TRAVEL TIP #7 Be safe!
©2010
Wow, another crazy week. I'm just now catching up with my BLOG and have some important things to say about personal safety. Take care of yourself, so that your travels are as enjoyable as they can possibly be.
Traveling safely is absolutely the highest priority for a successful trip. Nothing can destroy the joy of travel faster than a thief or mugger taking advantage of a situation in which you become vulnerable. Use your head. If your “instincts” say that a situation is threatening put yourself first. It’s your trip. It’s your property. It’s your life.
1. Be alert. Pay attention to all people who are in close proximity to you. Avoid putting yourself into positions where you are isolated. There are no guarantees that there is safety in a crowd. Certainly there is a strange phenomenon in which people disregard persons in peril. So don’t count on a security guard to come to the rescue. Recent news reports show how willingly some people will stand by and watch a beating as though it were mere entertainment.
2. Take a personal safety class. Many police officers offer self defense training as a
community service. It is not necessary to pay for self defense training. Call your local law enforcement office and ask for instruction in self defense.
3. Drive during daylight hours.
4. If you go out at night, do so with a friend. Be particularly careful when in
unfamiliar territory. When traveling abroad, be particularly cognizant of potential
dangers. Always check out the State Department advisories as they pertain to your destination.
5. Don’t assume that you are safe in a small town or in YOUR town. Thievery,
assault, kidnappings occur everywhere.
6. When traveling alone, create the illusion that you are with your husband. Talk to
The hotel clerks about places that you and your husband can have dinner, see the sights, etc. Ask for two room keys.
7. Place a bogus passenger or the illusion of a passenger beside you in your vehicle.
I have been looking for a realistic mannequin for a long time, but they seem to be
very expensive and in short supply. For the time being, I position a wide brim straw hat on top of the passenger seat, creating the illusion of two people in the
vehicle. No one is more vulnerable than s/he who is alone.
8. Where legal, carry items that can be used for self defense. You will have to check
out local laws to ensure that you are in compliance. I carry pepper spray, an air horn, walkie talkies, a whistle, a taser, a cell phone, a battery powered emergency flasher, and alarms to put under my hotel room doors. If an intruder tries to pass
through a hotel door or window, one of the alarms will screech an ear piercing siren and in many cases will frighten the intruder enough to discourage further invasion.
9. Use common items for self defense. Several years ago a student who was a
former MP (military police officer) gave a self defense speech in one of my classes. He asked us to look in our purses and backpacks for items we could use
to protect ourselves. I remember him holding up a ball point pen and instructing us to go for the eyes. We squirmed, but understood if it’s our life or an assailant’s
eye, we choose life. Also, Jake told those of us with nylon bristle hairbrushes to imagine the efficacy of being assaulted with multiple, pencil point bristles in the eye. The one tip I most often recall was not one which relied on personal items
for self defense. He asked another student to stand in the front of the room beside him. Then he raised his foot knee-high and quickly thrust the foot through the air adjacent to the side of the other student’s knee. Of course he stopped short of
actually hitting the person’s leg, but assured us that it takes very little force to dislocate a knee. Slam your foot into the side of the knee, and your attacker will
be disabled.
10. Always carry enough cash to appease a thief. One New York law enforcement
officer advised me to carry at last $100 cash at all times. Give it away without hesitation if you are threatened. Accordingly, it is important to turn over your purse and its contents, which may be sufficient to save yourself from a personal attack.
11. Strap a fanny pack with a steel reinforced strap around your waist, and never,
never be separated from the pack. Wearing a fanny pack looks a bit dorky, but
it frees both hands for eating, handling doorknobs, tugging suitcases, etc.
12. Never lay a purse on a seat beside you in a restaurant and never lay a purse on
the table. By the time a robber grabs the bag, he or she will be on the run while you are still trying to get out of your seat.
13. Never place a purse on the passenger seat of an automobile. Your side window
can be smashed in an instant when you stop for a traffic light. Before you have a chance to call for help, the thief will be gone. Place your purse on the floor by your feet. If you are going to secure your cell phone, fasten the fanny pack strap to your seatbelt strap or secure it to the frame underneath the driver’s seat.
14. Carry only one credit card and a lot of cash in your bag. BUT, don’t show large
wads of cash to anyone in public.
15. Hide a photocopy of your driver’s license, extra cash, and an extra credit card in
your vehicle. If your purse is stolen, you will have backup resources to aide you
in your travel.
16. Keep your gas tank filled. And, fill up at the end of each travel day, so you will
be ready to go the following morning.
17. Remember, if there is a power outage, gas pumps will not work. Neither will
ATMs be accessible.
18. Always leave an itinerary with a trusted friend or family member, and check
in with them at the end of each day. If loved ones are concerned, promise them
an email each night and tell them your travel route and destination for the following day.
19. Listen for hazardous weather reports and use your head! If you drive INTO a
storm, your name had better be Jim Cantore or Reed Timmer. Otherwise, you are
asking for trouble.
20. Study crime statistics of new areas through which you will be traveling. KNOW
where the dangerous areas are and know how to respond.
21. Keep your cell phone charged but understand that there may be occasions when
you cannot get a signal. A walkie talkie with a two-mile range could be your
lifeline.
22. Do not travel with expensive jewelry and remember to “trash” your car, so that
you create the appearance of a casual, “broke” wanderer with nothing worth stealing.
