Car Care for Military Wives Pt 3 Emergency Actions
Good Day! As always I hope this finds you in good health and cheer, with all going well for you and yours. I bring this next portion to your attention as another tool you can use when things go wrong. The military trains and trains and trains because when things get stressful people will automatically do what they have been trained to do. So it goes with stressful car situations. So here are some things that, while you may not practice them physically it might be wise to review every once in a while, if you children are at an age when they could be helpful in a crisis, (like helping a sibling out of a car seat, or keeping them all in one place while you do something else) bring them in on the review and talk about what you would need them to do. Once you have a plan review it monthly.
Ok so you’re driving down the street and all of a sudden smoke starts coming out from underneath the hood of your car……
- Stay Calm!!! These next steps you should do quickly with act with purpose not out of panic.
- Look for a place to pull off to the side of the road. While you are doing so evaluate what you see. Is it smoke? Is it Steam? White? Black? All will be important but not yet.
- Once you have pulled safely off to the side of the road; grab your cell phone and evacuate the car. If you have Children, get them out from front seat to back drivers’ side to passenger side, in that order. Move the children and yourself back a safe distance 150ft or more, (about 10-12 times the length of your car). I stress stay calm but move with purpose, your kids are more likely to stay calm if you do.
- Now you have a chance to evaluate what you saw when you were looking at what was coming out from under the hood. If it was steam – you can probably see fluids dripping below the engine compartment and can hear it hissing on hot engine parts. If so take a deep breath and call your AAA service I mentioned in Pt1 and Pt2. So long as you and your children remain clear you should be fine. Do not try to evaluate the problem until help has arrived and the engine compartment has had a chance to cool down a bit. Opening the hood too soon is very dangerous, and really should only be done by maintenance or towing professionals while any steam is still coming out.
- If it is smoke instead of, or in addition to steam, then once evacuated, call 911. Look for street signs so you can give the location to the operator, and keep your children together and look for something to stand behind, This is important get a solid object between you and your car. If you are on the Interstate or in the country get in the ditch and keep moving away from the car. Do not attempt to fight the fire yourself or open the hood. The fire will remain smaller so long as the hood is closed, when it is opened a large amount of air will feed the fire and the result is at best a flare up and at worst an explosion. Either can lead to serious injury. Once again leave it to a paid professional.
I have included some instructional links about doing the other two major on the spot fixes you need to know how to do, change a tire and deal with a dead battery. The battery video shows you how to jump start your car. I recommend caring a battery booster instead of jumper cables or in addition to cables. Then you do not have to rely on the kindness of strangers to help you. You may also want to consider carrying some fix a flat and a 12v air compressor as well. These items are not cost prohibitive and again will pay for themselves the first time you have to use them. Not to mention the peace of mind it gives both you and to your hubby.
Here are some Items I would recommend you carry as part of you car emergency kit. Also you can use the parts widget to look up things like the correct windshield wiper, light bulbs etc…
Great advice/information! I have had some experiences as a military spouse mostly regarding winter deployments that I hope you can expand on in the future.
#1. Have a list of trusted people to call in an emergency; a plumber, an oil burner man, a tow truck operator (car repair), to name a few. They don’t have to be professionals, just trusted people with skills.
#2. Know how to shut off the outside water supply (hose) and make sure it is off before winter sets in to avoid broken pipes.
#3. If you have a sprinkler system, make sure it’s winterized.
#4. Know how to shut down your oil burner
#5. Know where the main water supply feed comes into your house and if you have an that the oil burner know whether it must be shut down also while main water supply is turned off.
#6. Keep snow shovels in a ready position, especailly if you have small children so you can stay close while shoveling/clearing the doors.
#7. If you have/use a snow blower, make sure it is good to go prior to deployment (This one got me good one winter and caused me to update my list of “things to have squared away”… story below, may sound silly, )*.
*My husband clears the snow from the d/way, walks and vehicles at our house and our elderly neighbor’s house. So, it becomes my job when he is away. One winter in a big blowing snow I couldn’t start the snow blower. There are very few things I don’t fix myself so when I couldn’t fix the snowblower I was surprised. After what felt like a long time and an overwhelming urge to cry I decided to call for help. I didn’t consider this an “emergency” so I wanted to call a local friend (with skills) to help. Sitting in my driveway, near tears, I realized all of the local people I would usually call for a “local” assist were deployed also. I never felt so alone before. Fortunately, I found a lump of frozen sand was prohibiting the tines from turning and was able to fix it myself, but I was l little more lonely for the rest of that deployment.
Finally, use the Family Readiness Group resource if you need to. They are there to help.
I can’t wait to see more from Hammer Jammer University! Thank you.
Susan
Thanks for Stopping by and great comment. I will be working on some of these soon. Thanks So much!
Excellent advice my friend. Thank you so much for thinking of the wives and looking out for us! These are all great tips and I realize not everyone is as fortunate as I am to have such a wise father to have taught me so many useful things. Who knew I’d be a soldiers’s wife! God bless you.
Ann – Thanks for you kind words and your service
God Bless…
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