How To Survive In The Winter With Your Car

How To Survive In The Winter With Your Car by Gary Benton
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As the young woman drove along the isolated rural roadway she started getting concerned about the weather. Her children, ages four and six, were playing, laughing, and yelling in the back seat of the car. The weather, which had been so good when she had gone to visit her mother earlier in the day, had started turning nasty a couple of hours ago. She left her mother’s country home when the snow had started to fall heavily. As she concentrated on driving on the slippery roadway, she noticed the snowflakes were larger now and the wind had picked up. Occasionally she would have to remind the children to be quieter, so she could concentrate on the road for hazards.

Abruptly, one of the children gave a loud scream and the young woman turned to see what had happened. No sooner had she turned her head, than the rear of the car started to move to the right. Quickly turning back to watch the road, she saw a large ditch in front of the car and out of pure instinct the woman slammed on the breaks. The car, now out of control, spun in circles until it impacted the ditch, continued to turn a half a circle more, and then stopped with the front of the car nose down in the ditch.

The woman must have sat there for many long minutes before she realized what had happened. She could smell the leaking radiator fluid and heard both children crying in the rear of the car. Turning her head, she noticed both children seemed safe and there were no obvious injuries. The woman noticed a copper taste in her mouth and understood she had bit her lip when the car struck the ditch. “The cold! How can I keep my babies alive in this cold? No one drives this road at night!” She silently screamed her thoughts in complete panic.

Does this story sound far fetched? Well, it isn’t, not at all. Each year motorists are stranded in cold weather on our nation’s highways and back roads. Some have small children with them and some don’t. Most, except for the most remote and unusual situations will survive. Regardless of who is in the vehicle or where you drive, there are some simple rules that all drivers should follow during the winter months.

Know the weather forecast and keep up with it at all times. I once got caught in a blizzard while driving in Alaska, and I will never forget that experience.

Tell someone when you are leaving, where you are going, who is going with you, when you expect to return, and what you expect to do. For instance, I am leaving in the morning with little jimmy and we will be back on Wednesday. We will stop at the amusement park on Wednesday morning.

If the weather suddenly turns severe find a place to stop or do not start your trip. Make sure as soon as possible you notify those who expect you to be at a given point at a given time. If you don’t, they may contact the police and a search and rescue mission could be started…for you.

If you must go out in bad weather, dress properly for it. Many people do not wear boots, coats, or gloves, thinking they will be warm in the car. Then, once the car is stalled, serious problems result. Always dress for the most severe weather you could encounter.

Stay on the main roads if you have a choice. The main road contains higher traffic, the police will cruise this roadway during bad weather, and the snow removal teams will clean the main roads first.

During the winter months carry a survival kit in the trunk of your car. Keep wool blankets or sleeping bags in the car as well. Some folks have even added a small lightweight tent.

Always, at all times, carry a commercial first aid kit in your car.

If your car stops or becomes stuck, do not run the engine to keep warm. Each year people die from carbon monoxide poisoning doing just that. It is safe to run your engine to keep warm only as long as your muffler is not coved with snow, blocked, and you keep two windows open to allow fresh air in. I suggest you never use the engine to keep warm because it is just too dangerous to do, snow may block the muffler or you may have an exhaust leak and you won’t know.
Tie an orange strip or triangle of material to your antenna. I carry one that is used on bicycles and it would work just fine. Some car survival kits have these small orange flags. My cousin has one made from an orange garbage bag.

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