We wrote about how to prepare your car for a trip in the winter season in a previous article. Here we will tell you how to behave if you do not manage to escape from the snow captivity and how to survive a snowstorm in your car.
Stay in your car. It may be tempting to try to leave the vehicle and try to find help in the nearest community. But leaving the car would be a wrong decision. If you are in an area with no housing at a distance of ten kilometers.
- The only exception is that if you stay with the car. You are in physical danger. For example, if it catches fire or may fall through the ice on a body of water.
- A car is a good cover unless better options, such as a house, warehouse, or shop, are at close range.
- Remember that distances are distorted by falling snow.
- In addition, snow covers potholes, sharp objects. And other dangerous objects, so walking in the middle of a snowstorm is a severe risk.
Report your disaster
As a rule, most people now have a mobile phone they carry around with them all the time. Before your phone’s battery runs out, get your exact location using your car or phone’s GPS. Call 911 and tell them aboit your location and who’s in the car. Be sure to include information about how much water and food you have. How much gas you have, and if anyone in the vehicle has a severe illness.
Use your phone to charge wisely. If you are in the car for several days. You may need to turn off your mobile phone to save the remaining battery power for later use in emergencies. But turning it off also means you won’t receive any incoming calls or messages. If you periodically start your car, you can charge your phone.
Make yourself visible to rescuers.
When a severe blizzard hits, thousands of people cannot get anywhere in their cars. Some choose to abandon their vehicles, while others stay. First responders will prioritize rescuing the people left in their vehicles. And you need to make it evident that you are still in your vehicle. Before the arrival of rescuers, you need to warm up as much as possible. The body temperature can quickly drop at low temperatures, which puts you at risk of hypothermia.
- Tie a red cloth to your antenna. If you don’t have the antenna. Find a spot high up on your car where it can mangle in the wind. Or tie it to a door handle facing the direction where help is most likely to come.
- If you don’t own a red piece of cloth, find something in your car to use.
- Are you stranded in a remote zone? Write “HELP” or “SOS” in large letters in the snow to be visible. To those searching for those in distress by air. Use all possible objects to make the inscription visible from afar. You may need to do this when the snow stops.
- Horn using Morse code for an SOS, but ONLY when your car is running to conserve battery power. Give three short beeps, three long beeps, and three short beeps, pause for 10-15 seconds and repeat.
- Take turns waiting awake to be on the lookout for help.
Save fuel (how to survive a snowstorm in your car)
You may be trapped in your vehicle depending on several factors. Such as the storm’s strength, where you are, the capacity of emergency services, and the number of other people stranded. Therefore, it is essential to use your car’s fuel as little as possible.
If you have a relatively full tank of gas, run the engine every hour for ten minutes. While doing this, have one window open to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
If you are low on gas, start the engine only 1-2 times .A day for ten minutes to control the battery. From being drained and the fuel line from freezing. In this case, make a fire in a safe place. And start the engine at night, which will also help you keep warm.
You will have a limited quantity of energy and will need to balance your needs with your supply. The primary energy source will be your car’s fuel, which provides power for interior lights, headlights, flashers, etc. If you have a flashlight, matches, candles, batteries, and radio, save money using one, perhaps two, sources of energy simultaneously. For example, don’t use a flashlight to melt snow for water when a candle is burning. Ensure you turn off anything that uses the battery after turning off the car.
Keeping warm during a snowstorm
To keep the heat generated by your body, put on as many clothes as possible. If not, tuck socks into pants and shirt into gloves.
- Crumple up and place road maps. Documents from the glove box, newspapers, paper towels or tissues, etc., under clothing for insulation.
- Use blankets if you stock up on these to keep you warm.
Remember that your car is your refuge. Like you insulate your home to protect yourself from winter weather. Close your car doors and windows to keep your car warm.
If you are not alone in cars, the person next to you is much warmer than anything else! They may tremble insanely, but 35-36 degrees is still dozens of degrees higher than everything around you. And together, especially in small spaces, you can increase the amount of heat by cuddling up together. Create a cocoon around you with blankets, coats, or whatever you find to keep you warm.
Movement increases circulation, which helps keep you warm. In such a situation, especially if you do not have food to replenish your body’s energy. Too much exercise is inappropriate and unwise. However, it would help if you still moved around a bit. When you are sitting, move your arms and legs in a circle, and bend your fingers and toes.
Assess the situation after a snowstorm
When the snowstorm subsides, you will need to decide when and how you will leave. Depend on your location, how long you’ve been trapped, and how well you feel physically. If you have a clockwork or transistor radio or have enough fuel left. To listen to the radio in your car. Try to determine road conditions and whether certain roads are blocked. So how to survive a snowstorm in your car ?
Talk to others if you are stuck on the highway. If you still have a charger on your cell phone, call a friend or relative to ask for help.
If you are in a city or on a highway where others are stranded. You have a high chance of being rescued once the weather clears. And emergency personnel can locate you more easily. However, if many people are stranded there, it can take a lot of time that you might not have. If you decide to leave the car for safety, go with others if possible. Leave a note in your car stating where you are going and. Stick to the plan so rescuers or loved ones can find you if they find your vehicle first.
If you have enough fuel left and think you can drive without getting stuck, try moving your car. If you decide to stay with your vehicle. Make sure it is apparent to the rescuers that you are still with your car.
how to survive a snowstorm in your car:Controle your stress
Freezing weather puts extra stress on a person’s heart. And activities such as shoveling snow, pushing a car. And driving long distances in snowy terrain can cause heart attacks or severely affect health. When you’re in a remote area, relatively healthy. And think you have enough gas to get to a gas station. Hotel, or the like, consider digging your car out of the snow. If you don’t have enough gas. You will have to make a choice. Try to walk to safety or do your best to be visible to the rescuers.
when you stay, trample the SOS on the snow again and put the branches into letters. If you can start a fire once the snow has stopped. Light it and keep it going, especially at night, to keep warm and signal rescuers. When you leave your car, leave a note stating where you are going and, again, stick to the plan. Take as many supplies as possible. Make sure you leave early in the morning and take frequent breaks to rest, drink and eat something .Thus were tips about how to survive a snowstorm in your car.
