Nobody is prepared for an emergency.\u00a0 A person can, however, take preventative measures to minimize the dangers.\u00a0 In an Aroostook winter, even a simple skid can turn into an emergency situation in an instant.\u00a0 Heavy amounts of snow combined with temperatures well below freezing can trap unprepared motorists.\u00a0 This article will inform people of five items to keep in their cars in the winter, and how each of the items could save their lives.\u00a0 Though these steps can prepare motorists in the event of an emergency, telling someone else where you\u2019re heading before you leave is the most effective.<\/p>\n
The first item that should be in every Aroostook County vehicle is a blanket.\u00a0 Whether the blanket is shoved in the trunk or folded in the back seat, a blanket ensures there will always be heat, and they use up little space.\u00a0 When a motorist calls for a tow in the winter, it takes a lot longer for the tow truck to arrive, and when it does, the tow truck driver\u2019s priority is the vehicle.\u00a0 Waiting with the vehicle is always the smartest course of action, and without a blanket it could be a very long and very cold wait.\u00a0 Waiting inside a vehicle trapped in the snow as it idles can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. \u00a0The passenger compartment will fill with carbon monoxide if the exhaust of the vehicle is plugged with snow.\u00a0 For this reason, running the vehicle for heat may not be an option.\u00a0 It\u2019s best to have a blanket.<\/p>\n
The next item is actually a few items: a warm hat, pair of gloves, and insulated and waterproof footwear.\u00a0 Vehicles leave the roadway in winter, largely due to ice and limited visibility.\u00a0 A short walk from where a car stopped back to the roadway is almost inevitable.\u00a0 Without the proper clothing, people could find themselves treading through mid-January, waist-deep snow wearing gym-shorts or a crop top. \u00a0It takes seconds for snow to soak a pair of sneakers, and a North Face coat only can keep you so warm in -10*F wind chills.<\/p>\n
See the pattern here?\u00a0 Keeping warm is going to be the toughest challenge and risking carbon monoxide poisoning is too risky.\u00a0 The third item all motorists should have in their winter kit is hand or foot warmers.\u00a0 They are inexpensive and provide heat for hours. \u00a0Hopefully the tow truck arrives before then.\u00a0 Hand or foot warmers are a cheap insurance policy that can protect a person from frostbite.\u00a0 All they require is a simple snap with the hands and instantly the warmer makes heat.<\/p>\n
All previously mentioned items are in the car. \u00a0The idea is that the vehicle went off the road and all occupants are safe and warm while waiting for help.\u00a0 The next item that should be in all winter vehicles is an external battery for a cell phone.\u00a0 External chargers are less than $20 and can charge a phone to full rather quickly.\u00a0 Without a charged cell phone, calling for help is that much harder: some models of external chargers include a flashlight, too. \u00a0This would be a necessity at night.\u00a0 Of course, most smartphones are equipped with a flashlight, so motorists making sure that puppy is charged should be a first priority. \u00a0Without a cell phone, there is no way stranded people can let friends or family know that help is needed.\u00a0 Motorists could find themselves at the disposal of other people driving by.\u00a0 This opens a whole new set of dangers.\u00a0 It\u2019s in the best interest of all motorists to charge their phones before they leave the house.\u00a0 And don\u2019t forget to keep the charged backup charger in the vehicle for emergency use.<\/p>\n
The fifth and final item that every car in Aroostook County should contain is a set of booster cables.\u00a0 Electricity and cold don\u2019t mix well.\u00a0 Even good cars will not start in the cold and having a set of booster cables, and a generous friend, can save a person a couple of tow-truck calls a season.\u00a0 There are even mobile battery boosters that motorists can keep in their vehicles to independently boost their vehicles.<\/p>\n
Whether people have 20 years of winter driving experience in Aroostook County or two months, they are almost equally likely to have an incident.\u00a0 Ice knows no master and the best preventative measure you can take is using appropriate precautions before hitting the roadways.\u00a0 Cars without snow tires are useless on Aroostook roads this time of year: staying in or finding a different way to travel is recommended.\u00a0 If travel is unavoidable, travelers always should tell a trusted person of their destination.\u00a0 Taking these precautions will help any motorist stay safe in an emergency situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nobody is prepared for an emergency.\u00a0 A person can, however, take preventative measures to minimize the dangers.\u00a0 In an Aroostook winter, even a simple skid can turn into an emergency situation in an instant.\u00a0 Heavy amounts of snow combined with temperatures well below freezing can trap unprepared motorists.\u00a0 This article will inform people of five […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8397,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6120\/revisions\/8397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}