You can even use tools and items, such as cable covers, to ensure your cables are tidier and neater without much hassle or effort. Not only does this look better, but it has lots of other benefits too.
Why is Cable Management So Important?
Cable management in your car is important for a number of reasons. First of all, you don’t want to be driving a car that looks messy or untidy. If you clean your car regularly and like to keep it free of rubbish and other materials, you shouldn’t want to look at ugly, tangles of messy cables. Having a clean and tidy car will help you feel more relaxed and positive while you’re driving, contributing to a better mood overall.
Aesthetics are one thing, but safety should be a priority when driving your car. Having lots of loose cables around your car can be dangerous, especially if they’re close to the steering wheel. You want to be able to control your car and access all of your ancillary controls without worrying about obstructions. While it may not seem like much, a tangled cable could end up causing a serious traffic accident.
Not only can loose and tangled cables impede your driving, but they may also become damaged over time. Cables that are tangled up or stored incorrectly can be subject to more wear and tear, resulting in the insulative casing breaking down. Although this may not be a problem at first, it can soon lead to electrical problems with your devices and even present a fire risk.
How to Manage Cables Effectively in Your Car
There are lots of ways you can manage your cables. If you’re someone that uses your phone a lot in your car, it’s a good idea to get a proper dock that it can be mounted on. This means you don’t have to trail cables all over the car and can ensure it’s protected while you use it for navigation. Removing the trailing cables is a good first step in proper cable management and will hopefully help you keep things tidy.
Aside from that, you can use cable management devices such as cable covers to protect and organise any cables that are still present in your car. Ensure that cables are travelling in the same direction so you can group them together easily. You can also use low-tech solutions such as tape to hold a bunch of cables together and prevent tangling, but opt for the cover if you want extra protection.
Aside from these solutions, you could also look into retractable cables for your car. These can’t be used in all cases, but for things that don’t always need to be plugged in, you can set them up and retract them whenever they’re not in use, preventing them from getting tangled up.