October 10, 2024 • 52 mins
In this gripping episode, we delve into the crucial topic of vehicle safety. Whether you're commuting, running errands, or embarking on a road trip, this episode is packed with invaluable tips and tactics to keep you and your loved ones safe.
From routine maintenance checks like tire pressure and windshield wipers to essential gear you should always have on hand, we cover it all. You'll learn how to inspect your vehicle inside and out, what to keep in your trunk for emergencies, and smart tactics to employ while driving or parked.
Gain insights into practical items like first aid kits, glass breakers, and even the importance of keeping your headlights on in inclement weather. Plus, discover strategic advice for everyday scenarios, such as parking under lights and maintaining situational awareness.
This episode is your comprehensive guide to ensuring vehicle safety, making it a must-listen for anyone who spends time on the road. Don't miss out on these life-saving tips—tune in now and drive with confidence!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:11):
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Self-Initiative Project Podcast.
I'm your host, Jim O'Brien. Hey there, how is everyone?
So welcome back to another episode of the Self-Initiative Project Podcast.
We're actually up to episode 11 where we're going to be talking about all things
having to do with safety in and around your various vehicles.
(00:33):
But I thought before we got into our topic for this episode that I would remind
everyone that The Self-Initiative Project is on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
Most of our content that we've gotten to this point or that we're putting out
to this point is on Instagram.
So by all means, go take a look, like, and follow us, and we would greatly appreciate that.
(00:55):
And be sure to tell your friends and family about us, too. I think there's a
lot of good – I know there's a lot of good information posted out there on Instagram for sure. Sure.
Additionally, the podcast is not only available on Podbean, where it's primarily
hosted, but it's also available through some of the other major podcast hosting services.
So hopefully you can find a platform that's convenient for you on your,
(01:18):
whatever your listening device
may be, whether it's your desktop laptop at home or on your smartphone.
So with that, let's dive right into this episode's topics.
So I wanted to talk about vehicle safety and
things that we should you know gear we should carry checks
we should make and just general some general tactics
(01:39):
we should use when we're in our vehicles you know i don't
know about you guys but for me personally i spend
an awful lot of time in my car it's not that i have a driving job but i do spend
a lot of time sitting in traffic my commute can be lengthy 45 plus minutes 45
minutes to an hour and a half some days one way if i'm unlucky so So,
(02:01):
you know, we spend a lot of time in our vehicles,
whether it's commuting back and forth to work, taking the kids to school, vacation.
Running errands, or just short trips around town.
Whatever it is we may be doing, you could probably say that you find yourself
spending quite a bit of time in your cars or your trucks, your SUVs,
whatever it is you have, it doesn't really matter.
(02:23):
So the nice thing about today's topic is it doesn't matter what type of vehicle
you have, all of these basic sorts of things we're gonna be talking about apply
for us. So it's not vehicle specific.
So with that, I kind of, I may jump all over the place today, no doubt.
My mind kind of works like that. It kind of looks like the cartoon that got
(02:45):
scared and jumps off tangentially in a bunch of different directions simultaneously.
But I tried to organize today's topic by looking at the vehicle outside.
Talking about a couple of things you can do under the hood because we don't
want to neglect what's under the hood that keeps the car going,
which is the motor, I should say.
Talk about things we should be doing in and gear we should be keeping in the
(03:09):
car, whether that be the trunk, the glove compartment box, or just somewhere inside the vehicle.
And then when we're actually in the vehicle traveling, going places like the
ATM or any drive-thrus or the gas station,
talk about some simple tactics that we can employ for ourselves to keep ourselves
and our family members or our friends safe when they're with us.
(03:31):
So talking about kind of the way I view it as things outside the vehicle and
what are some things I can be doing involving being, before I even get into the car,
what are some things that I can be doing to ensure my vehicle's safe condition
for me to be in in the first place.
So one of the things that I think probably gets overlooked from time to time
(03:55):
are those pesky windshield wipers.
Now, a few cars have a third one on the back windshield, station wagons and
some hatchbacks, but you want to make sure your windshield wipers are doing their job.
And so, you know, you probably noticed in the last rainstorm or two,
and we've been getting a lot of rain here around the Atlanta area recently,
(04:15):
but you probably have noticed whether or not you might think about replacing
your windshield wipers.
You know, you cut them on in the rain and they're just not keeping that windshield
cleaned off the way they once did when they were new.
So, you know, the only real good way is to check your windshield wipers is to
pay attention to how they're performing when you are driving in the rain.
(04:37):
But you want to get in the habit of making sure they are performing optimally
and if not looking to replace them.
Now, look, you can get windshield wipers just about any place from the big box
stores to the automotive stores.
But, you know, you want to spend a little bit of money on them.
The cheap ones will get you by, but they don't last very long and they have
(04:58):
a tendency not to hold up in high heat very long, it seems like.
So invest a little bit more money than normal and get yourself a good set of
windshield wipers to get them on that car so you can see when the weather is inclement.
One of the other big things that you want to make sure of that gets neglected
a lot, and I understand why, is tire pressure.
(05:19):
Tire pressure is so key. Number one is...
Actually can make your car more fuel efficient. Now, it's not going to be a
huge, you're not going to see a five mile per gallon increase in your gas mileage.
But when your car's tires are properly inflated, they do roll smoother.
And because they're rolling smoother, in theory, your car is moving more efficiently.
(05:44):
So that's where the gas savings is possible.
And on top of that, that the car just handles better if you have the proper
amount of tire pressure in there.
So I know it's kind of a pain in the butt because not all of us have air compressors
at our house, but a lot of gas stations offer air for free.
And if it's not for free, $0.25, $0.50.
(06:06):
And if you move quickly enough, you can get around the car and top off where you need to.
And depending Depending on the type of tires you're running and what type of
car you have, etc., you know, the average for a car is somewhere between 32 and 35 PSI.
So be sure you check that, especially before you go on any long trips.
(06:27):
Tire pressure has a tendency to go down a drop about a pound for every degree
or so of temperature that drops.
In other words, in cold weather, when the weather starts to change and gets
colder, your tire pressure will drop with the temperature.
I forget exactly what the rate is, so don't quote me on that.
(06:47):
But at any rate, the point is, is pay special attention to your tire pressure
during the winter months, especially in the transition seasons of fall and spring,
because that's when you'll notice the most change in your pressure.
But it's just a good idea of getting in the habit. But when you go to the gas
station to get gas, go ahead and check your tire pressure and top it off while you're there.
(07:10):
Another one that we can check and is our lights, both the headlights and the
tell lights are break lights.
And, you know, I mentioned this to people and they say, well,
how can I check them by myself? It's really hard to check lights by yourself.
You have to have somebody around.
That's why I don't do it that frequency that frequently. the
reality of it is is it's not that hard to
check lights right if you have a garage you can
(07:32):
pull in your garage you can even just pull up your garage door and it's easy
enough to turn all your lights on put your car in park put the emergency brake
on especially if you're in a hill another little bonus safety tip i'll give
you use your emergency brake a lot of people don't and anyway way,
get your lights on and get out of the car and walk around the car.
(07:54):
It's that easy. It literally takes 30 seconds. Walk around to the front of the car.
Make sure that both headlights are on. Make sure you're, not your turn signals
at that point, because we haven't gotten there, but make sure your parking lights are on.
The orange lights that are either on the lower part of the bumper or off on
the side of the headlights.
(08:14):
You know what I'm talking about. If you see one on, there There should be a
matching pair, a matching one or a matching pair on the other side as well.
Walk around to the rear of the car, same thing. There's generally some marker
lights back there and your tail lights.
You can plainly see when your red tail lights are on.
Next thing you want to do, and you don't even have to get back into your car,
(08:34):
is turn your turn signals on. First one direction, then the other.
So you push down on your indicator, that's going to be your left turn signals.
You quickly look at the front to make sure the indicator lights on that side
are flashing on and off the way they should.
You walk around the back and make sure the same thing's going back there.
Then you go back and put the indicator switch on your steering column in the
(08:56):
opposite direction. If it goes up, it's to the right-hand side.
You walk around to the right-hand side of your car and you look and make sure
those indicators are flashing properly on the front and in the back.
And so it's very easy to do a basic light check.
By yourself. And you say, but Jim, what about my brake lights?
How in the world will I ever check my brake lights by myself?
(09:17):
Well, that's a good point. So this is what you do.
If you have a garage, you can do one or two things.
You can either back into your garage or before you open up your garage door,
you can back up to the garage door and likely without even getting out of your car,
you can turn around and while you look backwards, tap your brake lights and
(09:39):
make sure it looks as though the glow is coming from both sides of the back of the car.
In other words, that both of your primary brake lights are actually activating
because especially in newer cars,
those LED bright lights are going to be super bright when you tap those brake
lights, and you should expect that brighter glow from both sides of the back
(10:00):
of the car. And that's all you have to do.
You don't have to worry about the center brake lights so much,
especially nowadays, because with LEDs, they're seldom going to burn out unless
you've shorted them out or unless you're driving an older vehicle.
Yes, some freak, freaky things can happen where they go bad,
but typically you're looking for your primary brake lights, which are the ones
(10:20):
on either side, your tail lights to be working.
And that's as simple, that's as complicated as it's got to be.
It's really easy to check those lights by yourself.
And that's good to do at least every six months I would say to make sure they're
working because you want to drive
safe when the weather is inclement and especially when it's getting dark.
(10:41):
Or it's dark out. And so it's a quick less than two or three minute check to
make sure those lights are working.
And if not, again, light bulbs are fairly easy to acquire for yourself.
You can find the numbers, the models of the lights that you need,
likely in the booklet that came in your car and that can be located in the glove
compartment box most of the time.
(11:03):
So we talked about tire pressure a minute ago, and you actually have five tires.
A lot of cars still have a spare in the trunk.
If it's a truck or SUV, it might be under the back of the truck.
You likely know where your spare is.
And so you need to be sure to check that once in a blue moon as well.
(11:25):
Spare tires typically require much higher pressure than the average regular
tire that goes on your car does.
For example, somewhere in the neighborhood of, you know, instead of 32 to 35
normal for an an average car, we're looking at 55 to 65 typically for those
what they call donut spare tires.
(11:46):
And so you want to not forget about that spare tire underneath the carpet in your trunk.