23. Women should wear a ballcap and a plaid shirt so as to make a “distant
impression” of a male driver. Men’s mirrored sunglasses will complete the
façade.
24. Don’t allow yourself to become isolated. Stay in open, well lit areas, and walk in
the company of families with children.
25. Many rest areas are perfect locations for robbery. Only nap in a rest area during
daylight hours. Park your car beside a space reserved for the state police or in a
space between cars where families are coming and going.
26. Never hang your purse on the rest room stall hooks. I hang the strap of my fanny
pack around my neck or strap it high on my rib cage. One of my friends lays her
purse on top of the eye- level shelf provided specifically for purses.
27. Don’t trust shopping mall parking lots for personal safety. Many robberies,
muggings, and kidnappings take place in broad daylight in shopping mall lots.
Have you seen surveillance videos of women who were last seen coming out of
a mall store when a man approached them? Keep these images in mind at all times.
You are not safe shopping. It just seems that way.
28. Before getting inside your vehicle, check the back seat to be sure no one is hiding
there. Once inside the vehicle, slam the door lock down as quickly as possible. A neighbor of ours was shopping with her daughter at a large shopping mall when a man began walking earnestly toward their car. The mother told the daughter to lock her door quickly. The daughter protested, saying that her mom was overreacting again. No sooner had she pressed down the lock, the man reached for the door handle, and tried to open the door. It was broad daylight and there were two of them.
29. Never park in a space beside a van with sliding doors. You can be easily
abducted and driven off site.
30. Never allow yourself to be placed inside a vehicle. Once you lose control inside a vehicle, you lose. If a car is following you as you walk along a sidewalk, turn around 180 degrees and walk in the opposite direction. It will take the driver a few minutes to reverse his/her driving direction and give you a little time to get to a safe area.
31. If you are thrown inside a trunk, pull out the wiring for the tail lights of the
vehicle. This will “signal” a police traffic stop and you have a chance of
being rescued by a patrolling trooper.
32. If you are abducted and in the passenger seat, wait until your abductor stops at an
intersection. Then QUICKLY slam your foot on top of the driver’s accelerator pedal foot. Ram the car into the vehicle in front of you. Once there is a traffic accident, you will have other people on hunt of a hit-and-run driver.
33. Stay calm and alert. Use your head. You can cry later. Do not get into a
threatening situation in the first place. Travel to cities with relatively low
crime rates. Let city managers know that you are choosing safe cities over
their cities. Every word of concern about crime may encourage absolute
serious efforts to address the problem.
34. Park in the well lit front parking lots of hotels. Never park in dark areas at the
rear of a hotel. This means you need to arrive early at your hotel, check in, and
THEN go sight seeing.
35. Read everything available about travel safety! Rely on law enforcement and
the state department to be your guides for a happy trip! Be safe. Take responsibility for your safety. Do your homework! Protect yourself on the road.
36. Stay sober. A drunk lacks reasoning ability and opens him/herself to trouble on many fronts. Alcohol is not your friend when your safety is on the line. Look at the statistics of alcohol related crimes on college campuses and you will be convinced, unless you are drunk while you are reading or just stupid.
Down the road I’ll talk about hotel safety. The steps for safe travel have only begun with this post.
HAVE SAFE TRAVELS!!! Always safe.
I cannot guarantee you personal safety. You are responsible for your well being. Be smart! Be safe! Always safe.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Travel Tip #6 KNOW THE SNOW! EXPECT ICE! Copyright 2010
TIP #6 Know the snow! Expect ice!
A little more about snow driving safety --- with the expectation---uh---HOPE--- that spring is nigh! In addition to keeping your car in good repairs, knowing how to navigate in adverse conditions is essential.
Rule Number 1: If you do not NEED to drive on bad roads, don’t! Stay home. Give road crews and power line crews a little extra space by keeping your vehicle off the road.
Read a book. Write a book. Help a neighbor. Take a bubble bath. Clean house. Do whatever you choose, but do it off the road. If you are not a savvy slick-road vehicle operator, think twice before venturing out unnecessarily. The life you save could be your own.
Good tires. Good tread. Spend the bucks. I would make an educated guess that
half of the vehicles that end up in the ditch are ones with bald tires. You are maneuvering a 2,000-pound vehicle atop ice skating rink conditions. If you cannot ice skate, what makes you think you can control SO much momentum from a lethal weapon that is moving fifty miles an hour on an oversized public rink with hundreds of other lethal weapons lining up their crosshairs on YOU?
Oh, and if you are out there with four-wheel drive --- FORGET it on ice!!! Know HOW to use it to your advantage. Driving is a skill, not a reflex.
Watch out for semi drivers who are trying to get bread and milk to Walmart. Stay BEHIND all large vehicles. Recently I drove down into the mountains after a storm to get a snowy photo as a Christmas gift. When a large log truck pulled to the side of the road to allow drivers to go in front of him down the mountain, I watched every single car pull ahead in front of him. I pulled to the side of the road and waited for him to resume his ten mph trip down the mountain. A trip that normally would take four hours required twelve hours that day. I was not in a hurry to be creamed. Oh, and be extra careful about the potential for semis to jack knife on the interestates. I often take the side roads if truck traffic is threatening. I have a better chance of surviving a crash at forty miles an hour than at sixty/seventy miles an hour. I love getting bread from Walmart, but I love being able to eat it. Stay in your right lane on the interstates, and avoid getting sandwiched between large trucks. You are jelly waiting to happen. Oh, and know the terrain you will be covering, even if it is an interstate highway. There are some isolated mountainous interstates that I circumnavigate, just to avoid increased risks. Do you know which road(s) in your state are the deadliest? Check your highway traffic safety facts, and then ask yourself why more people die on those roads than any others in the state.
