How To Stay Safe While Waiting for Roadside Assistance
Your car breaking down is never a joyous moment, especially when it happens while you’re far away from a place you could call safe. Once in a while, though, it will happen, and you will be forced to park on the shoulder of the road while you wait for the assistance of a tow truck near me.
While you’re on the side of the road, it may take several minutes before assistance from a towing service in Odessa gets to you. That several minutes could be a very long time, especially if you’re anxious. At that time, several things could happen. These things could cause significant damage to your vehicle, or even severe injury and possibly death if the proper precautions are not taken.
Road carnage has been increasing exponentially over the years, and this is mainly due to drivers not paying attention to their surroundings, or even being downright reckless. You want to live a long, healthy and fruitful life, and what this means is you have to assume you are the only sane driver and you need to take various precautions to safeguard both your property and your life.
Here are several things you can do to keep yourself free from harm.
Be Aware of Traffic
Stay safe while waiting for roadside assistance. Make sure to keep yourself visible!
Traffic can be your friend and your enemy, especially if your vehicle is experiencing some breakdown and you need assistance. Whenever you need to pull over, get the car off the road and pull over away from ongoing traffic.
If your car does break down before you get a chance to get off the road, you may have to push it to get away. You may need to steer your wheels away from the road if you are alone in the vehicle; this gives you a way to work alone.
At this moment, you need to make yourself and your vehicle as visible as possible. Get out your traffic cones and place them some distance behind your car. This procedure gives oncoming drivers ample time to react to the parked vehicle. Also, ensure your hazards lights are on.
Move Away From Your Vehicle If It’s Smoking
You’ve probably seen it on social media, several photos of vehicles on highways that have caught fire and been burnt to a crisp. Although it can and does happen, cars these days rarely catch fire.
If you see smoke coming out from under the hood, quickly pull over to the side of the road and switch off both the engine and all electrical systems. The problem could be superheated liquids, or it could be the electrical system that has been compromised.
You need to move away from the vehicle if it is on fire.
At Night, Stay Inside the Vehicle
You should only leave your vehicle in instances where staying put would mean severe injury or damage to your car. You may be adept at solving some of the problems that your car faces, but you could be exposing yourself to danger unnecessarily.
As mentioned previously, assume you are the only sober driver on the road. Therefore, if you have to leave your vehicle, do so cautiously. Check to confirm there is no traffic around you before you exit the car. Ensure you have your parking brake on before exiting the vehicle.
Keep Warm
Cars breaking down are not limited to just the warmer months of the year. A vehicle will also break down when the road is covered with several feet of snow. It is at these times that it is more prudent to stay in the vehicle.
Leaving could prove to be more dangerous than you think it is. Hypothermia is not a condition to trifle with. You could end up losing parts of your extremities while trying to brave the cold. The low temperatures by themselves are terrible, but the absolute monster is known as wind chill.
The wind chill is where the wind blows over an object and takes any heat away from it. In this case, the wind blowing against your body will take heat away from it. Wind chill drops temperatures to lower levels. If you do need to get out of the vehicle, use your car to create a barrier between you and the direction the wind is blowing from. In this way, the effects of wind chill are minimized.
If your engine is still functional, you will need to keep it running. This process gives your AC juice for which to keep the cabin of your vehicle warm and toasty. In cases of the engine completely refusing to start up, stay inside the cabin, avoid opening windows and doors at all costs. This process will help you preserve the heat already in the cabin while you wait for assistance.
How Can Santa Fe Towing Help?
A lot has changed in the world in the last thirty years. We live in a world often dominated by large, impersonal corporations. Counter to that environment, Santa Fe Tow Service remains a family business with local roots in the Kansas and Missouri areas. We proudly provide personal, skilled service to every call we receive. If you’re stranded, give us a call for emergency roadside assistance. Call now!