So once in a while, get that thing out and make sure it's properly inflated
because you don't want to have a flat spare when you go to use it to replace
one of your regular tires being flat.
So don't forget get that spare in the trunk. Some newer cars are running on run flats.
(12:07):
They have a super stiff sidewall on them, which allows them to run with little to no pressure on them.
But a great number of us still have spare tires. So don't overlook that one.
So now that we've kind of talked about the outside of the cars,
our vehicles, I don't want to bias this towards cars.
I know not everybody Everybody has a car, our vehicles. Let's talk about popping
(12:30):
that hood real quick. Now, look.
Ladies, anyone else, men that haven't really spent a lot of time getting intimate
with the engine of their vehicles, don't worry. This is easy.
When you pop the hood for your vehicle, there's a cap likely on top somewhere
that's clearly labeled, or at least it's generally clearly labeled,
(12:52):
unless it's really old or the new one had the lettering rubbed off of it for some reason.
It generally has a label called oil, and this is your oil filler cap.
And somewhere under that hood, maybe near that cap, but kind of down off to
one side of the other, you'll find a loop.
Usually it's marked with a color orange or yellow, something like that.
(13:16):
It may not have a color loop on it. It may just be a metal loop.
But you want to find your oil's dipstick. And what the dipstick does is it goes
down into the oil pan and allows you to check the oil level in your oil pan.
And on the tip of that dipstick, when you pull it out to look at it, you'll see markers.
Usually there's a very low marker and then the proper level marker.
(13:40):
And your oil level ideally should be to the top of that.
That's the best case scenario. But your oil should definitely be somewhere in
between the low and high filler markers on the end of that dipstick.
And once in a while, get underneath your hood, especially if you have an older
car. we shouldn't have to be worrying about our oil levels so much with newer vehicles. But if.
(14:03):
But get under there every once in a while, maybe every couple of months, and check the oil level.
More frequently, maybe once a month if you have an older vehicle.
And let's make sure that oil is at the proper level. If oil runs out of your
car or your vehicle or it's too low, you can cause massive engine damage.
And the engine, if you were to run extended periods of time on too little or
(14:27):
no oil, your engine could likely seize on you, which would not be good while
you're driving down the highway at speed limit, of course.
So check that oil. You can, again, check the owner's manual that's likely located
in your glove compartment, worst case, your trunk somewhere,
depending on your vehicle.
And it'll tell you where to find that filler dipstick.
(14:49):
I should say the dipstick for the oil. If nothing else, get online, search for it.
You'll find tons of information, tons of videos, too, to help you find your car's dipstick.
Usually, you can just search on what year, make, and model your car is and find
(15:09):
all the information you could possibly conceive of ever needing. So, look at the oil.
Another thing that we want to do from time to time is check the coolant levels,
especially in colder weather or even in the summer.
Really, coolant is valuable to that car, that vehicle's engine all of the time.
In the wintertime, it's going to keep things cool and it needs to have the proper
(15:34):
level and it needs to be fresh coolant from time to time so that it can cool
the engine properly because it does lose cooling properties over time.
And in the summer month, this is especially critical with the high temps outside.
We definitely need to make sure that the coolant water in our cars is up to level.
(15:54):
And every so often, you want to look to have that coolant replaced in the car
because, again, it does lose its cooling properties over time.
They make little tester kits that you can check its general cooling property.
But you don't even have to go that far unless you want to.
Just make sure the level's up. usually the radiator
holds a certain amount and then the reservoir which
(16:17):
is usually clearly marked the reservoir
needs to be topped off and again there's generally a
low level marker and a high level marker and as long as you're in between those
two on your coolant you're good it doesn't hurt to top it off so check your
coolant from time to time as well and then every so often look to have it replaced
while you're under the hood do a real quick check of your windshield wiper fluid Again,
(16:43):
the fill cap is generally clearly marked.
It has a little picture of what looks to be your windshield and then some splatter marks.
It looks like windshield wiper fluid being sprayed up on it.
It's the best they can do for an icon, I guess.
Top that thing off. At big box stores, you're looking at about $1.30 for a gallon
of windshield wiper fluid.
(17:04):
Not a big investment to keep hassle down.
Wintertime, you want to look for windshield wiper fluid that dips below that
can handle temperatures below freezing, obviously, so you don't get that fluid
frozen in its reservoir and not squirting out onto your windshield.
But keeping that windshield wiper fluid full will enable you to keep those bugs
(17:27):
cleaned off in the summertime better and the rain spray and anything else that
may get on there year round.
So take a minute to top that off from time to time and And you'll know frequently
because you know how much you use that windshield wiper fluid when you're in your car.
So we've kind of talked about what we can do quickly around the outside of the car.
(17:48):
We've talked about some things to keep track of and check from time to time
underneath the hood at the engine, the important part that makes the thing go.
And now we'll start talking about some gear and items that we should have in
the car, whether it's in the cabin with us up front, in the glove compartment box or trunk.
You can decide best where you want to keep some things. but I'm just going to
(18:10):
go through a list here of real quickly, not necessarily in any particular order,
but just some things that you should look to keep in there.
First on my list, and this is near and dear to my heart, especially here lately,
is you want to have a basic first aid kit and possibly even a trauma kit if
you know how to use that with a tourniquet.
(18:31):
And we're not going to get into that because we've covered some of this in previous
podcasts, both we talked about the Stop the bleed program previously.
And we've also talked about how to build our basic trauma kits and what to keep in them.
So we won't talk about that here again, but ideally you want to have a basic
first aid kit and then a trauma kit if you're comfortable using it.
(18:54):
Ideally, you should keep one of the other of those in the cabin up front with
you, but certainly in the trunk.
This is a piece of gear that especially if you're traveling a lot or you're
going on vacation, you've got your family and your kids with you,
you should definitely have these.
Newer and or luxury cars typically have a basic first aid kit in them these
(19:14):
days, or at least they can, but they certainly don't have the trauma kit in them.
So either way, you probably want to beef up whatever might come in your car already be in there.
But the point is that you want at least a first aid kit.
And then again, if you're comfortable and you understand how to use the items
that are in it, you want to have your basic trauma kit included in there as well.
(19:38):
Again, you know, these are in no particular order, but I put water on the list.
I think this is a good one that gets overlooked a lot.
You know, you should think in terms of having drinking water,
especially in the hot summer months, and you want to be sure to have enough
for your entire family, your kids included.
But you want to possibly have at least a gallon or so of water in your car,
(20:02):
especially if you have an older car, in case it overheats,
because you're going to need to get fluid back into that radiator if you develop
a pinhole in one of the rubber hoses for the coolant or if your radiator decides to crap out.
You're going to need to try to get some water back in
that system likely you might have
(20:23):
to call a tow truck anyway but you're you're
going to want to have some spare water in there so if you
do spring elite you might be able to get enough back into the
system to get you to the dealership or the service station of your choice that
you'd like to go to but keeping water in the trunk especially in the summer
months for drinking is especially important so we talked about this in one of
(20:47):
our Instagram posts that long, not that long ago, actually.
And it was about the fact that you don't need to keep valuable items,
objects in plain sight inside your car.
And it doesn't have to be high end jewelry and stuff like that.
You just want to keep most of your personal items out of sight because people
(21:10):
that like to break into the cars are looking for easy targets.
They're looking for the doors to be unlocked and they're looking for things
that they see that they can grab quickly and make a quick buck off when they go to sell them again.
So keep valuables out of your car. It's kind of getting into the tactics,
but it's just a good policy not to keep your stuff in plain sight up front.
Put it in the glove compartment box or put it in the trunk and keep it out of sight and locked up.
(21:35):
Another thing that you want to keep up front with you or consider keeping up
front with you, either in the center console where you keep your gum and pens
and whatever else, your cleaning rag for your sunglasses or your glove compartment box,
you want to consider keeping a glass breaker in there.
You never know if you're in an accident or you happen to drive off the road
(21:56):
into the ravine down into the lake or river.
We think these things are far-fetched and extreme and will never happen to us,
but the reality of it is they can happen.
And so a glass breaker is not a bad idea. And typically these glass breakers
will not only be a glass breaker, but a lot of them will have a razor blade
built into the handle for seat belt cutting. And I think that's a good idea too.
(22:20):
So consider keeping a glass breaker in the center console, their glove compartment box.
Center console is probably better because it's closer to you,
which means you can get to it.
You know, if you're in a bad car accident and your door's got jammed shut and
you're not unconscious and you're capable of getting out on your own,
you know, and your car door's been jammed shut because you've been hit T-bone so hard,
(22:43):
whatever it is, a glass breaker can come in handy.
So consider carrying a glass breaker. And along with that, consider carrying
a knife or a Leatherman tool or some sort of multi-tool.
It's not a bad idea. You never know when you need a good blade and cutting through
a seatbelt or your child's seatbelt might be something that you have to do at
(23:05):
some point in time. You never know.
It's not being paranoid. It's being prepared and having a plan.
So that's the way I like to go about these things.
Talking about things to keep in the trunk, and again, some of this to me can be seasonal.
I keep some seasonal things back there in addition to my year around.
Some of the things that I keep in my trunk all of the time is a get-home bag,
(23:29):
or what they refer to as a GHB bag.
And in this bag, and we may talk about this in a future podcast,
but in this bag, there's some of that water, there's some first aid items,
there might be a change of clothes, a poncho, first aid kit,
there might be a firearm and some ammo.
Again, a get-home bag is basically a bag that contains 24 hours worth of supplies
(23:53):
for you, obviously included in that are some snacks and some basic foods.
And again, if you have a family, then you need to think about what each of those
people are going to carry.
Each of those individuals are going to carry for themselves,
but likely you'll have the same bag repetitively based on the number of people
in your family or the number of people that you have in your vehicle at a time with you.
(24:14):
But certainly want to think in terms of having that in case something happens.
So another thing that I like to keep in the trunk all the time are some flares
or some of the triangular reflective, big triangular reflective roadside markers.
Now I carry the roadside markers, the big triangular roadside markers.
I don't have flares, but flares are an option.
(24:36):
Another option are some glow sticks, and all of these things are relatively
inexpensive. expensive.
Another thing that I keep in the trunk all the time is a spare change of clothes
and some extra shoes even.
