Winter weather driving in Iowa can be quite frightening, but we’re here to help! Follow this list of tips and tricks in order to avoid accidents and understand what to do after you have been in one. This will ensure the highest amount of safety for you and those around you! For a more comprehensive list, visit the related blog for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration!
Accident Prevention & Understanding
While many accidents during the winter months are difficult to prevent, there are many things you can do to keep yourself from ending up in this situation! Much of what you can do begins before you leave the driveway. Preparing for the worst is the best way to secure your safety!
- Leave Early For Your Destination. Oftentimes, icy or snowy roads make it difficult to go the speed limit, so in order to maintain safety, leave with time to spare!
- Drive Slowly. The cause of many winter accidents is due to fast driving. Make sure to drive with care to keep from causing a collision!
- Avoid Cruise Control. Drivers lack complete control when the vehicle is in cruise. To ensure awareness, keep your feet on the pedals and stray away from the cruise!
- Bypass Risky Driving Behaviors. While this is important any other time, it is essential when hazardous weather is present.
- Pack Essentials. Traffic due to weather can occasionally take several hours to get through. Always keep items such as food, water, first aid, blankets, and flashlights in the vehicle!
- Keep an Old Cell Phone in the Vehicle with a Charger. While this may seem bizarre since cell phones are everywhere today, if something were to happen to your phone, it is always essential to have a backup. Any phone that no longer has a provider can still call 911 in case of emergency. While it cannot receive a call back if disconnected, it will still make the initial call to alert the authorities.
What Should I Do?
After an accident, most people become flustered and are unsure what to do. Let us give you some ideas on what to do and how to maintain safety after a collision!
- Remain Calm. The first thing that most do when they are in an accident is panic. While this has been said before: panicking is the worst thing that can be done. Keeping a calm demeanor will help your heart rate remain stable and allow you to make an intelligent decision on what to do next.
- Assess Your Situation. Many accidents can be minor with little to no injuries, but this is not always the case. The first step you should take is see if anyone is injured. If so, call 911 immediately. If injury is not a concern, there are a variety of other numbers you could call.
- What If There Is No Injured Party? Have an Emergency Call List. Keeping these numbers makes it much easier to call friends and family members in a time of need!
- Dealer Roadside Assistance. Oftentimes when you buy a vehicle from a dealership it comes intact with roadside assistance. With the single press of a button, help is on the way!
- American Automobile Association(AAA). While looking back on a situation you may think, ‘of course I should have Triple-A,’ hindsight is 20/20. AAA can be a helpful resource to have during the winter months!
Keeping this list in the back of your mind during this years winter can help to keep you safe! While winter weather driving is nothing to mess with, we are here to help you feel extra prepared this season! Refer to one of our previous blogs for a checklist on how to prepare for winter driving.