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The Facts |
Right to Know |
Help: Local Resources
What Your College Is Doing |
Guide To “Road Emergencies”
Checklist For Peer Educators
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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 |
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BEFORE YOU LEAVE |
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The best way to avoid problems is to try to prevent them from
happening.
Before you leave, make sure you… |
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Fill your tank with gas. |
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Check all fluids. |
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Test air pressure of tires. |
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Tell a friend or family member |
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when you expect to arrive.
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which route you are taking.
– that you will call them when you reach your destination.
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on a longer road trip, that you will call them at various
agreed-upon points along the way. |
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Car pool whenever possible. |
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Keep the following items in your car |
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flashlight.
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quart of oil.
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first aid kit.
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pen and paper.
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"Send Police" sign.
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spare tire and jack.
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basic tools such as screwdrivers, wrenches, and shovel.
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$20 of emergency money, including change for phones.
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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. |
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SOME DO’S AND DON’TS FOR PROTECTING YOURSELF: |
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DO |
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Plan travel routes to avoid unsafe or unfamiliar areas. |
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Wear your seatbelt to protect against injury that could leave
you vulnerable on the road. |
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Lock your doors for protection against both injury and
intruders. |
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Pay attention to your surroundings: Look for landmarks and
note highway mile markers. |
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Drive to a public place if you’re bumped from behind and don’t
feel safe stopping. |
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Ask non-uniformed law enforcement officials in unmarked cars
to call for a back up in a marked car. |
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Park only in well-lighted areas where an attendant or employee
can see you. |
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Lock your car when you have parked it. |
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Check your surroundings when entering a rest area restroom. |
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Remember that your life is more valuable than your money or
your car. |
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DON’T
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Get out of your car. If you’re hit from behind, drive to a
well-lit, public location. |
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Pick up hitchhikers. |
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Ride with people you don’t know. |
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Speed; your risk of accidents is greater if you do. |
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Stop at rest areas unless they have security or are occupied
by several vehicles. |
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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. |
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IF YOUR CAR BREAKS DOWN: |
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Stay calm. |
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Park as far off the traveled portion of the highway as
possible. |
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Turn on the four-way emergency flashers. |
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Open the vehicle’s hood and leave it open. |
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Tie a light-colored cloth to the antenna or traffic-side door
handle. |
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Place a "Send Police" sign in your window. |
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Try to stay with your vehicle until a police officer arrives,
especially at night or in inclement weather. |
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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. |
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Notify law enforcement of the location and circumstances if
you must leave your vehicle along the highway. |
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If you must leave your vehicle,
write down the following information and leave it in your car |
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the date.
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your name.
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the time you left.
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what you are wearing.
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the direction you are going. |
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If
you decide you must ride with a passing motorist to obtain
help, leave in your vehicle a written message containing |
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the information listed above.
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the motorist’s name.
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a description of the motorist’s vehicle.
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the motorist’s vehicle license plate number. |
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In a winter blizzard,
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avoid overexertion.
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use your winter survival kit. See "Before You Leave".
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exercise (move your arms and legs).
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stay in your vehicle and ventilate it. |
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MAKING REPAIRS |
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On the highway, do not leave your vehicle to fix a flat unless
absolutely necessary.
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Set the emergency brake. |
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Remove spare tire, jack, and tire iron from trunk. |
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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. |
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Remove hubcap of flat with tire iron. |
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Loosen lugnuts by turning them counterclockwise (to the left). |
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Place jack under bumper on the corner nearest the flat. |
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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.) |
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Remove lugnuts. |
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Take off flat; replace with spare. |
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Secure the spare by replacing lugnuts, turning them clockwise
(to the right) as tightly as possible. |
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Lower the jack; tighten lugnuts. |
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Place the flat, jack, tire iron, and hubcap in the trunk. |
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In order to protect against injury to you or to the car’s
moving parts,
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only reach into the engine after you have turned it off. Also
remember that the engine is HOT! |
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Engines can overheat if your vehicle is low on engine
coolant/anti-freeze or oil. |
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To add a quart of oil |
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Open hood.
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Find, remove, wipe off, and reinsert dipstick.
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Pull out dipstick and check how far oil rises on it.
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Check notches on the dipstick to see if your engine is low on
oil.
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If oil is low, find and remove cap to oil tank.
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Pour in oil from quart container.
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Replace cap. |
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STRANDED MOTORIST |
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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. |
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For specific repairs, review the trouble shooting section of
your automobile owner’s manual. |
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EMERGENCY NUMBERS |
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Verified in September of 1996, the emergency numbers listed here
are subject to change. |
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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 aftr 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. |
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THANK YOU |
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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 WomenÕs Services, and
Coalition Against Sexual Assault in ND for their generous
assistance. |
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FEARLESS |
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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. |
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The members of FEARLESS ask you to keep their friend’s memory
alive. |
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For more information on FEARLESS, contact Box 13-73, Grinnell
College, Iowa 50112 |