Usually I'm at least business casual, so I might, especially if I have to deal
with a flat tire or something or whatever else, or maybe I've got to walk home or walk for some miles,
(24:59):
I got a spare change of clothes and I'll swap that out depending on if it's
wintertime, cold weather, summertime,
hot weather, shorts and t-shirts and tennis shoes in the summertime,
Summertime, and I'm more likely, obviously, to wear jeans, try to layer some top shirts,
t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, flannel shirts, fleece, whatever it is.
(25:19):
And in the wintertime, I'll carry a wintertime jacket, some gloves,
a stocking cap or toboggan, I guess, depending on where you're from.
I say stocking cap, gloves, a heavy jacket.
And of course, I take that out again when the summer months roll around.
But I want that extra, you know, back in 2014, Atlanta had what we lovingly
(25:43):
refer to now as Snowmageddon.
We were totally caught with our pants down. And, you know, a normal 30 minute
commute home from the office took me personally three and a half hours to make
that afternoon because the snow started falling at noon.
I made the mistake of not waiting to leave the office till around four,
four thirty that afternoon.
(26:03):
And it wound up taking me three and a half hours to get home.
And luckily, I got home unscathed and safely.
My car made it home without a scratch on it. But some people spent eight,
nine, even 12 hours on the road. Some people had to find hotels.
Some people got out of their cars and left them where they were.
And so, you know, all these spare clothes and this wintertime coat I told you
(26:27):
I kept back there would have come in handy if I had been stranded or had to
walk somewhere because I got stuck or was in a car accident and needed to go somewhere.
And so the other thing that I'll keep in my car, and this is one that I'll actually
keep in there year-round as a blanket.
You never know when you're going to need a blanket. it. You think wintertime
only, but if you happen to stop to help somebody, you might need to elevate a body part for them.
(26:54):
You might need to use it as a pillow. If they're in shock or if it's wintertime,
you might want to cover them up, at least in part.
So a blanket's nice to have in the trunk one way or the other.
And that's one of the items that seems like a wintertime item,
but it's really appropriate to have around there year-round.
One of the other things that I like to keep either in the glove compartment
(27:16):
or in the trunk is some spare batteries.
You know, one of the things that you should likely keep up front in the cabin,
likely another item for your glove compartment box, is a good flashlight.
And when you carry a flashlight in your car, it's probably a good idea to check those batteries.
It is a good idea to check those batteries about every six months,
(27:36):
certainly once a year annually, because those batteries go dead.
And when you need that That flashlight, you don't want a dead flashlight.
So keeping some spare batteries in the trunk is not a bad idea.
Typically, some C's or double A's are more typically what gets used in flashlights.
But whatever your flashlight you choose to carry in the car is a good idea for
(27:58):
you to carry the spare batteries for it.
And so with all of that being said, any of that gear that you think in terms
is for you, if you've got a family and you've got your kids with you,
you need to think about having enough of the same things for them too.
So they should have their own gear in the trunk along with yours.
(28:19):
Another thing that I keep in the trunk, especially in my older vehicle,
is a set of jumper cables.
You know, batteries can last on average anywhere from two to five years.
Sometimes a little longer than five years if you've
got a really nice expensive battery in your vehicle if
you're cheap and you look to get the
(28:40):
cheapest thing from one of the automotive stores sometimes those
batteries can only last a year or two i've i've been guilty of buying cheap
batteries in the in the past and i'm lucky to get two two and a half years out
of them so just know the more money you spend on a battery for your vehicle
it is worthwhile because that means it's it's going to be a while before you
(29:02):
have to deal with it again.
But in the meantime, you want to have a set of jumper cables in your car that's
appropriate for your vehicle. And I'll tell you why.
You never know when someone else needs help. And that's a good reason just to
keep jumper cables in your trunk year round and, you know, not think just in
terms of what you may need one day, but the fact that you could help someone
(29:23):
else if you're so inclined.
One of the things that I keep in the trunk, I actually have a couple just in
case I lose one, is if you're like me, you have lock lug nuts on your rims.
Not that I have fancy pants rims or anything, but I did put lock lugs on there.
Now your option is to not put a lock lug on each of your rims,
(29:45):
but I opted to just to make it harder.
If somebody really wanted to take them off the car, they still could.
But if you do have lock lugs you
want to make sure you have that lock lug key in your
car so that when you need to change a flat tire on the side of the highway you've
got it or when you take your car into the shop to have your tires rotated and
(30:06):
balanced you've got it available for those guys now typically the shops have
their own keys that generally fit most everything out there but when you take your car in,
whether it's the dealership or the big warehouse place that has the automotive
shop in the rear or wherever it is,
they'll generally ask you where your lug key is.
(30:27):
And so you want to make sure you've got that. And again, if nothing else,
it's going to be really inconvenient.
If you get a flat on the side of the road and you go to change the tire and
you can't take it off because you don't have that lug key, lug nut key in there.
So that's, that's really important.
Kind of moving back up to the front of the car again, and again,
I warned you I'd be all over the place.
(30:47):
One of the things that you probably want to keep in your car is a detailed map
of the area in which you live, or at least the general area where you live.
So I keep a map of Atlanta in my glove compartment box, pretty detailed.
And I think that's a good idea because we can't always guarantee our electronics are going to work.
Sometimes these GPS systems have been known to freeze and known to lead us down
(31:10):
the dark alleys and not where we thought we were going. So I like to keep a map.
If I travel to other states or other cities frequently, I'll sometimes keep
maps of those states which are much broader, you know, a much broader range, not near as detailed.
But at least I'll understand where major highways are and have a good idea of
(31:31):
where I'm located and how to get to where I'm going.
So that may be a little old school, but I still recommend keeping a map in the
old glove compartment box.
It's out of sight, out of mind, but when you need it, it's there. So that's a good idea.
Another thing to keep in the car is a phone charger. Now
we all have USB cables today and they go
from your phone and a lot of new cars have USB plugs
(31:53):
built into to them kind of like the old cigarette cigarette lighters
do but it's not bad to have a
phone charger or a backup charger one of these little separate
battery backup chargers that you bring in the house and charge up once in a
while and then you you take them and leave them in your car so that when you
have something died let's say your battery dies on your car right we just talked
(32:14):
about in having jumper cables well if the battery goes dead on your car or the alternator goes out,
then how can you possibly crank your car to charge your phone to get a cell
signal to call 911 or call the hero truck or call your husband to come get you,
let's say, or your significant other, as I should say.
(32:36):
Whatever it is, having a spare backup charger in the car is not a bad idea,
and certainly the cables to allow you to plug these devices in, right?
You might want to consider AAA I
know that's a big automotive roadside assistant of
course there's OnStar and some of the GM cars that's
been shown to be fairly effective my buddy uses it and has good luck you can
(33:01):
also call these hero trucks now at least here in the metro Atlanta area my point
being is that if you're not savvy enough to take care of these things when something
happens to you and you get stranded on the side of the road you need to know that.
Police may not necessarily stop for you. You know, it's awfully nice when they do.
(33:21):
A lot of times when police officers, we see police officers on the road,
they're either driving to work or home from work.
And in both of those scenarios, we can't always expect them to stop and help
everybody all the time because it would be an impossible task.
Those guys work their butts off either way. If you do have a police officer
(33:42):
stop for you, consider yourself lucky.
Be sure to thank them because that's not necessarily part of their jobs.
They're supposed to be out there stopping the criminals and the lawbreakers
not helping you change your spare tire.
So just know if they do, just know that they're probably going out of their
way a little bit to do it for you, taking time out from what they should more likely be doing.
(34:05):
And you just want to be sure to be appreciative and thank them for their time.
But the chances of that are rare. so you need to be have these other numbers
available to you keep them saved in your phone and whatnot so you can get a
hold of them when and if the time comes because the law enforcement's not necessarily
going to stop with you for you when you get into trouble on the roadside.
(34:29):
One of the things that i have chosen to keep in my trunk in addition to my umbrella
which is also So another good item to keep is a crowbar and the chances of me
needing that crowbar are slim to nil,
but I actually did work an accident not that long ago.
It's been, I guess it's been several months ago now, I guess.
(34:50):
So I take that back, but I worked a roadside accident first on the scene,
no other first responders.
So I took it upon myself to stop and help.
And a kid, I guess, was on the job delivering pizzas or whatnot,
had made some bad decisions in traffic wound up flipping his SUV over.
And so one of the things I wanted to do for him was pop his hood and disconnect the battery.
(35:13):
Because generally that's the first, one of the first things that fire's going
to do when they arrive on the scene, unless the vehicle's drivable and then
they'll have it move it out of the way.
But a lot of times disconnecting that battery is the first thing they do,
especially if they figured the integrity of that engine or gas tank or whatever
about that vehicle may be questionable because we don't want any sparks on scene.
(35:37):
Fortunately, I didn't have to get out the crowbar with a little bit of elbow
grease. I popped the hood on the SUV and disconnected the battery for the kid.
But having a crowbar in there allows us to have a tool that we may or may not ever need.
But when we, if we do have it, it comes in awfully handy. And that would have
been a time that potentially could have been handy to have a crowbar,
(35:59):
a big pry bar in the trunk.
So I've mentioned this a few times already because there's information in there
that we need to reference from time to time, whether it's finding the right
viscosity oil to put back in our car or the model number of the light bulb that
you discovered had been burned out.
It's a good idea to keep the owner's manual for your vehicle in the car.
(36:21):
Now, some people, I think, take it out because they got other stuff they'd rather
have in the glove compartment box, and that's great.
If you're not going to keep it in your car, then at least keep it somewhere
in the garage or in your house where you can get to it when the time comes because,
again, that manual comes in awfully handy when you need to reference it for
something, whether it's the exact tire pressure for your car,
(36:42):
what type of oil to put back in when you're topping off the oil after you found
it was low, or whatever it may be, that manual has a lot of good information in it.
Again, you can find most of the information about your vehicles online these
days, but when you need it out on the road or on vacation, it's good to have that book.
And I just recommend keeping it where it came, which is generally in the glove compartment box.
(37:08):
So we've talked an awful lot about gear and specific things that at least I like to keep in my cars.
And so I wanted to talk a little bit about some tactics that we should utilize
or be aware to utilize when we're in our car.
