How to Prepare for a Winter Roadside Emergency

Surviving a roadside emergency is not only possible, but even manageable with proper emergency kit!
Being stranded in your car in the cold or snowy weather can be a life-threatening emergency. Plan ahead, bring along your survival kit, and save lives!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cell Phone with Charger
• Wind-up flashlight with cell phone charger
• Sleeping Bags
• Flares
• Bright colored emergency flag
• trail mix, hard candy or other high-energy snack
• Toe, hand, and/or body warmers

1. 

   When you get stuck in the snowbank, or have a roadside emergency in the winter time, getting flares out quickly is important. Remember that you need to place the flares back at least 60 to 75 feet from your vehicle for a side road. On a main highway or interstate, or in bad weather, you might need to go back as far as 300 to 400 feet so that a vehicle has time to stop before he gets to your car.

2. 

   Once you get back to your disabled vehicle, use your cell phone to call for roadside assistance. If you don't have cell phone service, and you are on a deserted highway, don't use your flashers. Turn off the car engine, and conserve your battery and gas, as you don't know how many hours it will be until someone stops and lends assistance. Put one flare out right near your car, and hang the emergency flag from your antenna or from your car window.

3. 

   If your cell phone is not charged, use your wind-up flashlight/cell phone charger to charge the battery, to save your car battery.

4. 

   The priority is keeping yourself and your family members warm. Get your sleeping bags out; there should be at least one per adult. For smaller children and infants, you should snuggle with them under the sleeping bag, as they may need your body heat to maintain theirs.
   Hand warmers, foot warmers, and body warmers are wonderful, and can even ward off frostbite. Read the warning labels on them; many are considered safe for children!

5. 

   You really should not leave your vehicle unless you know where you are, and are a short distance from help. Again, if you are traveling with infants or children, the amount of distance you can cover in the cold/snow will be MUCH, MUCH shorter! Remember to take this into consideration. Depending on how much gas you have in the gas tank, you can run the engine for ten minutes each hour. Make sure that the exhaust pipe is clear of ice and snow so that you don't get carbon monoxide poisoning. Make sure that at least one of the windows is left open a little bit, as ice and snow could possibly seal your car shut!

6. 

   Snack on high-energy snacks, hard candy, mints, etc.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your wits about you
• Try to avoid desolate or seldom-traveled roads in bed weather
• You can survive days in your car if you are stranded, and properly prepared!
• Hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning, and other vehicles are your biggest threats.

Resources

• Wind up flashlight cell phone charger

[gentletouch]

on 10/9/2009 YOUR ADVICE IS SO NEEDED FOR PEOPLE THAT LOVE TO TRAVEL. 5* BLESSINGS, gentletouch

[sherbert]

on 3/28/2009 Very informative article on how to prepare for a winter roadside emergency! They are the worst! 5*

[Lilfix]

on 1/26/2009 Great tips on how to make a winter roadside emergency kit...This is very helpful info...

RRRC5* for you!!

[wirelessjen]

on 1/14/2009 One suggestion to add. Put in some entertainment for the kids. I have coloring books and colored pencils in my van. With the heat of Las Vegas I can't have crayons. If you want to keep them bundled and this isn't feasible, think ahead of time of some games to keep their attention focus on fun instead of boredom.

[yourmamasaidwha]

on 1/13/2009 great tips...i'm going to have to stick w/stinkin' blankets, as i have quite a large, growing family...awesome info/tips, though! thanks for the share!