Road & Travel Magazine's Blog

The Ultimate Emergency Survival Kit

By Liz Kaadou

Natural disasters happen every day, and the truth is, how many of us are actually prepared for the very worst? From tornadoes, to earthquakes, to even mudslides, these tremendous terrors can take anyone by surprise; especially if you are aimlessly driving along the highway on what you thought would be an average and ordinary day.  Instead of facing the additional disaster of being stranded and unfortunately unprepared, take charge and always be effectively equipped for the unforeseen.

 

Forget stuffing band aids in your glove compartment and bottles of water in your trunk, with the First Alert Emergency Preparedness Kit from Safeguard, all of your safety needs are combined into one expertly organized and convenient container.  Perfect for on-the-go travel, the one-person kit is equipped with a three day supply of everything that would make a somewhat scary situation that much better. Food, water, rations, tools and first aid are effectively organized for easy find and use, with all contents clearly marked. 

 

The outside of this creative kit is a sturdy carrying case, and inside are three Packing Cubes, each containing its own supplies.  The first Packing Cube is First Aid and Anti-exposure, like an emergency poncho, first aid guide, medical tape, a survival blanket, cleansing pads, etc. The second Packing Cube is labeled Tools & Gear, and boasts indispensible utensils including an LED flashlight, radio with batteries, compass, waterproof matches, and even a deck of cards to pass time before help arrives.  The third Packing Cube provides a three-day supply of purified water and food.  If left in their unopened packages, the food and water are good for five years.   Click Here to buy one!

 

For more auto safety advice from Road & Travel Magazine, visit our Safety & Security section.

 

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Proactively Prepare For That Dreaded Flat Tire

By Liz Kaadou

You are driving down a winding three-lane highway, hands gripped tightly to your leather-clad steering wheel, the sun is shining through your crystal clear windows, and a light breeze is wispily blowing through your hair. Sounds like the perfect way to start off your morning…until with no warning at all, you feel a sudden pop and your car seems completely off balance.  The dreaded flat tire has veered itself directly into your once tranquil driving path.  This could be cause for immediate concern and panic, especially if you are woman. But before you find yourself stranded on the side of the freeway with nothing in your trunk but a box of Kleenex and some mouth-watering mints, you may want to follow these practical steps to make sure you are always proactively prepared.

 

1) Make sure you always have a spare tire that is adequately filled with air.

 

2) Buy yourself a drill that can be plugged into your car lighter.  Make sure and also buy a tip for the drill that will fit the lug nuts on your car.  This way, you will be prepared in the event that the lug nuts are too tight for you to loosen.

 

3) Keep a ramp in your car so you will be able to lift the tire into the air during your tire changing extravaganza.  You can purchase a small ramp at any auto supply store.

 

4) Stash a pair of work gloves and and a set of disposable paper coveralls in your trunk.

 

5) Keep a small jack and tire iron in your trunk.

 

For more auto safety advice from Road & Travel Magazine, visit our Safety & Security section.

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Cruise Control's Contradictory Effects

By Sara Hoffman

There is many a beauty about using cruise control while driving long distances – it prevents speeding tickets, gives the foot a rest, and can save gas. Drivers may think it will ease driving in bad weather conditions, but rainy weather is one case where relying too heavily on cruise control can have the opposite effect.

If your car does begin to hydroplane (meaning that the tires actually rise up on top of the water like water skis), braking is the worst thing to do – and yet it is the most commonly used way to disable cruise control. Cruise control also maintains the speed of your car while you’re trying to decrease speed without hitting the brakes. The safest thing to do if it begins to rain even a little bit, is to disable cruise control. If you lose control of the car, decrease speed by taking your foot off the gas and regain control before using the brakes.

Driving in rainy conditions is no time to be on auto-pilot, hydroplaning can literally make a vehicle take off instantaneously like an airplane if speed isn’t reduced. The risk of driving with cruise control in the rain isn’t worth taking. Though it’s not as well-known as it should be, this risk is serious enough that some cars, like the 2010 Toyota Sienna Limited XLE, won’t let you set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on.

Source: The National Safety Commission

For more auto safety advice from Road & Travel Magazine, visit our Safety & Security section.

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Brain Training Extends Older Drivers' Confidence & Skill

Think it’s time for Grandma to turn in the keys? Maybe not. Even when driving ability begins to decrease, two new studies prove that there are ways to extend and improve it for high-risk seniors. Brain training, done for 10 hours over 5 weeks in the Staying Keen in Later Life (SKILL) study, decreased the high-risk drivers’ risk the to the same as the low-risk driving group. Their confidence with driving at night, in poor weather, and in high traffic also improved.