And I'm not going to harp on this a lot, a bunch of different scenarios,
(37:28):
but it really does apply in a lot of different places.
Whether I'm going to the grocery store, whether I'm at the gas station,
especially if I'm at the gas station or the ATM at the bank or wherever it is,
the drive-through picking up my prescription drugs or even the fast food drive-through,
(37:49):
I cannot tell you how important it is to keep your car doors locked.
This could prevent so many crimes, so many thefts, so many issues that if you
just kept your door locked.
I can't tell you how many cars are broken into simply because the owner left the car unlocked.
You know, recently I was listening to a radio station like I do every morning,
(38:12):
listening to one of the DJs on there.
And he was talking about in his part of town that the community made the decisions
for themselves that a lot of
them in the community just left their cars unlocked because the car theft,
the car, you know, the car theft, you know, whether it's taking the car or generally
more just breaking in the car to steal things.
(38:34):
They just made the decision to leave their car doors unlocked to prevent their
windows being broken out every other day or whatever. ever.
Well, you have to decide if that's the technique that you want to follow.
I say it's more important to keep those items of value or not value out of clear
sight and locked up, take them in the house at night, lock them in the trunk,
(38:57):
whatever it is, and keep that door locked.
But look, if you've got that much trouble, you probably need to be looking to move anyway.
So I'm a proponent of keeping your doors locked no matter what.
Of course, if you've got the jewelry out on the front seat or the CDs out on
the front seat or a wad of cash laying out in the backseat, whatever it is,
you can bet you're probably going to be broken into, especially dependent on
(39:20):
the part of town you're in.
So it's good policy to keep the stuff out of the car and keep your car doors locked.
And especially if you're by yourself or you're out at night.
Now that's another tactic that I'm going to tell you, especially if you're a lady and alone,
you need You need to plan out your day a little better so that you're not going
(39:42):
to the ATM or the gas station after dark.
You can avoid a lot of hassles for yourself if you do a better job planning
out your time and your day where you're not having to go to these places after dark.
Not that bad things don't happen during the day, but after night we know they can get bad.
(40:04):
So think about rescheduling your day where you can get to the bank or the ATM
or the gas station, whatever, or even the grocery store for that matter,
while it's still daylight and you'll do yourself a lot of favor.
When it comes to parking, when you're out and about, especially at night,
if you happen to have to go out at night, you want to try to park under lights.
(40:26):
Lights in dark spaces tend to make the bad guys think twice.
Now, again, bad guys do their thing even in broad daylight, but these are just
some tips to help you go about your day and your business, the things that you
need to accomplish a lot smarter.
And when you're at the grocery store, consider parking next to the buggy rack,
the place where all the buggies are dropped off
(40:48):
because this gives you more open space
especially if you're getting small children out of your
car on that side this gives you
more open space you can see around you more easily
this keeps the aisle way between you and the car next to you much more wide
open in other words you don't have a tall vehicle parked right up next to you
(41:12):
where people People can't see straight through to you because typically those
buggy return racks are much lower, much shorter, if you will.
And so you give yourself a little bit more visible line of sight,
both people being able to see you, you being able to see them back out and a little bit more room.
Of course, you do run the risk of getting your car banged up,
(41:32):
potentially by a buggy, but that's just something to consider in the mix as well.
Well, one of the things we've talked about recently on Instagram,
too, is when you're pulling up beside behind someone in traffic,
you don't want to tailgate them. Some of us have a really bad habit.
We think we've got to get right up on the person in front of us.
And maybe we think that's a courtesy to the person behind us is,
(41:54):
you know, taking up the most of the space that we have to give them the room that they need.
But the reality of it is, A, it's kind of rude to tailgate.
And B, you're not doing yourself any favor. When you roll up behind somebody, stop light or stop sign,
you need to leave yourself enough room between yourself and the person in front
(42:14):
of you so that if something happened,
like let's say you had to get out of the way real quick because you saw an accident
unfolding right before your eyes and a vehicle was heading straight towards
you, you need enough room to scoot out from behind that car one way or the other.
So the recommendation is that you never want to get so close to the car in front
of you that you cannot see their rear tires.
(42:37):
Generally, regardless of the vehicle you have, if you use that rule,
if you apply that rule of being able to still see their rear tires,
the rubber of their rear tires,
then regardless of your vehicle, you're going to have enough room to work your
way around them one way or the other.
When we're driving in inclement weather or when it's dark or starting to get
(42:58):
dark or are even starting to get light.
People, let's get those headlights turned on. There's no excuse for them being off.
In Georgia, it's actually the law that I have to have my headlights turned on
30 minutes before dusk and up to 30 minutes before dawn. It's the law in the state of Georgia.
(43:20):
Most new cars come such that the running lights have at least the headlights
or at least maybe even a dulled down version of the headlights on all the time.
So why you intentionally turn that off, I don't know, but it's the law in the
state of Georgia to have your headlights on at the right times.
And look, that goes for dark, near dark, near light, and most importantly, inclement weather.
(43:46):
If it's raining or snowing, you need to have your headlights on. That's the bottom line.
End of story. Look, headlights are not on your car just for you to see where
it is you're going, okay?
That might be a common misconception out there. So let's dispel that now.
(44:08):
Headlights are not just for the sole purpose of allowing you to see better where it is you are going.
So that's why they're on at night, right? It's completely pitch dark out.
I got my headlights on. Now I can better see where I'm going.
That's one and only one purpose of headlights.
The other purpose, which I argue is just as important,
(44:30):
if not more important, is that when you have your headlights and your taillights
on, for that matter, it allows other people on the road and around you to more easily see you, period.
Headlights being on allow others to see you.
And like I said that's just if not more
(44:52):
important than you being able to see where you're going so you're
thinking oh it's just a cloudy day or it's
raining other people can see me just fine I can see where I'm going so I don't
need to have my headlights on no you absolutely need to have your headlights
on especially in inclement weather so that other people can more easily see you and identify you.
(45:16):
And look, if you're driving a silver car of any shade or a black car,
this goes doubly for you because your cars in the rain are very difficult to
see, especially at distance.
So headlights aren't just for you being able to see where you're going more easily.
They're also, and arguably just as important in helping others see you.
(45:41):
So turn those headlights lights on.
Additionally, our vehicles come with at least three mirrors equipped with three
mirrors that we can utilize and we should be utilizing them.
The first one you're fairly familiar with because it's square in the center
of your front windshield.
You should check behind you, look up, glance up in that on occasion to see what's
(46:02):
going on behind you, see who's tailgating you, whatever else.
But when you're getting ready to turn or change lanes, more importantly,
use those side mirrors outside your front doors.
That's what they're there for. And just a quick check of those mirrors will
ensure that you're likely not going to hit someone when you change your lanes on a whim.
(46:25):
And to take it a step further just take
the extra second or two the extra energy and effort to
swivel your head around a little bit depending on
which lane you're playing what direction you're planning to
change lanes whether it's to your left or your right make that little bit of
extra effort to look to check your blind spots because your mirrors based on
how they're adjusted or the size of your vehicle or how your mirrors are aimed
(46:48):
you may not be able to see the blind spots completely down the side of your
vehicle using the mirrors.
So make that little bit of extra physical effort to look to check the blind
spots before you change lanes blindly.
Don't expect others to be on the lookout for you. You're responsible for you.
So use those mirrors and use those turn signals.
(47:10):
If you're not, if you happen not to be concerned about your own safety and well-being,
then just do that as a courtesy to the drivers that may be around you.
You know, again, Again, the overall goal is to do these things,
making us safer drivers, making conditions safer for everyone involved.
Sometimes I take the extra step if I have something valuable,
(47:33):
I'll not only put it in my glove compartment box, I'll lock the glove compartment
box. That's generally when it's something small.
I don't carry a lot of small things that I need to lock up.
But if I do put something of value, whatever it is, into the glove compartment box, I like to lock it.
Now, look, you lock your car, you lock your glove compartment box,
you shut and lock your trunk, you know.
(47:55):
If somebody wants to get into your car, they're going to get into your car.
If they want in your glove compartment box, they can get into your glove compartment box.
It's all about being a deterrent by making your vehicle less of a target,
less attractive to be hit by someone with ill intent.
(48:16):
So I like to lock up the glove compartment box. If I put things in there,
most of the time I lock them up in the trunk, again, out of sight and locked up.
One of the tips that we've talked about too is taking the extra step when I'm
home and I'm pulling into my garage.
I want to back into my garage so that at no time someone can sneak up behind me as I'm pulling in.
(48:39):
And I think that's a really good tip, but I don't follow it.
I think that's a little over the top for myself.
I come home, I pull into my garage, I get out of my car, and as I'm going into
the house, I shut my door down. I'm generally fairly aware of what's going on,
even when I'm at home and I'm outside.
So that's not so much a thing for me. But if you're in a, if you know you're in a worse part of town,
(49:03):
or if you know your house is way back up off the road where no one can see you
so easily, you might want to consider instead of pulling straight into your
garage, backing into it.
Again, the idea being this allows you clear view of everything down your driveway
and out to the side or the front of your house, however your garage is oriented.
(49:23):
And I'm a proponent of anything that enables you to stay, pay more attention
to what's around you, to allow you to maintain your level of situational awareness.
I think that's a good thing. But again, it's something you can decide for yourself.
For me, I found it a little more than what I needed to do or wanted to do for myself.
But again, your situation, you may want to start backing in as an option for sure.
(49:49):
So this next tip tactic should go without saying, but we see it,
I won't say fairly regularly, but we definitely see it still to this day from
time to time in the media and hear about it through the news.
So I've got to say it because if I didn't, I'd be remiss. I think is look,
(50:09):
don't leave your children or your pets alone.
Unattended in your vehicle. Even if you crack the window for them, just don't do it.
And certainly if you're going to leave a pet in the car, be sure to leave those
windows cracked significantly so they can get air, especially in the summer months.
If you're the type of person that needs a reminder, a special bracelet or alarm
(50:33):
on your phone or whatever it is to remind you to get your child out of the back
seat, you probably didn't need to have that child in the first place.
And that's just me being completely candid.
But with that being said, even if you're running into the gas station real quick
to buy your smokes or whatever it is, please don't leave your children unattended in the car,
(50:54):
unattended in their vehicle, and please don't leave your pets unattended in the vehicle.