Back to the weather maps. Become a good friend with Jim Cantore and the gang on the Weather Channel. Learn to spot hazardous conditions that are approaching your area of travel. I am the first to admit that I made a HUGE mistake in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming in May! But I’ve had lots of experience navigating on icy mountain roads, and that probably made the difference. Carry a battery powered NOAA weather radio, cell phone, cell phone manual charger, CB, and or/ walkie talkies on all your travels, regardless of season.
Throw in emergency “sound systems” like a plastic whistle (you can get one at the Dollar Tree in the toy aisle), and an air horn (Walmart and sports shops). The advantage of a whistle is that it requires relatively little effort to make a sound that will carry a long distance. Do you know how to blow SOS? Answer: Three dots, three dashes, three dots. That is to say, three quick loud bursts, three longer loud bursts, followed by three short bursts. Thanks Dad for teaching me that. Thanks also to Sky King who rescued somebody on TV many, MANY moons ago. Rescued … because of reflection from a flashing mirror in a canyon two miles beneath his plane. Now what was the name of Sky King’s plane? Hmmmmmm. Another story for another time. Who is the famous actor who played Sky King? I DO remember that one! Hint: he is the real life brother of a famous television law man.
Back to winter safety. The lesson is clear: carry a mirror or yank your rear view mirror from its mount. Can you signal SOS with a mirror? By the way, you had better hope you can flag down a good Navy veteran with a background in Morse Code who can READ dots and dashes. I am so sorry that Morse Code is no longer an official mode of communication in the military. Civilians and soldiers/sailors/marines need to immediately recognize a distress call in the form of blinking lights or precisely administered sharp whistles. Don’t forget to use your air horn for blasting SOS too. But if you are in bear territory, you may need to reserve the air horn to ward off an aggressive sow that is hell bent on defending her cubs. Use your resources wisely! The bottom line is to think about every possible way to get help in an emergency. If you were pinned inside a vehicle in a ravine, how could you signal someone to render aide. Don’t count on a cell phone signal. P.S. don’t leave you cell phone loose on the front seat. I carry my phone in a fanny pack that can be clicked to my fastened seatbelt. Secure the phone. If your car tumbles or slides off the road, again that weird thing of momentum will hurl it out of your grasp. Good luck trying to get to your phone that’s out of arm’s reach.
And … throw a couple of bags of four-way chips or kitty litter in the back of your vehicle for weight. If you DO slide off the road, the chips/litter can provide some traction under your spinning tires to get you back on the road.
On one trip I purposefully drove INTO a winter storm to get a snowy picture at a state park. The weather conditions were harsher than I had imagined they would be, so I took refuge in a local hotel for five days. But I set my alarm clock to ring every two hours so that I could clear a path to and around my car. The hotel manager thanked me for clearing the walk in front of the hotel, but I was really just watching out for my best interests.
And PLEASE be cognizant of the stress that snow shoveling causes in cold weather! I have no idea how many heart attacks occurred with this last winter blast, but we do have a neighbor who suffered a MAJOR heart attack and somehow managed to survive after undergoing a sextuple heart bypass operation. Doc told him he was lucky. As he recovers from major surgery, I am not so sure that he feels “lucky.” Even young people have suffered heart attacks while shoveling snow. PUSH the snow with your heel on the back of the shovel. Do not lift. If you have a heart condition, if you are overweight, if you have a family history of heart disease, or if you are in the “heart attack years” wait for the spring thaw. There are many happy trails awaiting you. Don’t miss a moment of sheer joy on the great highway of life. If you must clear a path --- and I had to do so because I could never have dug out my car --- push snow/shovel ten minutes and take a warm twenty minute break. Take no chances with your life. You are not getting another one!
Carry a shovel and a broom in the winter. You may need to shovel snow away from a spinning tire, and you can spread the litter pebbles in front of same tire as you try to drive back onto the road. Don’t forget: you may be able to assist someone else who is stuck, but use your head for safety. Use your cell phone to call for assistance if the situation appears to be threatening.
Always keep a large candle and farmers matches in your vehicle. Propane lighters can “freeze up” in low temperatures. If you slide into a snow bank, it could be hours before you are rescued, i.e., towed.
Practice driving in a large open ice-covered parking lot --- check with the local police to see where you can practice ice driving. Be cognizant of trespassing laws and be respectful of private property. At a S L O W speed, hit your brakes to see how your vehicle handles. If your rear end starts to fishtail, take your foot off the brake and steer in a corresponding counter maneuver to offset the skid. Drivers ed books say to turn in the direction of the skid, but those instructions have always baffled me. Basically it works this way. If your rear end is sliding to the right and your nose is sliding to the left, turn your steering wheel quickly to the right. OK. I guess that IS in the direction of the skid, from the rear end perspective. I guess I drive with my nose in mind. Anyway, you car should be simultaneously slowing down and correcting itself so that you can regain control. Once the steering wheel turn corrects the skid, quickly resume a neutral position as though you are driving straight ahead. It’s just like playing the piano. The best musicians are the ones that practice the most … usually …. Some people can never play the piano well OR drive a car well. Make sure you know whether practice will indeed make you perfect. If you are an incompetent driver, prone to high levels of anxiety, get off the road. Otherwise practice. Practice. Practice. Practice.
