Hey Ya’ll. So winter is here. You know that you need the proper safety tools to be traveling to your next assignment or if you are just going to grandma’s house depending on where you live or work. Playing it safe this winter season is something you need to think about. Your family will thank you. I hope you find this helpful. Let’s get into the cold! BRRRRR!
I don’t think this will apply to the people in Florida, the sunny state. But you never know. We just had a super freeze in Georgia where I am currently working. Let me tell you, I did not think it was going to be as bad as it was. It made me think. What if I am driving home from the hospital and I get stuck on the side of the road when it is a magnificent 9 degrees outside with snow falling? I’m driving home well after 11 pm and sometimes close to 12 am. Now, there is no one hardly on the road that late. Rain, Ice, and snow spells a slippery cold mess to me as a southerner. It makes my joints freeze up just thinking about it. It could be age related too. Any who, I couldn’t imagine what being stuck outside in it would be like. So pay attention…. I have done some research!
The Tools
A winter safety tool kit should include:
- Flashlight
- Extra batteries
- Jumper cables
- Blanket
- Snow shovel
- Ice scraper
- Kitty litter
- First Aid Kit
- Matches
- Road hazard reflective triangles
- Water
- Non-perishable snacks
I know this seems like a ton of things to have on hand for an emergency. BUT, you will thank yourself if you ever get stranded in a winter storm.
How to use them?
So, your flash light is your first item that just may save your life. Maybe you can’t see the road and your car has shut off? What will you do to even see where you are or assess the situation for a solution. You can also use it to signal to people for help if they are around.
Sometimes when it gets down in the single digits your batteries won’t work in your vehicle. Jumper cables will help you to get your car back up and running if that is the only problem.
Always carry a spare blanket in your car during the winter. You may have run off the road and no one can see you. You will have to wait for help. Cover up! Try to stay as warm as possible.
Carry some extra batteries for your flashlight. You don’t want that to go out if the car that you have been waiting on for over an hour comes by and you can’t signal for help.
Have a snow shovel handy. You can dig your car out of the snow to get back on the road.
An ice scraper will be needed to see the road again under icy conditions. Has anyone ever waited an hour for their windshield to dissolve the ice off? South Georgia people don’t typically have those because we don’t typically have weather like that. So we just wait!
OK, pull that kitty litter out if you are in an icy situation and your tires just keep spinning. Spread a little kitty litter and you can get your tires moving the car.
Please get a first aid kit. We don’t want to see you in the ER for a strawberry on your knee because you slipped on some ice. Wrap it with some gauze and tape it off from your first aid kit.
If you are desperate, build a fire with matches you have in your kit.
Also, if you are semi hanging in a road please use your road reflective hazard triangles. You don’t want another car to come slamming into you. It will also alert passing vehicles you have an emergency. So they can stop and help you.
Please get you some water. Whether you are stuck for hours or shoveling snow for hours you will need to hydrate. You will also need energy from the snacks you stored in your trunk. Help will be on the way soon.
Where can you get the kit/tools?
Walmart
Fire Supply Depot
Survival Supply
Global Industrial
Northern Tool
Why the tools are important?
The safety items listed above are a means to a very serious problem if you get stranded in an icy and snowy section of town. There are so many things out there to kill you. Don’t let the winter conditions be your deciding maker. Many people like me underestimate the power of what the cold can do to your body. Hypothermia is no joke. Fingers, toes, or whole limbs can be lost if you don’t protect your skin from frostbite. You can crash into a snowy embankment and no one can see you. You can slide off the road and find yourself with a flat tire. Be prepared for anything this winter season. Get your winter kit ready.
Preparation is key.
Your safety is the most important thing you can prepare for. Don’t let disaster meet you face to face. Be ready. I may be a girl from South Georgia that just went through a horrible winter storm, but I have been in snow where you couldn’t open a door and had to dig yourself out. That cold is a cold I like to stay away from. That cold followed me here to Georgia. I left my New Jersey assignment just to get away from those harsh winter elements. I thought I was home free from the winter cold. “Mother Winter” decided to teach me a lesson so I would think about my safety even in the peach state. So if you are worried about traveling this winter season and you want to prepare yourself, get these items and set yourself at ease knowing you are prepared. Is it fool proof, no it isn’t. Be smart about it. Call for help, if you can’t get help, then use your kit. We want to see you at your next assignment.
Stay warm,
Kathleen
travelimagingnut.com