So I think with that, that concludes our episode talking about all things safety
in and around our vehicles.
We've talked about everything outside the car that you should check regularly
to ensure that you're safe and as ready for any road trip as you possibly can.
(51:18):
We've talked about the two or three important things that you should do under
the hood from time to time.
And then we've talked about what to keep in the car, either inside the cabin
closer to you or in the trunk.
The trunk Trunk becomes a giant keeper of all things needed on road trips for sure.
And then we've talked about just several random miscellaneous safety tips and
(51:42):
tactics to follow when we're in the car.
And I hope you can take away at least one thing that maybe you haven't thought
about or haven't employed for yourself yet.
Or maybe you haven't been sure what
to do or what you should take and keep with you or how to go about it.
And look if you find our podcast valuable and informative please please please
(52:03):
share them with your friends and family because we want to get this information
out there more frequently and,
we want people to know about us and know what we're doing so if you would tell
your friends and family we would greatly appreciate it and we thank you for
being here with us and we'll look forward to talking to you the next time thanks so much.
(52:24):
Music.
Music.
(00:11):
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Self-Initiative Project Podcast.
I'm your host, Jim O'Brien. Hey there, how is everyone?
So welcome back to another episode of the Self-Initiative Project Podcast.
We're actually up to episode 11 where we're going to be talking about all things
having to do with safety in and around your various vehicles.
(00:33):
But I thought before we got into our topic for this episode that I would remind
everyone that The Self-Initiative Project is on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
Most of our content that we've gotten to this point or that we're putting out
to this point is on Instagram.
So by all means, go take a look, like, and follow us, and we would greatly appreciate that.
(00:55):
And be sure to tell your friends and family about us, too. I think there's a
lot of good – I know there's a lot of good information posted out there on Instagram for sure. Sure.
Additionally, the podcast is not only available on Podbean, where it's primarily
hosted, but it's also available through some of the other major podcast hosting services.
So hopefully you can find a platform that's convenient for you on your,
(01:18):
whatever your listening device
may be, whether it's your desktop laptop at home or on your smartphone.
So with that, let's dive right into this episode's topics.
So I wanted to talk about vehicle safety and
things that we should you know gear we should carry checks
we should make and just general some general tactics
(01:39):
we should use when we're in our vehicles you know i don't
know about you guys but for me personally i spend
an awful lot of time in my car it's not that i have a driving job but i do spend
a lot of time sitting in traffic my commute can be lengthy 45 plus minutes 45
minutes to an hour and a half some days one way if i'm unlucky so So,
(02:01):
you know, we spend a lot of time in our vehicles,
whether it's commuting back and forth to work, taking the kids to school, vacation.
Running errands, or just short trips around town.
Whatever it is we may be doing, you could probably say that you find yourself
spending quite a bit of time in your cars or your trucks, your SUVs,
whatever it is you have, it doesn't really matter.
(02:23):
So the nice thing about today's topic is it doesn't matter what type of vehicle
you have, all of these basic sorts of things we're gonna be talking about apply
for us. So it's not vehicle specific.
So with that, I kind of, I may jump all over the place today, no doubt.
My mind kind of works like that. It kind of looks like the cartoon that got
(02:45):
scared and jumps off tangentially in a bunch of different directions simultaneously.
But I tried to organize today's topic by looking at the vehicle outside.
Talking about a couple of things you can do under the hood because we don't
want to neglect what's under the hood that keeps the car going,
which is the motor, I should say.
Talk about things we should be doing in and gear we should be keeping in the
(03:09):
car, whether that be the trunk, the glove compartment box, or just somewhere inside the vehicle.
And then when we're actually in the vehicle traveling, going places like the
ATM or any drive-thrus or the gas station,
talk about some simple tactics that we can employ for ourselves to keep ourselves
and our family members or our friends safe when they're with us.
(03:31):
So talking about kind of the way I view it as things outside the vehicle and
what are some things I can be doing involving being, before I even get into the car,
what are some things that I can be doing to ensure my vehicle's safe condition
for me to be in in the first place.
So one of the things that I think probably gets overlooked from time to time
(03:55):
are those pesky windshield wipers.
Now, a few cars have a third one on the back windshield, station wagons and
some hatchbacks, but you want to make sure your windshield wipers are doing their job.
And so, you know, you probably noticed in the last rainstorm or two,
and we've been getting a lot of rain here around the Atlanta area recently,
(04:15):
but you probably have noticed whether or not you might think about replacing
your windshield wipers.
You know, you cut them on in the rain and they're just not keeping that windshield
cleaned off the way they once did when they were new.
So, you know, the only real good way is to check your windshield wipers is to
pay attention to how they're performing when you are driving in the rain.
(04:37):
But you want to get in the habit of making sure they are performing optimally
and if not looking to replace them.
Now, look, you can get windshield wipers just about any place from the big box
stores to the automotive stores.
But, you know, you want to spend a little bit of money on them.
The cheap ones will get you by, but they don't last very long and they have
(04:58):
a tendency not to hold up in high heat very long, it seems like.
So invest a little bit more money than normal and get yourself a good set of
windshield wipers to get them on that car so you can see when the weather is inclement.
One of the other big things that you want to make sure of that gets neglected
a lot, and I understand why, is tire pressure.
(05:19):
Tire pressure is so key. Number one is...
Actually can make your car more fuel efficient. Now, it's not going to be a
huge, you're not going to see a five mile per gallon increase in your gas mileage.
But when your car's tires are properly inflated, they do roll smoother.
And because they're rolling smoother, in theory, your car is moving more efficiently.
(05:44):
So that's where the gas savings is possible.
And on top of that, that the car just handles better if you have the proper
amount of tire pressure in there.
So I know it's kind of a pain in the butt because not all of us have air compressors
at our house, but a lot of gas stations offer air for free.
And if it's not for free, $0.25, $0.50.
(06:06):
And if you move quickly enough, you can get around the car and top off where you need to.
And depending Depending on the type of tires you're running and what type of
car you have, etc., you know, the average for a car is somewhere between 32 and 35 PSI.
So be sure you check that, especially before you go on any long trips.
(06:27):
Tire pressure has a tendency to go down a drop about a pound for every degree
or so of temperature that drops.
In other words, in cold weather, when the weather starts to change and gets
colder, your tire pressure will drop with the temperature.
I forget exactly what the rate is, so don't quote me on that.
(06:47):
But at any rate, the point is, is pay special attention to your tire pressure
during the winter months, especially in the transition seasons of fall and spring,
because that's when you'll notice the most change in your pressure.
But it's just a good idea of getting in the habit. But when you go to the gas
station to get gas, go ahead and check your tire pressure and top it off while you're there.
(07:10):
Another one that we can check and is our lights, both the headlights and the
tell lights are break lights.
And, you know, I mentioned this to people and they say, well,
how can I check them by myself? It's really hard to check lights by yourself.
You have to have somebody around.
That's why I don't do it that frequency that frequently. the
reality of it is is it's not that hard to
check lights right if you have a garage you can
(07:32):
pull in your garage you can even just pull up your garage door and it's easy
enough to turn all your lights on put your car in park put the emergency brake
on especially if you're in a hill another little bonus safety tip i'll give
you use your emergency brake a lot of people don't and anyway way,
get your lights on and get out of the car and walk around the car.
(07:54):
It's that easy. It literally takes 30 seconds. Walk around to the front of the car.
Make sure that both headlights are on. Make sure you're, not your turn signals
at that point, because we haven't gotten there, but make sure your parking lights are on.
The orange lights that are either on the lower part of the bumper or off on
the side of the headlights.
(08:14):
You know what I'm talking about. If you see one on, there There should be a
matching pair, a matching one or a matching pair on the other side as well.
Walk around to the rear of the car, same thing. There's generally some marker
lights back there and your tail lights.
You can plainly see when your red tail lights are on.
Next thing you want to do, and you don't even have to get back into your car,
(08:34):
is turn your turn signals on. First one direction, then the other.
So you push down on your indicator, that's going to be your left turn signals.
You quickly look at the front to make sure the indicator lights on that side
are flashing on and off the way they should.
You walk around the back and make sure the same thing's going back there.
Then you go back and put the indicator switch on your steering column in the
(08:56):
opposite direction. If it goes up, it's to the right-hand side.
You walk around to the right-hand side of your car and you look and make sure
those indicators are flashing properly on the front and in the back.
And so it's very easy to do a basic light check.
By yourself. And you say, but Jim, what about my brake lights?
How in the world will I ever check my brake lights by myself?
(09:17):
Well, that's a good point. So this is what you do.
If you have a garage, you can do one or two things.
You can either back into your garage or before you open up your garage door,
you can back up to the garage door and likely without even getting out of your car,
you can turn around and while you look backwards, tap your brake lights and
(09:39):
make sure it looks as though the glow is coming from both sides of the back of the car.
In other words, that both of your primary brake lights are actually activating
because especially in newer cars,
those LED bright lights are going to be super bright when you tap those brake
lights, and you should expect that brighter glow from both sides of the back
(10:00):
of the car. And that's all you have to do.
You don't have to worry about the center brake lights so much,
especially nowadays, because with LEDs, they're seldom going to burn out unless
you've shorted them out or unless you're driving an older vehicle.
Yes, some freak, freaky things can happen where they go bad,
but typically you're looking for your primary brake lights, which are the ones
(10:20):
on either side, your tail lights to be working.
And that's as simple, that's as complicated as it's got to be.
It's really easy to check those lights by yourself.
And that's good to do at least every six months I would say to make sure they're
working because you want to drive
safe when the weather is inclement and especially when it's getting dark.
(10:41):
Or it's dark out. And so it's a quick less than two or three minute check to
make sure those lights are working.
And if not, again, light bulbs are fairly easy to acquire for yourself.
You can find the numbers, the models of the lights that you need,
likely in the booklet that came in your car and that can be located in the glove
compartment box most of the time.
(11:03):
So we talked about tire pressure a minute ago, and you actually have five tires.
A lot of cars still have a spare in the trunk.
If it's a truck or SUV, it might be under the back of the truck.
You likely know where your spare is.
And so you need to be sure to check that once in a blue moon as well.
(11:25):
Spare tires typically require much higher pressure than the average regular
tire that goes on your car does.