If you need to brake on ice or snow, always “pump” your brakes. Lightly touch the brake pedal in staccato-like easy taps, rather than slamming your foot on the pedal. Some people panic and press the pedal even harder when a skid begins, which is the worst possible response.
Keep your speed well under the speed limit as road conditions merit. If a driver behind you believes that s/he can maintain high speeds under adverse conditions, pull over when you get to a safe place to do so and let the sucker pass. Be prepared to administer first aid a few miles down the road.
Don’t forget the sleeping bag and warm gear. Again, carry a case of water and a
two-pound jar of peanut butter. Think of the guy who was recently pulled from the Haiti earthquake rubble. He survived twenty-eight days in the debris of a collapsed grocery store. Food. Water. Life.
Take a first aid course. It is DEFINITELY time for me to renew first aid procedures. American Red Cross guidelines for CPR are always changing. I am overdue for a refresher on every level. In many cases you can treat your own injuries. And you never know when you may need to assist others. Always carry a first aid kit.
Anti-freeze treated windshield washer is essential. Carry an extra jug in the back. Good wiper blades? Change them before a trip.
Don’t forget jumper cables. Cold weather wreaks havoc on batteries.
If you do not need to travel on bad roads, don’t.
If you do NEED to travel in bad weather conditions, stay calm and in control. Know your limitations and cuddle up with a good book in a hotel until conditions improve.
Stay calm. Have the tools you need for icy conditions. Learn the skills needed to navigate expertly. Watch out for aggressive drivers who have way too much horsepower for their Broncos.
Take your camera. You will see lovely snowscapes along the way. And you may need to photograph a wreck---hopefully not your own.
Safe travels! Have FUN!
A little more about snow driving safety --- with the expectation---uh---HOPE--- that spring is nigh! In addition to keeping your car in good repairs, knowing how to navigate in adverse conditions is essential.
Rule Number 1: If you do not NEED to drive on bad roads, don’t! Stay home. Give road crews and power line crews a little extra space by keeping your vehicle off the road.
Read a book. Write a book. Help a neighbor. Take a bubble bath. Clean house. Do whatever you choose, but do it off the road. If you are not a savvy slick-road vehicle operator, think twice before venturing out unnecessarily. The life you save could be your own.
Good tires. Good tread. Spend the bucks. I would make an educated guess that
half of the vehicles that end up in the ditch are ones with bald tires. You are maneuvering a 2,000-pound vehicle atop ice skating rink conditions. If you cannot ice skate, what makes you think you can control SO much momentum from a lethal weapon that is moving fifty miles an hour on an oversized public rink with hundreds of other lethal weapons lining up their crosshairs on YOU?
Oh, and if you are out there with four-wheel drive --- FORGET it on ice!!! Know HOW to use it to your advantage. Driving is a skill, not a reflex.
Watch out for semi drivers who are trying to get bread and milk to Walmart. Stay BEHIND all large vehicles. Recently I drove down into the mountains after a storm to get a snowy photo as a Christmas gift. When a large log truck pulled to the side of the road to allow drivers to go in front of him down the mountain, I watched every single car pull ahead in front of him. I pulled to the side of the road and waited for him to resume his ten mph trip down the mountain. A trip that normally would take four hours required twelve hours that day. I was not in a hurry to be creamed. Oh, and be extra careful about the potential for semis to jack knife on the interestates. I often take the side roads if truck traffic is threatening. I have a better chance of surviving a crash at forty miles an hour than at sixty/seventy miles an hour. I love getting bread from Walmart, but I love being able to eat it. Stay in your right lane on the interstates, and avoid getting sandwiched between large trucks. You are jelly waiting to happen. Oh, and know the terrain you will be covering, even if it is an interstate highway. There are some isolated mountainous interstates that I circumnavigate, just to avoid increased risks. Do you know which road(s) in your state are the deadliest? Check your highway traffic safety facts, and then ask yourself why more people die on those roads than any others in the state.
Back to the weather maps. Become a good friend with Jim Cantore and the gang on the Weather Channel. Learn to spot hazardous conditions that are approaching your area of travel. I am the first to admit that I made a HUGE mistake in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming in May! But I’ve had lots of experience navigating on icy mountain roads, and that probably made the difference. Carry a battery powered NOAA weather radio, cell phone, cell phone manual charger, CB, and or/ walkie talkies on all your travels, regardless of season.
Throw in emergency “sound systems” like a plastic whistle (you can get one at the Dollar Tree in the toy aisle), and an air horn (Walmart and sports shops). The advantage of a whistle is that it requires relatively little effort to make a sound that will carry a long distance. Do you know how to blow SOS? Answer: Three dots, three dashes, three dots. That is to say, three quick loud bursts, three longer loud bursts, followed by three short bursts. Thanks Dad for teaching me that. Thanks also to Sky King who rescued somebody on TV many, MANY moons ago. Rescued … because of reflection from a flashing mirror in a canyon two miles beneath his plane. Now what was the name of Sky King’s plane? Hmmmmmm. Another story for another time. Who is the famous actor who played Sky King? I DO remember that one! Hint: he is the real life brother of a famous television law man.
