Stay Safe And Content During A Car Breakdown By Planning For It Ahead Of Time

Automotive Articles

Roadside assistance is a wonderful service to have when you need it, but breaking down on the highway while your kids are with you is never a pleasant experience. Anytime you drive somewhere, there is a chance you could break down. Instead of waiting until this day happens to determine what you should do, you may want to plan this out ahead of time by taking the following steps to prepare yourself.

Make The Phone Call

The very first thing you should do when you break down is call roadside assistance. If you do not currently have this type of coverage, you should add it immediately. Without it, you will have much bigger problems on your hands.

When you call roadside assistance, they will send someone to you as quickly as possible. This service is available from companies like Airport Towing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it is designed to help with breakdowns, car lock outs, dead batteries, and several other services. Once you make the phone call, you will have to wait for someone to arrive.

Remain Calm The Entire Time

As you are preparing for what to do if you ever break down, one rule of thumb to follow is staying calm the entire time. This is especially important if you have young children with you. Kids can pick up on the way you feel, and they can get very scared or nervous if they think you are scared.

If you can remain calm, your kids are much more likely to stay calm while you wait, and this will make the waiting period less stressful for everyone.

Know Whether To Stay In Your Car Or Not

Another thing you should plan for is how to handle the actual event when it happens. If your car breaks down on the highway, do you know whether it is better to stay in the car or get out? This is a good question you should have researched and planned out before you ever experience a breakdown, and here are some tips to help you make the right decision if this ever happens:

• Staying in the car is usually the safest option – Breaking down on a highway is dangerous for a number of reasons. Cars and trucks may be flying down the highway, and you or your children could get injured if you are not inside the car. If you decide to stay in your car, you must pull it off the highway as far as you can. This will reduce the risks of another car colliding with it while it is parked. You should also turn on your hazard lights to alert drivers that you are experiencing problems.
• Staying in the car is not safe if it is hot out – If the weather is extremely hot and your car will not run, you will have no way of keeping cool. In this case, it might be better for you and your children to get out of the car. If you do this, you should not abandon the car by walking to the nearest exit. You should stay with this car, but you should try to walk as far off the road as possible to avoid dangers. By staying with the car, you will be there when roadside assistance comes to help you.

These tips can help you and your kids stay safe, but you may want to plan one more step to make sure you can keep your kids entertained while you wait.

Have An Emergency Kit In Your Car

Preparing for a time like this can make the waiting period a little better if you have an emergency fun kit with you. This is a kit you can make at home and hide in your car. It will always be there if you need it, and it will provide entertainment for your kids while you wait.

You could pack anything in the kit you want, but some ideas include:

• Small hand-held toys
• Card games
• Notebooks and pencils (do not pack crayons because they will melt in the heat)
• Disposable camera

If you make this emergency kit without your children knowing, it will be a great surprise for them if you ever need it.

Breaking down is something that could happen to anyone, which is why having roadside assistance is so important. It is also important to plan for an event like this, because you never know when it might happen.

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2 October 2015