NOLA Automotive Repairs is here to provide you with some roadside emergency tips for when your car breaks down.
Knowing how to properly and safely respond to roadside emergencies will help you be more prepared and ready to tackle and deal with these emergencies.
Being able to respond to roadside emergencies will allow you to carry out emergency car repairs which will save you from potential accidents. It’s important that you should be cautious and knowledgeable about emergency car repair hacks.
The danger of being on the side of the road cannot be underestimated. It can be extremely dangerous when you have a broken-down car that you cannot fix on the roadside.
Hence, you should know roadside emergency tips and emergency car repairs that you can do so that you and your passengers will stay safe until help arrives.
1. Keep a roadside emergency kit in your car
To help relieve your stress during roadside emergencies, make sure that you always have an emergency roadside emergency kit packed in your car. It will do you favors and save you from unwanted scenarios.
When you know you have the tools to deal with common roadside emergency repairs, you will be calmer and be better able to deal with a roadside emergency situation. Your roadside emergency kit does not need to be expensive.
All you need are the essentials to help you get through a car breakdown or accident.
Some of the essentials you should include in your roadside emergency kit include:
- Blanket
- Protein bars
- Candle in a deep can and matches
- Water
- Extra clothing and shoes
- First aid kit (with seatbelt cutter)
- Small shovel, scraper, snowbrush
- Wind-up flashlight
- Whistle
- Car’s owner manual
- LED flameless flare
Also, keep an emergency car tool kit that will help you deal with road repairs.
Here are the tools that should belong in your car emergency tool kit:
- Jumper cables or portable jumper pack
- Screwdrivers (flat-heads and Philips)
- Multi-bit screwdriver
- Pliers (needle-nose and locking/vise-grip)
- Adjustable wrench
- Tire wrench with appropriate lug-nut socket
- Car jack
- Tire-pressure gauge
- Spare tire and/or tire sealant
- Flashlight
- Emergency reflectors
2. Decode your vehicle’s warning lights.
Know what the dashboard lights on your car mean. You should be able to identify when there are lights that are flashing declaring that something is wrong with your car.
The different dashboard lights that show warning signs include:
- Brake warning light
- Automatic shift lock or engine start indicator
- Airbag indicator
- Check engine or malfunction indicator light (MIL)
- Tire pressure warning light
- Washer fluid reminder
- Engine temperature warning light
- Automatic gearbox warning
- Oil pressure warning light
- Anti-lock brake warning
- Battery charge warning light
- Traction control light
You should be able to respond promptly when any of these lights are on which may mean that there is a potential emergency situation.
More importantly, learn the basic car emergency repair measures in dealing with these car emergencies while you are on the road.
3. Jump-start a dead battery.
Learn how to properly and safely boost a dead battery to save you from the woes of staying on the roadside for an extended time. Jump-starting a dead battery is an important car maintenance hack that can be very useful during roadside emergencies.
Take extra caution when boosting your car’s battery because attaching the jumper cables in the wrong order or in the wrong location can cause an explosion and severe damage to expensive electrical components.
Here’s how to safely jump-start a dead battery during roadside emergencies:
- Turn off the ignition and all electrical accessories in both vehicles.
- Connect the positive jumper clamp to the remote terminals on the good vehicle.
- If remote terminals cannot be found, connect the positive jumper clamp to the positive battery terminals.
- Do the same on the dead vehicle.
- Connect the negative jumper clamp to the remote negative terminal on the dead vehicle.
- Connect the clamp to the good vehicle.
- If vehicles do not have remote terminals, connect the negative jumper clamp to an unpainted metal surface at least 40 centimeters away from the battery.
- Start the good vehicle and let it charge the dead battery of the dead vehicle for at least 5 minutes.
- Start the dead car with the cables still in place.
- If the dead car will not start, call for service immediately.
4. Get your vehicle unstuck
Not all roadside emergencies happen on paved roads. Some emergencies happen in muddy terrain where your car can be left stuck.
Learning how to get your car unstuck can make it easier for you to move your car to a safer place and check if there are other repairs that need to be done.
When you try to get your car unstuck, follow these steps:
- Keep the wheels as straight as possible because making them move or spin
- will make the car dig deeper.
- Make sure that the gearshift is in “1” or “low”.
- Press the accelerator and allow the car to move a bit forward.
- Release the gas and let the vehicle roll backward.
- Immediately press the gas to make the car roll forward again.
- Repeat the procedure until your car builds momentum to get out of the rut.
- If this procedure will not get your car unstuck, it is time to call the towing service.
5. Get all the information after an auto collision.
When a collision happens, you should get yourself together and stay calm. Call roadside assistance as soon as you can so that they can help you move your car off the road into a safer place.
Call 911 when someone is injured from the collision but do not move them unless you see fire or if you suspect the risk of fire.
Other information that you should be able to secure include:
- The other vehicle’s plate number and vehicle identification number (VIN) are at the lower corner of the windshield.
- Your location, including markers and destination signs, if there are any.
- Damage to your vehicle and the other vehicle. Take photos if you can.
- Names of witnesses including their contact information.
If you get into trouble on the road, these roadside emergency tips and car emergency repair hacks will help you get through the situation for the moment.
It is important that you are able to maneuver your vehicle to the side of the road in a safer position and location and then be able to safely respond to your car issues.
For all of your auto problems and repairs, contact NOLA Automotive Repairs now!
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