Recently, on this blog site, we discussed adjusting yourself mentally for driving in winter conditions. Since winter is definitely coming to McHenry, that makes a lot of sense. Considering National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, there are 440 fatal reasons from 2019, and 33,000 injury examples of why to adjust your driving for the cold and slippery conditions of winter (440 fatal crashes and 33,000 injury crashes due to wintry conditions).

But there are other things to consider when driving in winter. First of all, if you are in an accident, what should you do?

If you’re hurt, stay in your car (as long as it is safe to do so) and try not to exert yourself.

Try to make sure you car is visible – leave the lights on and turn the flashers on. If possible, you should put out road flares.

Be aware of the possibility that exhaust fumes may be bringing harmful levels of carbon monoxide into the car. If so, open the windows and/or get out of the vehicle.

Call for assistance if you’re not certain someone else has done so.

Before you drive in this coming McHenry winter, there are some items you want to put in your car so that you’re prepared for different potentialities. For instance:

• Emergency markers or road flares
• Proper window cleaning utensils – ice scraper and brush
• A flashlight
• Carphone charger
• Jumper cables
• Blankets
• Water and some snacks
• 1st Aid kit
• Sand or road salt you can throw under the tires when you need a little extra traction

It is important to let people know when you’re heading out on the road, where you’re going and what route you’ll use. This way, if you do breakdown, and the cellphone won’t work, they know where to look for you when you don’t arrive as expected.

If you’ve done everything you can to prepare you vehicle for this coming McHenry winter, following the suggestions above can help ensure that you’ll have the best opportunity of surviving this winter without any serious problems.