For example, somewhere in the neighborhood of, you know, instead of 32 to 35
normal for an an average car, we're looking at 55 to 65 typically for those
what they call donut spare tires.
(11:46):
And so you want to not forget about that spare tire underneath the carpet in your trunk.
So once in a while, get that thing out and make sure it's properly inflated
because you don't want to have a flat spare when you go to use it to replace
one of your regular tires being flat.
So don't forget get that spare in the trunk. Some newer cars are running on run flats.
(12:07):
They have a super stiff sidewall on them, which allows them to run with little to no pressure on them.
But a great number of us still have spare tires. So don't overlook that one.
So now that we've kind of talked about the outside of the cars,
our vehicles, I don't want to bias this towards cars.
I know not everybody Everybody has a car, our vehicles. Let's talk about popping
(12:30):
that hood real quick. Now, look.
Ladies, anyone else, men that haven't really spent a lot of time getting intimate
with the engine of their vehicles, don't worry. This is easy.
When you pop the hood for your vehicle, there's a cap likely on top somewhere
that's clearly labeled, or at least it's generally clearly labeled,
(12:52):
unless it's really old or the new one had the lettering rubbed off of it for some reason.
It generally has a label called oil, and this is your oil filler cap.
And somewhere under that hood, maybe near that cap, but kind of down off to
one side of the other, you'll find a loop.
Usually it's marked with a color orange or yellow, something like that.
(13:16):
It may not have a color loop on it. It may just be a metal loop.
But you want to find your oil's dipstick. And what the dipstick does is it goes
down into the oil pan and allows you to check the oil level in your oil pan.
And on the tip of that dipstick, when you pull it out to look at it, you'll see markers.
Usually there's a very low marker and then the proper level marker.
(13:40):
And your oil level ideally should be to the top of that.
That's the best case scenario. But your oil should definitely be somewhere in
between the low and high filler markers on the end of that dipstick.
And once in a while, get underneath your hood, especially if you have an older
car. we shouldn't have to be worrying about our oil levels so much with newer vehicles. But if.
(14:03):
But get under there every once in a while, maybe every couple of months, and check the oil level.
More frequently, maybe once a month if you have an older vehicle.
And let's make sure that oil is at the proper level. If oil runs out of your
car or your vehicle or it's too low, you can cause massive engine damage.
And the engine, if you were to run extended periods of time on too little or
(14:27):
no oil, your engine could likely seize on you, which would not be good while
you're driving down the highway at speed limit, of course.
So check that oil. You can, again, check the owner's manual that's likely located
in your glove compartment, worst case, your trunk somewhere,
depending on your vehicle.
And it'll tell you where to find that filler dipstick.
(14:49):
I should say the dipstick for the oil. If nothing else, get online, search for it.
You'll find tons of information, tons of videos, too, to help you find your car's dipstick.
Usually, you can just search on what year, make, and model your car is and find
(15:09):
all the information you could possibly conceive of ever needing. So, look at the oil.
Another thing that we want to do from time to time is check the coolant levels,
especially in colder weather or even in the summer.
Really, coolant is valuable to that car, that vehicle's engine all of the time.
In the wintertime, it's going to keep things cool and it needs to have the proper
(15:34):
level and it needs to be fresh coolant from time to time so that it can cool
the engine properly because it does lose cooling properties over time.
And in the summer month, this is especially critical with the high temps outside.
We definitely need to make sure that the coolant water in our cars is up to level.
(15:54):
And every so often, you want to look to have that coolant replaced in the car
because, again, it does lose its cooling properties over time.
They make little tester kits that you can check its general cooling property.
But you don't even have to go that far unless you want to.
Just make sure the level's up. usually the radiator
holds a certain amount and then the reservoir which
(16:17):
is usually clearly marked the reservoir
needs to be topped off and again there's generally a
low level marker and a high level marker and as long as you're in between those
two on your coolant you're good it doesn't hurt to top it off so check your
coolant from time to time as well and then every so often look to have it replaced
while you're under the hood do a real quick check of your windshield wiper fluid Again,
(16:43):
the fill cap is generally clearly marked.
It has a little picture of what looks to be your windshield and then some splatter marks.
It looks like windshield wiper fluid being sprayed up on it.
It's the best they can do for an icon, I guess.
Top that thing off. At big box stores, you're looking at about $1.30 for a gallon
of windshield wiper fluid.
(17:04):
Not a big investment to keep hassle down.
Wintertime, you want to look for windshield wiper fluid that dips below that
can handle temperatures below freezing, obviously, so you don't get that fluid
frozen in its reservoir and not squirting out onto your windshield.
But keeping that windshield wiper fluid full will enable you to keep those bugs
(17:27):
cleaned off in the summertime better and the rain spray and anything else that
may get on there year round.
So take a minute to top that off from time to time and And you'll know frequently
because you know how much you use that windshield wiper fluid when you're in your car.
So we've kind of talked about what we can do quickly around the outside of the car.
(17:48):
We've talked about some things to keep track of and check from time to time
underneath the hood at the engine, the important part that makes the thing go.
And now we'll start talking about some gear and items that we should have in
the car, whether it's in the cabin with us up front, in the glove compartment box or trunk.
You can decide best where you want to keep some things. but I'm just going to
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go through a list here of real quickly, not necessarily in any particular order,
but just some things that you should look to keep in there.
First on my list, and this is near and dear to my heart, especially here lately,
is you want to have a basic first aid kit and possibly even a trauma kit if
you know how to use that with a tourniquet.
(18:31):
And we're not going to get into that because we've covered some of this in previous
podcasts, both we talked about the Stop the bleed program previously.
And we've also talked about how to build our basic trauma kits and what to keep in them.
So we won't talk about that here again, but ideally you want to have a basic
first aid kit and then a trauma kit if you're comfortable using it.
(18:54):
Ideally, you should keep one of the other of those in the cabin up front with
you, but certainly in the trunk.
This is a piece of gear that especially if you're traveling a lot or you're
going on vacation, you've got your family and your kids with you,
you should definitely have these.
Newer and or luxury cars typically have a basic first aid kit in them these
(19:14):
days, or at least they can, but they certainly don't have the trauma kit in them.
So either way, you probably want to beef up whatever might come in your car already be in there.
But the point is that you want at least a first aid kit.
And then again, if you're comfortable and you understand how to use the items
that are in it, you want to have your basic trauma kit included in there as well.
(19:38):
Again, you know, these are in no particular order, but I put water on the list.
I think this is a good one that gets overlooked a lot.
You know, you should think in terms of having drinking water,
especially in the hot summer months, and you want to be sure to have enough
for your entire family, your kids included.
But you want to possibly have at least a gallon or so of water in your car,
(20:02):
especially if you have an older car, in case it overheats,
because you're going to need to get fluid back into that radiator if you develop
a pinhole in one of the rubber hoses for the coolant or if your radiator decides to crap out.
You're going to need to try to get some water back in
that system likely you might have
(20:23):
to call a tow truck anyway but you're you're
going to want to have some spare water in there so if you
do spring elite you might be able to get enough back into the
system to get you to the dealership or the service station of your choice that
you'd like to go to but keeping water in the trunk especially in the summer
months for drinking is especially important so we talked about this in one of
(20:47):
our Instagram posts that long, not that long ago, actually.
And it was about the fact that you don't need to keep valuable items,
objects in plain sight inside your car.
And it doesn't have to be high end jewelry and stuff like that.
You just want to keep most of your personal items out of sight because people
(21:10):
that like to break into the cars are looking for easy targets.
They're looking for the doors to be unlocked and they're looking for things
that they see that they can grab quickly and make a quick buck off when they go to sell them again.
So keep valuables out of your car. It's kind of getting into the tactics,
but it's just a good policy not to keep your stuff in plain sight up front.
Put it in the glove compartment box or put it in the trunk and keep it out of sight and locked up.
(21:35):
Another thing that you want to keep up front with you or consider keeping up
front with you, either in the center console where you keep your gum and pens
and whatever else, your cleaning rag for your sunglasses or your glove compartment box,
you want to consider keeping a glass breaker in there.
You never know if you're in an accident or you happen to drive off the road
(21:56):
into the ravine down into the lake or river.
We think these things are far-fetched and extreme and will never happen to us,
but the reality of it is they can happen.
And so a glass breaker is not a bad idea. And typically these glass breakers
will not only be a glass breaker, but a lot of them will have a razor blade
built into the handle for seat belt cutting. And I think that's a good idea too.
(22:20):
So consider keeping a glass breaker in the center console, their glove compartment box.
Center console is probably better because it's closer to you,
which means you can get to it.
You know, if you're in a bad car accident and your door's got jammed shut and
you're not unconscious and you're capable of getting out on your own,
you know, and your car door's been jammed shut because you've been hit T-bone so hard,
(22:43):
whatever it is, a glass breaker can come in handy.
So consider carrying a glass breaker. And along with that, consider carrying
a knife or a Leatherman tool or some sort of multi-tool.
It's not a bad idea. You never know when you need a good blade and cutting through
a seatbelt or your child's seatbelt might be something that you have to do at
(23:05):
some point in time. You never know.
It's not being paranoid. It's being prepared and having a plan.
So that's the way I like to go about these things.
Talking about things to keep in the trunk, and again, some of this to me can be seasonal.
I keep some seasonal things back there in addition to my year around.
Some of the things that I keep in my trunk all of the time is a get-home bag,
(23:29):
or what they refer to as a GHB bag.
And in this bag, and we may talk about this in a future podcast,
but in this bag, there's some of that water, there's some first aid items,
there might be a change of clothes, a poncho, first aid kit,
there might be a firearm and some ammo.
Again, a get-home bag is basically a bag that contains 24 hours worth of supplies
(23:53):
for you, obviously included in that are some snacks and some basic foods.
And again, if you have a family, then you need to think about what each of those
people are going to carry.
Each of those individuals are going to carry for themselves,
but likely you'll have the same bag repetitively based on the number of people
in your family or the number of people that you have in your vehicle at a time with you.
(24:14):
But certainly want to think in terms of having that in case something happens.
So another thing that I like to keep in the trunk all the time are some flares
or some of the triangular reflective, big triangular reflective roadside markers.
Now I carry the roadside markers, the big triangular roadside markers.
I don't have flares, but flares are an option.
