How
to handle a winter breakdown in your car
Breakdowns
are an inconvenient fact of life, but a breakdown in freezing winter weather can
quickly turn from inconvenient to deadly. All too often motorists are caught off-guard
and unprepared during cold, snowy months without the knowledge necessary to save
themselves.
Keep yourself and your
family prepared this season by traveling in dangerous winter weather only when
crucial. If a drive is necessary, be sure to inform someone of the travel route,
destination and expected arrival time. Make plans to get in touch with a friend
or family member at a specific time, and create a plan of action if the driver
is unreachable. Travelers should also
remember to keep their gas tanks near full to avoid ice in the tank and fuel lines.
If you do
get stuck in slick conditions, the following actions should be taken:
- Stay
with your car. Do not try to walk to safety.
- Tie
a brightly colored cloth (preferably red) to the antenna for rescuers to see.
- Start the car and use the heater
for about 10 minutes every hour. Keep the exhaust pipe clear so fumes won't back
up in the car.
- Leave an overhead
light on when running the engine so that you can be seen in the dark.
-
As you sit, keep moving your arms and legs to keep blood circulating and to stay
warm.
- Keep one window away from
the blowing wind slightly open to let in air.
Prepare
for cold-weather travel with the following steps:
-
Most of your body heat is lost through your head so wear a hat, preferably one
that covers your ears.
- Dressing
in warm layers helps you retain heat. You can remove layers as you need to if
you become too warm.
- Mittens provide
more warmth to your hands than gloves.
- Hypothermia
is a serious condition. Warning signs for detecting severely low body temperature
are memory loss, disorientation, incoherence, slurred speech, drowsiness, exhaustion
and uncontrollable shivering. People generally suffer from hypothermia after being
over-exposed to extremely cold weather, dangerous wind chills, ice and snowstorms,
freezing rain or sleet. Recognize the symptoms of hypothermia that can be a serious
medical condition - confusion, dizziness, exhaustion and severe shivering. Seek
medical attention immediately if you have these symptoms.
- Wear
waterproof, insulated boots to help avoid hypothermia or frostbite by keeping
your feet warm and dry.
- Before heading
out, look for detailed reports on the weather in your area at www.weather.com,
or find details on winter storms at www.noaa.gov
and www.fema.gov.
(Source:
ARC)
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