Back to winter safety. The lesson is clear: carry a mirror or yank your rear view mirror from its mount. Can you signal SOS with a mirror? By the way, you had better hope you can flag down a good Navy veteran with a background in Morse Code who can READ dots and dashes. I am so sorry that Morse Code is no longer an official mode of communication in the military. Civilians and soldiers/sailors/marines need to immediately recognize a distress call in the form of blinking lights or precisely administered sharp whistles. Don’t forget to use your air horn for blasting SOS too. But if you are in bear territory, you may need to reserve the air horn to ward off an aggressive sow that is hell bent on defending her cubs. Use your resources wisely! The bottom line is to think about every possible way to get help in an emergency. If you were pinned inside a vehicle in a ravine, how could you signal someone to render aide. Don’t count on a cell phone signal. P.S. don’t leave you cell phone loose on the front seat. I carry my phone in a fanny pack that can be clicked to my fastened seatbelt. Secure the phone. If your car tumbles or slides off the road, again that weird thing of momentum will hurl it out of your grasp. Good luck trying to get to your phone that’s out of arm’s reach.
And … throw a couple of bags of four-way chips or kitty litter in the back of your vehicle for weight. If you DO slide off the road, the chips/litter can provide some traction under your spinning tires to get you back on the road.
On one trip I purposefully drove INTO a winter storm to get a snowy picture at a state park. The weather conditions were harsher than I had imagined they would be, so I took refuge in a local hotel for five days. But I set my alarm clock to ring every two hours so that I could clear a path to and around my car. The hotel manager thanked me for clearing the walk in front of the hotel, but I was really just watching out for my best interests.
And PLEASE be cognizant of the stress that snow shoveling causes in cold weather! I have no idea how many heart attacks occurred with this last winter blast, but we do have a neighbor who suffered a MAJOR heart attack and somehow managed to survive after undergoing a sextuple heart bypass operation. Doc told him he was lucky. As he recovers from major surgery, I am not so sure that he feels “lucky.” Even young people have suffered heart attacks while shoveling snow. PUSH the snow with your heel on the back of the shovel. Do not lift. If you have a heart condition, if you are overweight, if you have a family history of heart disease, or if you are in the “heart attack years” wait for the spring thaw. There are many happy trails awaiting you. Don’t miss a moment of sheer joy on the great highway of life. If you must clear a path --- and I had to do so because I could never have dug out my car --- push snow/shovel ten minutes and take a warm twenty minute break. Take no chances with your life. You are not getting another one!
Carry a shovel and a broom in the winter. You may need to shovel snow away from a spinning tire, and you can spread the litter pebbles in front of same tire as you try to drive back onto the road. Don’t forget: you may be able to assist someone else who is stuck, but use your head for safety. Use your cell phone to call for assistance if the situation appears to be threatening.
Always keep a large candle and farmers matches in your vehicle. Propane lighters can “freeze up” in low temperatures. If you slide into a snow bank, it could be hours before you are rescued, i.e., towed.
Practice driving in a large open ice-covered parking lot --- check with the local police to see where you can practice ice driving. Be cognizant of trespassing laws and be respectful of private property. At a S L O W speed, hit your brakes to see how your vehicle handles. If your rear end starts to fishtail, take your foot off the brake and steer in a corresponding counter maneuver to offset the skid. Drivers ed books say to turn in the direction of the skid, but those instructions have always baffled me. Basically it works this way. If your rear end is sliding to the right and your nose is sliding to the left, turn your steering wheel quickly to the right. OK. I guess that IS in the direction of the skid, from the rear end perspective. I guess I drive with my nose in mind. Anyway, you car should be simultaneously slowing down and correcting itself so that you can regain control. Once the steering wheel turn corrects the skid, quickly resume a neutral position as though you are driving straight ahead. It’s just like playing the piano. The best musicians are the ones that practice the most … usually …. Some people can never play the piano well OR drive a car well. Make sure you know whether practice will indeed make you perfect. If you are an incompetent driver, prone to high levels of anxiety, get off the road. Otherwise practice. Practice. Practice. Practice.
If you need to brake on ice or snow, always “pump” your brakes. Lightly touch the brake pedal in staccato-like easy taps, rather than slamming your foot on the pedal. Some people panic and press the pedal even harder when a skid begins, which is the worst possible response.
Keep your speed well under the speed limit as road conditions merit. If a driver behind you believes that s/he can maintain high speeds under adverse conditions, pull over when you get to a safe place to do so and let the sucker pass. Be prepared to administer first aid a few miles down the road.
Don’t forget the sleeping bag and warm gear. Again, carry a case of water and a
two-pound jar of peanut butter. Think of the guy who was recently pulled from the Haiti earthquake rubble. He survived twenty-eight days in the debris of a collapsed grocery store. Food. Water. Life.
Take a first aid course. It is DEFINITELY time for me to renew first aid procedures. American Red Cross guidelines for CPR are always changing. I am overdue for a refresher on every level. In many cases you can treat your own injuries. And you never know when you may need to assist others. Always carry a first aid kit.
Anti-freeze treated windshield washer is essential. Carry an extra jug in the back. Good wiper blades? Change them before a trip.
Don’t forget jumper cables. Cold weather wreaks havoc on batteries.
If you do not need to travel on bad roads, don’t.
If you do NEED to travel in bad weather conditions, stay calm and in control. Know your limitations and cuddle up with a good book in a hotel until conditions improve.