(24:36):
Another option are some glow sticks, and all of these things are relatively
inexpensive. expensive.
Another thing that I keep in the trunk all the time is a spare change of clothes
and some extra shoes even.
Usually I'm at least business casual, so I might, especially if I have to deal
with a flat tire or something or whatever else, or maybe I've got to walk home or walk for some miles,
(24:59):
I got a spare change of clothes and I'll swap that out depending on if it's
wintertime, cold weather, summertime,
hot weather, shorts and t-shirts and tennis shoes in the summertime,
Summertime, and I'm more likely, obviously, to wear jeans, try to layer some top shirts,
t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, flannel shirts, fleece, whatever it is.
(25:19):
And in the wintertime, I'll carry a wintertime jacket, some gloves,
a stocking cap or toboggan, I guess, depending on where you're from.
I say stocking cap, gloves, a heavy jacket.
And of course, I take that out again when the summer months roll around.
But I want that extra, you know, back in 2014, Atlanta had what we lovingly
(25:43):
refer to now as Snowmageddon.
We were totally caught with our pants down. And, you know, a normal 30 minute
commute home from the office took me personally three and a half hours to make
that afternoon because the snow started falling at noon.
I made the mistake of not waiting to leave the office till around four,
four thirty that afternoon.
(26:03):
And it wound up taking me three and a half hours to get home.
And luckily, I got home unscathed and safely.
My car made it home without a scratch on it. But some people spent eight,
nine, even 12 hours on the road. Some people had to find hotels.
Some people got out of their cars and left them where they were.
And so, you know, all these spare clothes and this wintertime coat I told you
(26:27):
I kept back there would have come in handy if I had been stranded or had to
walk somewhere because I got stuck or was in a car accident and needed to go somewhere.
And so the other thing that I'll keep in my car, and this is one that I'll actually
keep in there year-round as a blanket.
You never know when you're going to need a blanket. it. You think wintertime
only, but if you happen to stop to help somebody, you might need to elevate a body part for them.
(26:54):
You might need to use it as a pillow. If they're in shock or if it's wintertime,
you might want to cover them up, at least in part.
So a blanket's nice to have in the trunk one way or the other.
And that's one of the items that seems like a wintertime item,
but it's really appropriate to have around there year-round.
One of the other things that I like to keep either in the glove compartment
(27:16):
or in the trunk is some spare batteries.
You know, one of the things that you should likely keep up front in the cabin,
likely another item for your glove compartment box, is a good flashlight.
And when you carry a flashlight in your car, it's probably a good idea to check those batteries.
It is a good idea to check those batteries about every six months,
(27:36):
certainly once a year annually, because those batteries go dead.
And when you need that That flashlight, you don't want a dead flashlight.
So keeping some spare batteries in the trunk is not a bad idea.
Typically, some C's or double A's are more typically what gets used in flashlights.
But whatever your flashlight you choose to carry in the car is a good idea for
(27:58):
you to carry the spare batteries for it.
And so with all of that being said, any of that gear that you think in terms
is for you, if you've got a family and you've got your kids with you,
you need to think about having enough of the same things for them too.
So they should have their own gear in the trunk along with yours.
(28:19):
Another thing that I keep in the trunk, especially in my older vehicle,
is a set of jumper cables.
You know, batteries can last on average anywhere from two to five years.
Sometimes a little longer than five years if you've
got a really nice expensive battery in your vehicle if
you're cheap and you look to get the
(28:40):
cheapest thing from one of the automotive stores sometimes those
batteries can only last a year or two i've i've been guilty of buying cheap
batteries in the in the past and i'm lucky to get two two and a half years out
of them so just know the more money you spend on a battery for your vehicle
it is worthwhile because that means it's it's going to be a while before you
(29:02):
have to deal with it again.
But in the meantime, you want to have a set of jumper cables in your car that's
appropriate for your vehicle. And I'll tell you why.
You never know when someone else needs help. And that's a good reason just to
keep jumper cables in your trunk year round and, you know, not think just in
terms of what you may need one day, but the fact that you could help someone
(29:23):
else if you're so inclined.
One of the things that I keep in the trunk, I actually have a couple just in
case I lose one, is if you're like me, you have lock lug nuts on your rims.
Not that I have fancy pants rims or anything, but I did put lock lugs on there.
Now your option is to not put a lock lug on each of your rims,
(29:45):
but I opted to just to make it harder.
If somebody really wanted to take them off the car, they still could.
But if you do have lock lugs you
want to make sure you have that lock lug key in your
car so that when you need to change a flat tire on the side of the highway you've
got it or when you take your car into the shop to have your tires rotated and
(30:06):
balanced you've got it available for those guys now typically the shops have
their own keys that generally fit most everything out there but when you take your car in,
whether it's the dealership or the big warehouse place that has the automotive
shop in the rear or wherever it is,
they'll generally ask you where your lug key is.
(30:27):
And so you want to make sure you've got that. And again, if nothing else,
it's going to be really inconvenient.
If you get a flat on the side of the road and you go to change the tire and
you can't take it off because you don't have that lug key, lug nut key in there.
So that's, that's really important.
Kind of moving back up to the front of the car again, and again,
I warned you I'd be all over the place.
(30:47):
One of the things that you probably want to keep in your car is a detailed map
of the area in which you live, or at least the general area where you live.
So I keep a map of Atlanta in my glove compartment box, pretty detailed.
And I think that's a good idea because we can't always guarantee our electronics are going to work.
Sometimes these GPS systems have been known to freeze and known to lead us down
(31:10):
the dark alleys and not where we thought we were going. So I like to keep a map.
If I travel to other states or other cities frequently, I'll sometimes keep
maps of those states which are much broader, you know, a much broader range, not near as detailed.
But at least I'll understand where major highways are and have a good idea of
(31:31):
where I'm located and how to get to where I'm going.
So that may be a little old school, but I still recommend keeping a map in the
old glove compartment box.
It's out of sight, out of mind, but when you need it, it's there. So that's a good idea.
Another thing to keep in the car is a phone charger. Now
we all have USB cables today and they go
from your phone and a lot of new cars have USB plugs
(31:53):
built into to them kind of like the old cigarette cigarette lighters
do but it's not bad to have a
phone charger or a backup charger one of these little separate
battery backup chargers that you bring in the house and charge up once in a
while and then you you take them and leave them in your car so that when you
have something died let's say your battery dies on your car right we just talked
(32:14):
about in having jumper cables well if the battery goes dead on your car or the alternator goes out,
then how can you possibly crank your car to charge your phone to get a cell
signal to call 911 or call the hero truck or call your husband to come get you,
let's say, or your significant other, as I should say.
(32:36):
Whatever it is, having a spare backup charger in the car is not a bad idea,
and certainly the cables to allow you to plug these devices in, right?
You might want to consider AAA I
know that's a big automotive roadside assistant of
course there's OnStar and some of the GM cars that's
been shown to be fairly effective my buddy uses it and has good luck you can
(33:01):
also call these hero trucks now at least here in the metro Atlanta area my point
being is that if you're not savvy enough to take care of these things when something
happens to you and you get stranded on the side of the road you need to know that.
Police may not necessarily stop for you. You know, it's awfully nice when they do.
(33:21):
A lot of times when police officers, we see police officers on the road,
they're either driving to work or home from work.
And in both of those scenarios, we can't always expect them to stop and help
everybody all the time because it would be an impossible task.
Those guys work their butts off either way. If you do have a police officer
(33:42):
stop for you, consider yourself lucky.
Be sure to thank them because that's not necessarily part of their jobs.
They're supposed to be out there stopping the criminals and the lawbreakers
not helping you change your spare tire.
So just know if they do, just know that they're probably going out of their
way a little bit to do it for you, taking time out from what they should more likely be doing.
(34:05):
And you just want to be sure to be appreciative and thank them for their time.
But the chances of that are rare. so you need to be have these other numbers
available to you keep them saved in your phone and whatnot so you can get a
hold of them when and if the time comes because the law enforcement's not necessarily
going to stop with you for you when you get into trouble on the roadside.
(34:29):
One of the things that i have chosen to keep in my trunk in addition to my umbrella
which is also So another good item to keep is a crowbar and the chances of me
needing that crowbar are slim to nil,
but I actually did work an accident not that long ago.
It's been, I guess it's been several months ago now, I guess.
(34:50):
So I take that back, but I worked a roadside accident first on the scene,
no other first responders.
So I took it upon myself to stop and help.
And a kid, I guess, was on the job delivering pizzas or whatnot,
had made some bad decisions in traffic wound up flipping his SUV over.
And so one of the things I wanted to do for him was pop his hood and disconnect the battery.
(35:13):
Because generally that's the first, one of the first things that fire's going
to do when they arrive on the scene, unless the vehicle's drivable and then
they'll have it move it out of the way.
But a lot of times disconnecting that battery is the first thing they do,
especially if they figured the integrity of that engine or gas tank or whatever
about that vehicle may be questionable because we don't want any sparks on scene.
(35:37):
Fortunately, I didn't have to get out the crowbar with a little bit of elbow
grease. I popped the hood on the SUV and disconnected the battery for the kid.
But having a crowbar in there allows us to have a tool that we may or may not ever need.
But when we, if we do have it, it comes in awfully handy. And that would have
been a time that potentially could have been handy to have a crowbar,
(35:59):
a big pry bar in the trunk.
So I've mentioned this a few times already because there's information in there
that we need to reference from time to time, whether it's finding the right
viscosity oil to put back in our car or the model number of the light bulb that
you discovered had been burned out.
It's a good idea to keep the owner's manual for your vehicle in the car.
(36:21):
Now, some people, I think, take it out because they got other stuff they'd rather
have in the glove compartment box, and that's great.
If you're not going to keep it in your car, then at least keep it somewhere
in the garage or in your house where you can get to it when the time comes because,
again, that manual comes in awfully handy when you need to reference it for
something, whether it's the exact tire pressure for your car,
(36:42):
what type of oil to put back in when you're topping off the oil after you found
it was low, or whatever it may be, that manual has a lot of good information in it.
Again, you can find most of the information about your vehicles online these
days, but when you need it out on the road or on vacation, it's good to have that book.
And I just recommend keeping it where it came, which is generally in the glove compartment box.
