For those of us that live in the Southern states, Winter Driving Preparedness is a relatively new concept. My family moved South of the Mason Dixon line 10 years ago and we thought we left behind the snow and salt behind. For the most part that has been true. Southern winter has blue skies and the cold temps are typically in the 30’s. However, last winter and so far this winter, the weather in the South has been uncharacteristically cold with actual snow accumulations. And while I would prefer it to be sunny and 70’s all year long, that is not my reality.
One of the best ways to be prepared for winter is to have a thorough car care maintenance check up before winter arrives. Ok, put that on “TO DO” for next November. But, really, how old is your battery? Tires? Belts and fluids? Have these items checked out on your car to ensure that you have reliable transportation and that you are not caught with a dead battery or wrecked on ice due to bald tires.
Now that your car can Winter the Weather, it is wise to have a Winter Care Kit for just in case. You can purchase a plastic bin at a store that sells everything for a dollar to keep in your trunk. Some items that you may want to keep in case of emergency might be:
- Hand Warmers (really inexpensive at hardware stores)
- Blankets
- A Scraper
- Flares
- De-icer
- Extra Gloves, hats, boots
- Umbrella
A few years ago my family traveled 3 hours away only to have a snow storm hit while we were gone. What should have been a 3 hour return drive turned into a 6 hour creep. It snowed at least 6 inches. I scraped the snow off with a Jimmy Buffett CD case; I had no gloves on as I was pelted with snow. At one point as we were halted on the highway, people got out of their cars and had snow ball fights. Good times! All this is reinforcing the purpose of the Blog today; insure your own Winter Driving Preparedness.
Have a funny story to share about being stranded in winter or just have another item to suggest for the Winter Car Kit, share here with us at Insurance Answers. And, by the way, there are officially only 75 days until spring!
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I would add food! Maybe some granola bars or peanut butter crackers; something that will keep for a while in the trunk. And water to drink. We had a non-winter traffic jam here in CT that kept people stuck for eight hours.
Great information – especially with all that you guys have recently gone through in CT!!