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A GUIDE TO HANDLING EMERGENCIES
WHEN YOU'RE ON THE ROAD

This is what you can find here in this section.

BEFORE YOU LEAVE

SOME DO'S AND DON'TS FOR PROTECTING YOURSELF

IF YOUR CAR BREAKS DOWN

MAKING REPAIRS

THANK YOU | FEARLESS

BEFORE YOU LEAVE

The best way to avoid problems is to try to prevent them from happening. Before you leave, make sure you…

• Fill your tank with gas.
• Check all fluids.
• Test air pressure of tires.
• Tell a friend or family member

– when you expect to arrive.

– which route you are taking.

– that you will call them when you reach your destination.

– on a longer road trip, that you will call them at various agreed-upon points along the way.

• Car pool whenever possible.
• Keep the following items in your car

– flashlight.

– quart of oil.

– first aid kit.

– pen and paper.

– "Send Police" sign.

– spare tire and jack.

– basic tools such as screwdrivers, wrenches, and shovel.

– $20 of emergency money, including change for phones.

– winter survival kit (kept handy in the car, not in the trunk)

  matches.

  food and water.

  blanket, warm clothing, overshoes.

  plastic garbage bags to keep yourself dry.

  2 coffee cans: one for heat, one for waste.

  cat litter/sand and salt for traction beneath tires.

  candles: place candle in can;

  ventilate by slightly opening downwind window.

SOME DO'S AND DON'TS FOR PROTECTING YOURSELF:

DO

• Plan travel routes to avoid unsafe or unfamiliar areas.
• Wear your seatbelt to protect against injury that could leave you vulnerable on the road.
• Lock your doors for protection against both injury and intruders.
• Pay attention to your surroundings: Look for landmarks and note highway mile markers.
• Drive to a public place if you're bumped from behind and don't feel safe stopping.
• Ask non-uniformed law enforcement officials in unmarked cars to call for a back up in a marked car.
• Park only in well-lighted areas where an attendant or employee can see you.
• Lock your car when you have parked it.
• Check your surroundings when entering a rest area restroom.
• Remember that your life is more valuable than your money or your car.

DON'T

• Get out of your car. If you're hit from behind, drive to a well-lit, public location.
• Pick up hitchhikers.
• Ride with people you don't know.
• Speed; your risk of accidents is greater if you do.
• Stop at rest areas unless they have security or are occupied by several vehicles.
• Drive during or after drinking, or ride with a driver who has been drinking. In addition to being better able to avoid the obvious risks, a sober driver is better able to avoid accidents and intruders.

IF YOUR CAR BREAKS DOWN:

• Stay calm.
• Park as far off the traveled portion of the highway as possible.
• Turn on the four-way emergency flashers.
• Open the vehicle's hood and leave it open.
• Tie a light-colored cloth to the antenna or traffic-side door handle.
• Place a "Send Police" sign in your window.
• Try to stay with your vehicle until a police officer arrives, especially at night or in inclement weather.
• If someone stops to help, stay in your car with the doors locked, crack open your window, and ask them to go to the nearest available phone to call the police for assistance.
• Notify law enforcement of the location and circumstances if you must leave your vehicle along the highway.
• If you must leave your vehicle, write down the following information and leave it in your car

– the date.

– your name.

– the time you left.

– what you are wearing.

– the direction you are going.

• If you decide you must ride with a passing motorist to obtain help, leave in your vehicle a written message containing

– the information listed above.

– the motorist's name.

– a description of the motorist's vehicle.

– the motorist's vehicle license plate number.

• In a winter blizzard,

– avoid overexertion.

– use your winter survival kit. See "Before You Leave".

– exercise (move your arms and legs).

– stay in your vehicle and ventilate it.

MAKING REPAIRS

On the highway, do not leave your vehicle to fix a flat unless absolutely necessary.

• Set the emergency brake.
• Remove spare tire, jack, and tire iron from trunk.
• Find the wheel that is directly opposite the flat. With a large piece of wood, brick, or rock, diagonally block the wheel to keep the car from rolling.
• Remove hubcap of flat with tire iron.
• Loosen lugnuts by turning them counterclockwise (to the left).
• Place jack under bumper on the corner nearest the flat.
• Use the jack to lift the flat a few inches above the ground. (You will either pump the jack up and down or turn it in a circular motion.)
• Remove lugnuts.
• Take off flat; replace with spare.
• Secure the spare by replacing lugnuts, turning them clockwise (to the right) as tightly as possible.
• Lower the jack; tighten lugnuts.
• Place the flat, jack, tire iron, and hubcap in the trunk.

