Winter driving safety
Be prepared to be trapped in a blizzard or road closure
My wife is probably the best prepared winter driver I know. She not only has bottles of water and a stash of granola bars and cheese crackers in the glovebox, she always puts a heavy coat in the backseat along with gloves and scarves.
It’s getting bad out there
Last week one of the largest and most dangerous snow storms in history pummeled much of the country. I have a few colleagues in Buffalo, and have not been able to reach them by phone. I hope and pray they’re okay, but there’s already been dozens of deaths in the area. Not only are thousands of people being trapped in their homes without power, there’s a number of victims who were trapped on the side of the road in their car and died from exposure to cold.
Campers should know how to boondock in their cars
When I was driving 50,000 miles a year in a Sprinter van teaching seminars across the county, I not only took plenty of water bottles, granola bars and beef jerkey in the van, I also packed a sleeping bag, spare wool socks, and heavy gloves.
And while I never got stuck in a snowbank, I did have several trips where road closures shut down roads, so I had to sleep overnight in a parking area. And because I had water, snacks, a heavy coat, wool socks and a sleeping bag, I was quite comfortable curled up in the middle seat even though the outside temperature dipped below freezing.
I’m not a sleeping bag expert!
No, I’m not. But I’ve contacted REI to see if they can recommend an inexpensive sleeping bag you can roll up in a stuff bag and keep in the back of your car. That way, if you do find yourself stuck somewhere in a snowstorm you can be safe and comfortable while waiting for rescue.
There’s more to learn
I’m in discussion with one of my writing colleagues who happens to be a wilderness first responder in Washington State, and who knows a lot about keeping safe during snow storms. While this info may not help you right now (it’s a little late to buy a sleeping bag this season), I’ll bet there will be great sleeping bag sales in the spring, along with other safety items like wool-blend socks, warm gloves, and go bags for snacks and water.
Please standby…
If any of you are first responders or winter survival experts, please contact me by replying to this post and let’s discuss more safety items and options for winter travel and survival.
Let’s play (and stay) safe out there… Mike
So I have some knowledge with this. I am the Emergency Manager for my city, A member of the Medical Reserve Corps and a CERT instructor. A winter go bag is a great item to keep in your vehicle. Now a company called Pro-Pac sells complete survival kits ready made or by making your own you can customize it to your liking. Two issues are the water freezing, and mice eating the food. So you should put any food items in an air tight container. Water should be stored in some kind of insulated bag to keep from freezing solid. Always have a fold up shovel in the car if you get stranded . If you need to run your vehicle for warmth or any other reason you need to keep the tailpipe free of blockage to prevent CO poisoning. There is so much more that there is not enough room here. So go to Ready.Gov and there is info there for every type of event or your local Emergency Management website. Stay safe and prepared.
Hi Mike,
Although I'm retired now, I have about 40 years in total as a Trooper with the Oregon State Police, the last 9 of which I worked as a "game warden". During those years, I had on occasion contacted stranded motorists on both highways and in the mountains of northwest Oregon.
Your basic list is very good, however, if you have the room in your vehicle, a few more items could be added for "survival" should you ever actually become stranded, stuck or slide off the roadway during the Winter.
I always have a small seat belt cutter/window hammer in the cab of my pickup truck. Not only is this item is invaluable in case I should need to self rescue, but also should I need to assist someone else for whatever reason.
A few other things to consider would be a flashlight, cell phone charger or extra battery, small fire extinguisher, chains, hat and gloves, shovel, kitty litter (for traction), folding shovel, flares, jumper cables and tow strap.
These are items additional to what you already covered in your original message and depending on how prepared any specific person wants to be and how much room they have in their vehicle for safety items, may help them should a winter driving adventure suddenly becomes a matter of winter survival.
Thanks for your interesting articles! I sent in money supporting your efforts a year or so ago, will have to see if we can come up with another contribution after taxes in 2023!
BTW, I still haven't received clarification on a question I asked in your Facebook group back on November 27th. I received input both ways and am wondering if YOU had any additional comment? If so, here is the body of my question....
"We have a brand new pop up trailer with solar, lithium batteries and an inverter for those times when we need AC power. When I was doing our check out, I used one of those simple outlet test plugs and found that all of the outlets showed an "Open Ground" when running off the batteries and inverter. We then hooked up the trailer to shore power, 30amp connection, retested the outlets and all showed good. The salesman, of course, said this was "standard", but I'm not convinced. Is this something I need to be concerned with? If so, what do I need to do to "fix" it?"
Take care, Mike and stay safe. Wishing you a Happy New Year!