Stay calm. Have the tools you need for icy conditions. Learn the skills needed to navigate expertly. Watch out for aggressive drivers who have way too much horsepower for their Broncos.
Take your camera. You will see lovely snowscapes along the way. And you may need to photograph a wreck---hopefully not your own.
Safe travels! Have FUN!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Copyright 2010, Lea, the Traveling Novelist
Tip #5 Expect the unexpected and prepare accordingly.
Whew! After 4 nights in subfreezing temperatures, it’s great to have power! I’m hoping everyone has managed well in the snow storm. We buried frozen food in the snow, isolated refrigerated items in our garage at 40 degrees, and huddled around a gas log fireplace with candles and oil lamps strewn throughout the house. Strange how “attached” we become to electronics. Down the road, we may get a generator. Usually our power outages last less than twenty four hours, and that’s not enough to cause much discomfort. Fortunately we had hot water and could take warm, steamy showers which felt great as cold ice-ghosts wafted inward through the exterior walls of our home. But four days without a shampoo (could not blow my hair dry) was a little distraction.
The next few posts on the blog will deal with personal safety. Although it is after the fact, I’ll start with comfort and survival in the midst of storms. Always refer to the American Red Cross, FEMA, and the Department of Homeland Security as your first reference. I will hit some highlights of my experience, but I always defer to the pros for the final say.
Please remember, this blog does not ensure your personal safety in any situation. The responsibility to use common sense and careful planning rests on your shoulders. In other words, stop blaming others for your bad judgment. Take responsibility.
Just a few thoughts on storm emergencies:
A. Water. Store a case of bottled water in a pantry or closet and recycle it periodically. When traveling, keep the water in the front of your car. I buckle my water bottle filled cooler under the passenger side seatbelt. Keep two weeks of bottled water available at all times, in the house AND on isolated road trips.
B. Heat. Candles and oil lamps will emit sufficient heat to keep you safe. You should have a large emergency candle and farmer’s matches in your vehicle at all times. In an emergency, vent your car properly so that oxygen moves through the vehicle windows. A few years ago one of my college students did a speech on winter safety and brought his car emergency kit to the classroom. As a final point of emphasis, he showed us a tuna can in which a black wick and small frozen puddle of candle wax lay. His sister had used her emergency candle in a blizzard. She had been stranded in a mountain pass overnight and was rescued the following morning. Visual aids like that stay with you!!! I have had super, intelligent students through the years. I am not sure they realize that I have learned as much from them as I hope they learned from me. If you use the car heater for warmth, remember CO POISONING is a REAL possibility. Run the car for ten minutes. Then turn it off for twenty minutes, airing out the vehicle with air through cracked windows. Store an abundance of candles and lamp oil in your home.
Use gas flame fireplaces and stove burners WITH CAUTION! We did make an interesting discovery with the gas stove. As I cooked chicken in a large spaghetti pot, the steam poured into the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The themometer continued to indicate a significant rise in temperature. So, we put three large pots and a tea kettle on the stove, allowing steam to fill the front rooms of the house. It kept us VERY VERY cozy. But we only boiled water pots when we were wide awake. Even trying to be as safe as possible, I inadvertently let one of my good cooking pans boil dry. On my next trip to town, I'll be shopping for a heavy duty two-quart cooker!
Back to the bedroom fireplace. I regularly open the window to allow fresh oxygen into the room. (The same applies for kitchen concerns about open gas burners.) We keep TWO carbon monoxide detectors in our bedroom and test them regularly. We have two detectors so that one will serve as backup in case the other one malfunctions. REMEMBER: Carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless, and colorless. You will never know you are in trouble when this diabolical killer comes for you.
We keep the door open, even when the pilot light is all that is burning. Normally we only use the pilot light when we sleep, but during the storm we had to keep the valve wide open for maximum heat. Some professional dealers absolutely refuse to install gas fireplaces in bedrooms. The liability is too risky. A word to the wise …. Study everything you can find about CO poisoning. Every winter people in cars and homes die because they simply go to sleep under the luring comfort of warm heat and gas asphyxiation.
Be particularly careful with space heaters. Before spring breaks, the news reporters will apprise us of some lovely family members who were asphyxiated from a faulty furnace (another compelling reason to have a CO detector) or space heater. Kerosene heaters and the like require extensive ventilation. Read ALL of the precautions that come with equipment that generate heat.
Never leave an open flame burning while you sleep. I have lost count of the number of local home fires that were started by candles in my lifetime. Never leave a room in which there is an unattended open flame burning. During the storm I woke up chilling and went to the dining room table where I lit 15 or so candles and oil lamps. I sat at the table and watched the thermometer of my weather radio go from 60degrees to 68 degrees. It was tempting to lie down on the couch--------but TOO dangerous! Once the chill dissipated, I blew out the lights and wrapped myself in the warmest, thickest blanket we own.
Never put open-flame devices anywhere that children, pets, or careless adults can knock them over. Keep all combustibles and flammable items far away from open flames. A puddle of lamp oil on the floor with an open flame spells disaster.