A second study (Active Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly) combined with the SKILL study proved that brain training delays the end of driving for older people. By using an interactive software exercise called DriveSharp, they build ability to respond quickly in making driving decisions, enabling them to continue driving.

"Science has brought us new ways to improve and extend driving," said Dr. Edwards, assistant professor at the University of South Florida and lead author on the studies. "It does not need to be a choice between uneasiness about continued driving and negative outcomes that come from taking away the keys, because we can now train older drivers to improve their driving skills."

(Source: Posit Science)

For more driving safety tips from RTM, see our Auto Safety & Security section.

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Avoiding & Deterring Criminals: Safety Tips for Women

Here are a few more safety hints and tricks for safety savvy women - they're potentially life-saving. Reading them may make you paranoid - especially if you see a lot of horror movies, but it's better to be knowledgeable and paranoid than unprepared for something life-threatening.

 

1. When getting into your car in a parking lot or parking garage, be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat. If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side... If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. It's better to be paranoid than dead.

 

2. At night, always take the elevator instead of the stairs. Stairwells are horrible places to be alone - they’re the perfect crime spot.

 

3. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, always run! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely will not be a vital organ. Run, preferably in a zig-zag pattern!

 

4. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: Stop. It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who always played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked 'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim. Also remember the Crying Baby Theory: serial killers will often have methods such as playing a recording of a baby crying outside women’s windows when they are home alone, or turning on outside taps so that when women go outside to investigate, they can attack.

 

For more tips, visit RTM's Travel or Auto Safety & Security sections.

 

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Read These Life-Saving Tips for Safety Street Smarts

Because of recent abductions during daylight hours, refresh yourself of what to do in a scary situation. Share these tips with everyone you know, print them, and re-read them often. It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in. 

 

1. The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do! 

2. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, do not hand it to him. Toss it away from you. Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. Run like mad in the other direction.

 

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and wave like crazy. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.

 

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc.). Don’t do this! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. As soon as you get into your car, lock the doors and leave. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head, do not drive off! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you, and if the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes, bail out and run. It is better than having your body found in a remote location.

 

For more tips from RTM, visit the Auto Safety & Security section or the Travel Safety & Security section.

 

 

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2010 Chrysler Cars With Highest Safety Rating Possible

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the 2010 Chrysler Sebring and 2010 Dodge Avenger are the absolute safest cars out there. They have earned the 2009 Top Safety Pick rating, which is the highest possible rating.

 

When it comes to safety and security, the 2010 Chrysler Sebring and 2010 Dodge Avenger employ a two-fold approach: passive features, including pre-tensioning seat belt retractors and supplemental side-curtain air bags, are combined with accident-avoidance features, including responsive steering, braking, handling and Electronic Stability Control (ESC).

 

"A vehicle that earns the Top Safety Pick designation provides the best overall protection in the three most common kinds of crashes,” said Adrian Lund, President – Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  The 2010 Chrysler Sebring and 2010 Dodge Avenger offer more than 30 safety and security features, which help meet the tough criteria needed to win this award.

 

For more auto safety tips from RTM, click here.

 

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Road Safety for All Ages

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 6 million motor vehicle crashes take place in America each year, resulting in an injury every 11 seconds and a motor vehicle fatality every 12 minutes.

Establishing and maintaining good driving habits can have a profound impact on whether your vehicle becomes part of the statistics. Safety education is important for all drivers whether they are new teen drivers, experienced drives or senior drivers.

Educate teens about safe driving and make sure they've had plenty of instruction with a seasoned driver prior to driving solo. Provide a refresher on important safety tips and information for experience drivers. Encourage seniors to continually and honestly gauge their ability behind the wheel.

Read more about driver safety for all ages in RTM's full article.

Avoiding Vehicle Attacks

According to a national crime victimization survey report titled, "Violence Against Women," conducted and reported by Ronet Bachman, Ph.D., with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., 43 percent of the attacks on women were by strangers and occurred outside the home.

Included in the extensive survey are the following statistics:

• 37 percent of all attacks against women occurred between 6 p.m. and midnight, when most women leave work, are on their way out for an evening or are on their way home.
• 53 percent of all attacks occur near home, including in private garages. This figure also includes "follow-homes."
• 36 percent of victimization's occur in parking garages.
• 51 percent occur in open or public areas, such as parks.
• Women who work or live in cities are considerably more vulnerable than those in rural areas.
• 64 percent of all rapists used guns.

 For more safety tips visit RTM.