In order to protect against injury to you or to the car's moving parts,

• only reach into the engine after you have turned it off. Also remember that the engine is HOT!
• Engines can overheat if your vehicle is low on engine coolant/anti-freeze or oil.
• To add a quart of oil

– Open hood.

– Find, remove, wipe off, and reinsert dipstick.

– Pull out dipstick and check how far oil rises on it.

– Check notches on the dipstick to see if your engine is low on oil.

– If oil is low, find and remove cap to oil tank.

– Pour in oil from quart container.

– Replace cap.

STRANDED MOTORIST

If you see a stranded motorist, flash your lights as a sign of help, note the nearest mile marker, and call the police at the next exit.

For specific repairs, review the trouble shooting section of your automobile owner's manual.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Verified in September of 1996, the emergency numbers listed here are subject to change.

Alabama 205-322-4691; cellular *HP

Alaska 907-465-4000; 911

Arizona 602-223-2000; 911

Arkansas 501-296-1854; 911

California 911

Colorado 911

Connecticut 860-566-5990; cellular 911

Delaware 302-573-2800; 911

Florida 904-488-8676; cellular *FHP

Georgia 911; cell. *DOT metro Atlanta area

Hawaii 911

Idaho 1-800-233-1212; 911; cellular *ISP

Illinois 217-786-7110; 911

Indiana 317-232-8250; 911

Iowa 1-800-525-5555

Kansas 913-296-6800; 911

Kentucky 1-800-222-5555

Louisiana 504-925-6325; 911; cell. *LSP

Maine 207-657-3030; 911; 1-800-698-7747 wkdays, turnpike; 207-775-MDOT interstate; cellular *77

Maryland 410-486-3101; 911; cell. #77

Massachusetts 911; cellular *SP

Michigan 911

Minnesota 612-297-3935; 911

Mississippi 1-800-843-5352; cell. HP*47

Missouri 1-800-525-5555; cell. *55

Montana 1-800-525-5555

Nebraska 1-800-525-5555

Nevada 702-687-4240 business hrs.; 702-687-5300 after hrs; 911

New Hampshire 1-800-525-5555

New Jersey 911

New Mexico 505-827-9126; 911

New York 518-457-6811; 911; 1-800-THRUWAY on NY state thruway; cellular *911

North Carolina 1-800-662-7956; cellular *HP

North Dakota 1-800-472-2121

Ohio 1-800-525-5555; cellular 911; cellular *HELP

Oklahoma 405-425-2323; 911; cell. *55

Oregon 911

Pennsylvania 717-783-5599; 911; cellular *11 on turnpike

Rhode Island 911

South Carolina 1-800-768-1501

South Dakota 911

Tennessee 615-741-2069; cell. *THP

Texas 1-800-525-5555

Utah 911

Vermont 1-800-525-5555; cell. 911

Virginia 804-674-2000; cellular 911

Washington 360-438-7700; cell. 911; 911

West Virginia 304-746-2222; cell. *SP; 911

Wisconsin 608-246-3228; 911

Wyoming 1-800-442-9090; cell. *HELP

Manitoba 411 directory assistance

Saskatchewan 306-555-1212 directory assist.

THANK YOU

ND Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, FEARLESS, Carol Holzer, Law Enforcement Agencies of ND, ND Division of Alcohol & Drug Abuse, Bush Foundation, ND Council on Abused Women’s Services, and Coalition Against Sexual Assault in ND for their generous assistance.

FEARLESS

In making this information available to you, the North Dakota Campus Violence Project has followed the lead of a group of college students who call themselves FEARLESS. Students at Grinnell College, Iowa, formed FEARLESS to improve safety standards for motorists on the nation's highways and to eliminate gender-based violence. They came together in response to the death of their friend Tammy Zywicki, a Grinnell College senior who was murdered on her way to school in August 1992. Her car broke down on Interstate 80 near La Salle, IL; and her body was not found until several days later near Sarcoxie, MO.

The members of FEARLESS ask you to keep their friend's memory alive.

For more information on FEARLESS, contact Box 13-73, Grinnell College, Iowa 50112