Wrap yourself in layers of clothes, and do not forget the toboggan. Keep thick, warm socks on your feet. Wool hunting socks or synthetic warm ski socks are the best to have on hand. Wool gloves will help cool fingertips (in the car or in the home) and if you get a chill in your fingers, do what my eighth grade science teacher taught us to do: stick your bare hands in your armpits. Thanks Doc! If you are isolated in a vehicle, protect core body temperature with layers of clothes, and particularly protect fingers and toes where frostbite begins to eat away at flesh. Cuddle with loved ones in your car. Even if you don’t love the other person in the car, recognize the intrinsic value of body heat and share! Always carry a subfreezing designed sleeping bag in your car for travel---year round. If you never need the bag for yourself, you may need to throw it over an injured traffic victim who may go into shock without adequate first aid.
If any of your clothes are damp, even from sweat, remove them immediately and replace the damp clothes with clean dry ones (another reason to always carry a change of clothes in the car. One time I came onto a two-car wreck during a rainstorm. One person was standing, shivering in the open air. I had extra “throw-away” warm clothes in the car I could offer her for comfort and safety.
C. Light. Store emergency, battery powered lanterns, flashlights, and lamps so that you will have adequate light if you lose power. I am going to invest in the
now-affordable self generating flashlights. You shake the handheld lamp thirty
seconds and an LED light will provide sufficient light for fifteen minutes or longer. NO batteries needed. Remember: you can also use light from cell phones and I-Phones (keep this in mind if you are ever in a crowded theater or elevator if emergency lighting fails during an outage). Battery powered laptop computers will cast a glow too. But don’t play on the computer while the lights are out. Save the power for necessary lighting when the sun goes down.
D. Food. Store lots of nonperishable food in your pantry and recycle it on a regular basis too. If you buy canned food, don’t forget to get pop-tops OR have a manual can opener in your kitchen drawer. Same for the car. In this Great 2010 Storm, we had a good supply of food and used our stoop and garage as the refrigerator. We placed butter, salad dressings, milk, meat, fresh vegetables and fruit in plastic tubs with lids. Pretty handy.
We buried food from the freezer in the snow in a large lid-covered plastic box. (NOTE: We put the food in two clean plastic kitchen garbage bags, so when I retrieved them this morning, it was just a matter of pulling two bags out of a plastic bin and transferring the goodies to the freezer.
Be imaginative. Normally, i.e., when we have POWER, we bake chicken or slow-cook it. But with only gas top burners the last few days, I threw a chicken breast in a pot of boiling water and later chopped the well done fowl into yummy chicken salad for sandwiches on whole wheat bread. We had a spinach salad with cheese, finely chopped carrots, pecans, chicken salad, and a touch a sweet poppy seed dressing. Scrumptious, nutritious eating was not compromised by a lack of electricity. We dined by candlelight (!) and it was lovely.
E. Keep a battery powered radio on hand at all times. Store alkaline batteries galore in a plastic shoebox. Not only did we need to replace batteries over the four-day blackout, we had extras we could share with our neighbor.
F. Confer with the web sites of the American Red Cross, FEMA, and the Department of Homeland Security for additional guidelines on storm safety.
I shall post more ideas down the road. Think about what you will need if there is no electricity, no water, and no communication with the outside world. What do you need to make it through the storm?
Whew! After 4 nights in subfreezing temperatures, it’s great to have power! I’m hoping everyone has managed well in the snow storm. We buried frozen food in the snow, isolated refrigerated items in our garage at 40 degrees, and huddled around a gas log fireplace with candles and oil lamps strewn throughout the house. Strange how “attached” we become to electronics. Down the road, we may get a generator. Usually our power outages last less than twenty four hours, and that’s not enough to cause much discomfort. Fortunately we had hot water and could take warm, steamy showers which felt great as cold ice-ghosts wafted inward through the exterior walls of our home. But four days without a shampoo (could not blow my hair dry) was a little distraction.
The next few posts on the blog will deal with personal safety. Although it is after the fact, I’ll start with comfort and survival in the midst of storms. Always refer to the American Red Cross, FEMA, and the Department of Homeland Security as your first reference. I will hit some highlights of my experience, but I always defer to the pros for the final say.
Please remember, this blog does not ensure your personal safety in any situation. The responsibility to use common sense and careful planning rests on your shoulders. In other words, stop blaming others for your bad judgment. Take responsibility.
Just a few thoughts on storm emergencies:
A. Water. Store a case of bottled water in a pantry or closet and recycle it periodically. When traveling, keep the water in the front of your car. I buckle my water bottle filled cooler under the passenger side seatbelt. Keep two weeks of bottled water available at all times, in the house AND on isolated road trips.
B. Heat. Candles and oil lamps will emit sufficient heat to keep you safe. You should have a large emergency candle and farmer’s matches in your vehicle at all times. In an emergency, vent your car properly so that oxygen moves through the vehicle windows. A few years ago one of my college students did a speech on winter safety and brought his car emergency kit to the classroom. As a final point of emphasis, he showed us a tuna can in which a black wick and small frozen puddle of candle wax lay. His sister had used her emergency candle in a blizzard. She had been stranded in a mountain pass overnight and was rescued the following morning. Visual aids like that stay with you!!! I have had super, intelligent students through the years. I am not sure they realize that I have learned as much from them as I hope they learned from me. If you use the car heater for warmth, remember CO POISONING is a REAL possibility. Run the car for ten minutes. Then turn it off for twenty minutes, airing out the vehicle with air through cracked windows. Store an abundance of candles and lamp oil in your home.
