How to drive safe in winter

In the event of severe weather, the DMV advises some pretty intelligent and basic knowledge that will do any driver well to heed. If the visibility and conditions become too hazardous to drive, you should pull your car completely off of the highway. You should also attempt to leave some sort of a signal to others that there are people in your car. You can leave a signal such as a flag hung by your antenna or in a window. You can also leave a sign by having on your hazard lights. In the case of severe whether such as this, it is always advised that you stay where you are. If you wander off, you might quickly get lost, get disoriented, loose head and become unable to travel. Staying where you are, will allow rescuers to find you, and you will be able to stay in shelter while you are waiting for them to find you. If it is too cold, you can run your heater in your car for about ten minutes out of each hour. If you are going to run your car, however, it is important that you provide proper ventilation by opening a downwind window and you should make sure that your car exhaust is clear of snow.

If you feel that you need to move, exercising is a good way to maintain heat and to bide the time.  You can also conserve heat by staying under anything that can be used as an insulation covering. You can also cuddle or huddle together under your coats and blankets to share and conserve heat. IF you have others with you, it is best that you take turns sleeping, there should always be one person awake at all times in case a rescue crew comes near.

You need to consider your own physical well-being while you are stranded in this bad weather. As much as it is good to exercise, you need to make sure that you drink enough liquids, it is important that you keep your body healthy and working at its optimum. Drinking whatever liquid you might have available or even melted snow can keep you hydrated. The only liquid that you should avoid would be alcohol. Alcohol might make you feel warm when you first drink it, but it will actually lower your body temperature. Alcohol also decreases brain activities.

You may not know how long you might be stranded, so be careful not to deplete your battery power. In today’s society, there are many technological devices that can be charged through our car batteries, considering that you do not know how long you will be waiting for rescue, limit your use of anything that will drain you car battery. You should consider, however, turning on your interior light at night to increase visibility by a rescue team. If you realize that you are in a remote area, it is a good idea to stomp block letters in the snow that spell “HELP” or “SOS” if you lay something dark, such as tree branches or dark stones into the snow this sign can be read from far away.