Extreme Winter Situations

EXTREME WINTER SITUATIONS GOT THE TOOLS TO BRAVE WINTER WEATHER ON THE ROAD? Snow is already falling, so make sure you're equipped and ready to have safety and comfort in the special conditions that cold months bring to road travel. PREPAREDNESS 2 GETTING UNSTUCK 3 SURVIVAL PREPAREDNESS KEEP A KIT HANDY WITH ALL THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO BE READY IN CASE OF BREAKDOWN. 1. KITTY LITTER & ROCK SALT 2. TEA LIGHT CANDLES If stranded, a candle will provide you with a small amount of heat. Be sure to not sleep in the car with a lit candle, as the carbon monoxide produced by a candle in an enclosed space can be very dangerous. The kitty litter will help provide traction for a stuck vehicle and the rock salt will assist in melting the snow. Approximately two measures of kitty litter to every one measure of rock salt should suffice. 3. BLEACH 4. EMERGENCY FOOD When stuck in the snow, pouring bleach on a cold tire will make the rubber softer and more porous, which will help the tire get more traction. Emergency food should be easy to consume and have a distant expiration date. Energy bars, dried fruits, nuts and even chocolate are ideal for winter months. BLEACH 10 5. SLEEPING BAG/THICK BLANKETS 6. FLASHLIGHT In case of emergency, it's best to have these materials to keep warm if stranded. The winter months are typically darker due to cloud coverage and fewer hours of daylight. A flashlight will be useful if stranded or lost. 1. EMERGENCY WATER 8. BOOKS Be sure when packing water in your emergency kit to not fill the water containers up all the way, as water expands when frozen, which may cause your containers to burst. Some kind of entertainment can keep you active and motivated if you are trapped in your vehicle during a blizzard. 9. DEICING FLUID 10. MATCHES OR A LIGHTER In less extreme situations, deicing fluids can be Use to light the candles to provide warmth and light. very useful to remove the ice from your windshield. TOP 3 PREPAREDNESS TIPS If driving a rear-wheel drive vehicle, consider putting one or two sandbags in the trunk or truck bed to weigh down the rear axle and provide greater traction. Apply Rain-X° to the windshield to prevent snowflakes from sticking to the window while driving. When brushing the snow off of the windows, don't forget to remove the buildup on the top of the car. After the interior of the car is heated, the bottom layer of snow may melt and slide forward onto the windshield when you apply the brakes. In some states, it's actually illegal to drive with an ice buildup on the top of the car. GETTING UNSTUCK IF YOU FIND YOURSELF UNPREPARED, DON'T FREAK. HERE ARE SOME WAYS TO GET YOURSELF OUT OF A SNOW BANK. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A MIXTURE OF KITTY LITTER AND ROCK SALT IN YOUR PREPAREDNESS KIT, TRY TO LOCATE ROCKS AND STICKS TO SHOVE UNDER THE TIRES TO PROVIDE MORE TRACTION. If you cannot locate materials to provide the traction needed to get unstuck, remove the floor mats and put them underneath the wheels to provide the needed traction. WHILE IN THE CAR, TRY MOVING YOUR WEIGHT FROM SIDE TO SIDE TO FORCE THE CAR LOWER TO THE GROUND. THEN MOVE THE CAR FORWARD AND BACKWARD FOR 30 SECONDS. AFTER DOING THIS, SLOWLY ACCELERATE TO TRY TO GET OUT OF THE SNOW BANK. If you are stuck outside the car and the key will not turn and unlock the car, chances are that the internal locking mechanism is frozen. To heat and thaw the lock, hold a match or lighter underneath the key and insert into the keyhole. Repeat 6-8 times. Then attempt to turn. If lock does not turn, do not force the key. This might break the lock or the key, resulting in you being locked out in the cold. SURVIVAL HERE ARE SOME SURVIVAL TIPS TO KNOW IN CASE YOU BECOME TRAPPED IN YOUR CAR DURING A BLIZZARD. When stranded in a car, the majority of the cool air coming into the car will be through the windows. To better insulate the car, press blankets against the windows. If you do not have blankets, rub lip balm against the window and stick pieces of paper against the window. This will create some level of insulation. TO CREATE MORE HEAT IN THE CAR, LIGHT A CANDLE FROM YOUR EMERGENCY KIT. YOU MAY ALSO CONSIDER BRINGING A SMALL FLOWERPOT WITH YOU AND PLACING THE SMALL CANDLE UNDERNEATH THE UPSIDE DOWN FLOWERPOT. THIS WILL ACT AS A MAKESHIFT CERAMIC HEATER. When idling the engine during a blizzard, be sure the wind is not blowing snow into the tailpipe. If possible, check the tailpipe that it is not clogged up with snow. A clogged tailpipe on an idling vehicle will cause a buildup of carbon monoxide, which can leak into the car and could cause injury or death to the occupants who are inside. ALSO, WHEN IDLING THE ENGINE, MAKE SURE THAT THE WINDOWS ARE UP, AS DANGEROUS CARBON MONOXIDE MAY FLOW BACK INTO THE CAR IF THE WINDOWS ARE LEFT DOWN. SOURCES: http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Your-Car-Out-of-the-Snow http://www.wikihow.com/Drive-a-Car-in-Winter-Weather http://www.wikihow.com/Survive-Being-Trapped-Under-Snow-in-Your-Car-With-Other-People RoadLoans.com MILK DLATE