Use gas flame fireplaces and stove burners WITH CAUTION! We did make an interesting discovery with the gas stove. As I cooked chicken in a large spaghetti pot, the steam poured into the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The themometer continued to indicate a significant rise in temperature. So, we put three large pots and a tea kettle on the stove, allowing steam to fill the front rooms of the house. It kept us VERY VERY cozy. But we only boiled water pots when we were wide awake. Even trying to be as safe as possible, I inadvertently let one of my good cooking pans boil dry. On my next trip to town, I'll be shopping for a heavy duty two-quart cooker!
Back to the bedroom fireplace. I regularly open the window to allow fresh oxygen into the room. (The same applies for kitchen concerns about open gas burners.) We keep TWO carbon monoxide detectors in our bedroom and test them regularly. We have two detectors so that one will serve as backup in case the other one malfunctions. REMEMBER: Carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless, and colorless. You will never know you are in trouble when this diabolical killer comes for you.
We keep the door open, even when the pilot light is all that is burning. Normally we only use the pilot light when we sleep, but during the storm we had to keep the valve wide open for maximum heat. Some professional dealers absolutely refuse to install gas fireplaces in bedrooms. The liability is too risky. A word to the wise …. Study everything you can find about CO poisoning. Every winter people in cars and homes die because they simply go to sleep under the luring comfort of warm heat and gas asphyxiation.
Be particularly careful with space heaters. Before spring breaks, the news reporters will apprise us of some lovely family members who were asphyxiated from a faulty furnace (another compelling reason to have a CO detector) or space heater. Kerosene heaters and the like require extensive ventilation. Read ALL of the precautions that come with equipment that generate heat.
Never leave an open flame burning while you sleep. I have lost count of the number of local home fires that were started by candles in my lifetime. Never leave a room in which there is an unattended open flame burning. During the storm I woke up chilling and went to the dining room table where I lit 15 or so candles and oil lamps. I sat at the table and watched the thermometer of my weather radio go from 60degrees to 68 degrees. It was tempting to lie down on the couch--------but TOO dangerous! Once the chill dissipated, I blew out the lights and wrapped myself in the warmest, thickest blanket we own.
Never put open-flame devices anywhere that children, pets, or careless adults can knock them over. Keep all combustibles and flammable items far away from open flames. A puddle of lamp oil on the floor with an open flame spells disaster.
Wrap yourself in layers of clothes, and do not forget the toboggan. Keep thick, warm socks on your feet. Wool hunting socks or synthetic warm ski socks are the best to have on hand. Wool gloves will help cool fingertips (in the car or in the home) and if you get a chill in your fingers, do what my eighth grade science teacher taught us to do: stick your bare hands in your armpits. Thanks Doc! If you are isolated in a vehicle, protect core body temperature with layers of clothes, and particularly protect fingers and toes where frostbite begins to eat away at flesh. Cuddle with loved ones in your car. Even if you don’t love the other person in the car, recognize the intrinsic value of body heat and share! Always carry a subfreezing designed sleeping bag in your car for travel---year round. If you never need the bag for yourself, you may need to throw it over an injured traffic victim who may go into shock without adequate first aid.
If any of your clothes are damp, even from sweat, remove them immediately and replace the damp clothes with clean dry ones (another reason to always carry a change of clothes in the car. One time I came onto a two-car wreck during a rainstorm. One person was standing, shivering in the open air. I had extra “throw-away” warm clothes in the car I could offer her for comfort and safety.
C. Light. Store emergency, battery powered lanterns, flashlights, and lamps so that you will have adequate light if you lose power. I am going to invest in the
now-affordable self generating flashlights. You shake the handheld lamp thirty
seconds and an LED light will provide sufficient light for fifteen minutes or longer. NO batteries needed. Remember: you can also use light from cell phones and I-Phones (keep this in mind if you are ever in a crowded theater or elevator if emergency lighting fails during an outage). Battery powered laptop computers will cast a glow too. But don’t play on the computer while the lights are out. Save the power for necessary lighting when the sun goes down.
D. Food. Store lots of nonperishable food in your pantry and recycle it on a regular basis too. If you buy canned food, don’t forget to get pop-tops OR have a manual can opener in your kitchen drawer. Same for the car. In this Great 2010 Storm, we had a good supply of food and used our stoop and garage as the refrigerator. We placed butter, salad dressings, milk, meat, fresh vegetables and fruit in plastic tubs with lids. Pretty handy.
We buried food from the freezer in the snow in a large lid-covered plastic box. (NOTE: We put the food in two clean plastic kitchen garbage bags, so when I retrieved them this morning, it was just a matter of pulling two bags out of a plastic bin and transferring the goodies to the freezer.
Be imaginative. Normally, i.e., when we have POWER, we bake chicken or slow-cook it. But with only gas top burners the last few days, I threw a chicken breast in a pot of boiling water and later chopped the well done fowl into yummy chicken salad for sandwiches on whole wheat bread. We had a spinach salad with cheese, finely chopped carrots, pecans, chicken salad, and a touch a sweet poppy seed dressing. Scrumptious, nutritious eating was not compromised by a lack of electricity. We dined by candlelight (!) and it was lovely.
E. Keep a battery powered radio on hand at all times. Store alkaline batteries galore in a plastic shoebox. Not only did we need to replace batteries over the four-day blackout, we had extras we could share with our neighbor.
F. Confer with the web sites of the American Red Cross, FEMA, and the Department of Homeland Security for additional guidelines on storm safety.
I shall post more ideas down the road. Think about what you will need if there is no electricity, no water, and no communication with the outside world. What do you need to make it through the storm?
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