(37:08):
So we've talked an awful lot about gear and specific things that at least I like to keep in my cars.
And so I wanted to talk a little bit about some tactics that we should utilize
or be aware to utilize when we're in our car.
And I'm not going to harp on this a lot, a bunch of different scenarios,
(37:28):
but it really does apply in a lot of different places.
Whether I'm going to the grocery store, whether I'm at the gas station,
especially if I'm at the gas station or the ATM at the bank or wherever it is,
the drive-through picking up my prescription drugs or even the fast food drive-through,
(37:49):
I cannot tell you how important it is to keep your car doors locked.
This could prevent so many crimes, so many thefts, so many issues that if you
just kept your door locked.
I can't tell you how many cars are broken into simply because the owner left the car unlocked.
You know, recently I was listening to a radio station like I do every morning,
(38:12):
listening to one of the DJs on there.
And he was talking about in his part of town that the community made the decisions
for themselves that a lot of
them in the community just left their cars unlocked because the car theft,
the car, you know, the car theft, you know, whether it's taking the car or generally
more just breaking in the car to steal things.
(38:34):
They just made the decision to leave their car doors unlocked to prevent their
windows being broken out every other day or whatever. ever.
Well, you have to decide if that's the technique that you want to follow.
I say it's more important to keep those items of value or not value out of clear
sight and locked up, take them in the house at night, lock them in the trunk,
(38:57):
whatever it is, and keep that door locked.
But look, if you've got that much trouble, you probably need to be looking to move anyway.
So I'm a proponent of keeping your doors locked no matter what.
Of course, if you've got the jewelry out on the front seat or the CDs out on
the front seat or a wad of cash laying out in the backseat, whatever it is,
you can bet you're probably going to be broken into, especially dependent on
(39:20):
the part of town you're in.
So it's good policy to keep the stuff out of the car and keep your car doors locked.
And especially if you're by yourself or you're out at night.
Now that's another tactic that I'm going to tell you, especially if you're a lady and alone,
you need You need to plan out your day a little better so that you're not going
(39:42):
to the ATM or the gas station after dark.
You can avoid a lot of hassles for yourself if you do a better job planning
out your time and your day where you're not having to go to these places after dark.
Not that bad things don't happen during the day, but after night we know they can get bad.
(40:04):
So think about rescheduling your day where you can get to the bank or the ATM
or the gas station, whatever, or even the grocery store for that matter,
while it's still daylight and you'll do yourself a lot of favor.
When it comes to parking, when you're out and about, especially at night,
if you happen to have to go out at night, you want to try to park under lights.
(40:26):
Lights in dark spaces tend to make the bad guys think twice.
Now, again, bad guys do their thing even in broad daylight, but these are just
some tips to help you go about your day and your business, the things that you
need to accomplish a lot smarter.
And when you're at the grocery store, consider parking next to the buggy rack,
the place where all the buggies are dropped off
(40:48):
because this gives you more open space
especially if you're getting small children out of your
car on that side this gives you
more open space you can see around you more easily
this keeps the aisle way between you and the car next to you much more wide
open in other words you don't have a tall vehicle parked right up next to you
(41:12):
where people People can't see straight through to you because typically those
buggy return racks are much lower, much shorter, if you will.
And so you give yourself a little bit more visible line of sight,
both people being able to see you, you being able to see them back out and a little bit more room.
Of course, you do run the risk of getting your car banged up,
(41:32):
potentially by a buggy, but that's just something to consider in the mix as well.
Well, one of the things we've talked about recently on Instagram,
too, is when you're pulling up beside behind someone in traffic,
you don't want to tailgate them. Some of us have a really bad habit.
We think we've got to get right up on the person in front of us.
And maybe we think that's a courtesy to the person behind us is,
(41:54):
you know, taking up the most of the space that we have to give them the room that they need.
But the reality of it is, A, it's kind of rude to tailgate.
And B, you're not doing yourself any favor. When you roll up behind somebody, stop light or stop sign,
you need to leave yourself enough room between yourself and the person in front
(42:14):
of you so that if something happened,
like let's say you had to get out of the way real quick because you saw an accident
unfolding right before your eyes and a vehicle was heading straight towards
you, you need enough room to scoot out from behind that car one way or the other.
So the recommendation is that you never want to get so close to the car in front
of you that you cannot see their rear tires.
(42:37):
Generally, regardless of the vehicle you have, if you use that rule,
if you apply that rule of being able to still see their rear tires,
the rubber of their rear tires,
then regardless of your vehicle, you're going to have enough room to work your
way around them one way or the other.
When we're driving in inclement weather or when it's dark or starting to get
(42:58):
dark or are even starting to get light.
People, let's get those headlights turned on. There's no excuse for them being off.
In Georgia, it's actually the law that I have to have my headlights turned on
30 minutes before dusk and up to 30 minutes before dawn. It's the law in the state of Georgia.
(43:20):
Most new cars come such that the running lights have at least the headlights
or at least maybe even a dulled down version of the headlights on all the time.
So why you intentionally turn that off, I don't know, but it's the law in the
state of Georgia to have your headlights on at the right times.
And look, that goes for dark, near dark, near light, and most importantly, inclement weather.
(43:46):
If it's raining or snowing, you need to have your headlights on. That's the bottom line.
End of story. Look, headlights are not on your car just for you to see where
it is you're going, okay?
That might be a common misconception out there. So let's dispel that now.
(44:08):
Headlights are not just for the sole purpose of allowing you to see better where it is you are going.
So that's why they're on at night, right? It's completely pitch dark out.
I got my headlights on. Now I can better see where I'm going.
That's one and only one purpose of headlights.
The other purpose, which I argue is just as important,
(44:30):
if not more important, is that when you have your headlights and your taillights
on, for that matter, it allows other people on the road and around you to more easily see you, period.
Headlights being on allow others to see you.
And like I said that's just if not more
(44:52):
important than you being able to see where you're going so you're
thinking oh it's just a cloudy day or it's
raining other people can see me just fine I can see where I'm going so I don't
need to have my headlights on no you absolutely need to have your headlights
on especially in inclement weather so that other people can more easily see you and identify you.
(45:16):
And look, if you're driving a silver car of any shade or a black car,
this goes doubly for you because your cars in the rain are very difficult to
see, especially at distance.
So headlights aren't just for you being able to see where you're going more easily.
They're also, and arguably just as important in helping others see you.
(45:41):
So turn those headlights lights on.
Additionally, our vehicles come with at least three mirrors equipped with three
mirrors that we can utilize and we should be utilizing them.
The first one you're fairly familiar with because it's square in the center
of your front windshield.
You should check behind you, look up, glance up in that on occasion to see what's
(46:02):
going on behind you, see who's tailgating you, whatever else.
But when you're getting ready to turn or change lanes, more importantly,
use those side mirrors outside your front doors.
That's what they're there for. And just a quick check of those mirrors will
ensure that you're likely not going to hit someone when you change your lanes on a whim.
(46:25):
And to take it a step further just take
the extra second or two the extra energy and effort to
swivel your head around a little bit depending on
which lane you're playing what direction you're planning to
change lanes whether it's to your left or your right make that little bit of
extra effort to look to check your blind spots because your mirrors based on
how they're adjusted or the size of your vehicle or how your mirrors are aimed
(46:48):
you may not be able to see the blind spots completely down the side of your
vehicle using the mirrors.
So make that little bit of extra physical effort to look to check the blind
spots before you change lanes blindly.
Don't expect others to be on the lookout for you. You're responsible for you.
So use those mirrors and use those turn signals.
(47:10):
If you're not, if you happen not to be concerned about your own safety and well-being,
then just do that as a courtesy to the drivers that may be around you.
You know, again, Again, the overall goal is to do these things,
making us safer drivers, making conditions safer for everyone involved.
Sometimes I take the extra step if I have something valuable,
(47:33):
I'll not only put it in my glove compartment box, I'll lock the glove compartment
box. That's generally when it's something small.
I don't carry a lot of small things that I need to lock up.
But if I do put something of value, whatever it is, into the glove compartment box, I like to lock it.
Now, look, you lock your car, you lock your glove compartment box,
you shut and lock your trunk, you know.
(47:55):
If somebody wants to get into your car, they're going to get into your car.
If they want in your glove compartment box, they can get into your glove compartment box.
It's all about being a deterrent by making your vehicle less of a target,
less attractive to be hit by someone with ill intent.
(48:16):
So I like to lock up the glove compartment box. If I put things in there,
most of the time I lock them up in the trunk, again, out of sight and locked up.
One of the tips that we've talked about too is taking the extra step when I'm
home and I'm pulling into my garage.
I want to back into my garage so that at no time someone can sneak up behind me as I'm pulling in.
(48:39):
And I think that's a really good tip, but I don't follow it.
I think that's a little over the top for myself.
I come home, I pull into my garage, I get out of my car, and as I'm going into
the house, I shut my door down. I'm generally fairly aware of what's going on,
even when I'm at home and I'm outside.
So that's not so much a thing for me. But if you're in a, if you know you're in a worse part of town,
(49:03):
or if you know your house is way back up off the road where no one can see you
so easily, you might want to consider instead of pulling straight into your
garage, backing into it.
Again, the idea being this allows you clear view of everything down your driveway
and out to the side or the front of your house, however your garage is oriented.
(49:23):
And I'm a proponent of anything that enables you to stay, pay more attention
to what's around you, to allow you to maintain your level of situational awareness.
I think that's a good thing. But again, it's something you can decide for yourself.
For me, I found it a little more than what I needed to do or wanted to do for myself.
But again, your situation, you may want to start backing in as an option for sure.
(49:49):
So this next tip tactic should go without saying, but we see it,
I won't say fairly regularly, but we definitely see it still to this day from
time to time in the media and hear about it through the news.
So I've got to say it because if I didn't, I'd be remiss. I think is look,
(50:09):
don't leave your children or your pets alone.
Unattended in your vehicle. Even if you crack the window for them, just don't do it.
And certainly if you're going to leave a pet in the car, be sure to leave those
windows cracked significantly so they can get air, especially in the summer months.
If you're the type of person that needs a reminder, a special bracelet or alarm
(50:33):
on your phone or whatever it is to remind you to get your child out of the back
seat, you probably didn't need to have that child in the first place.
And that's just me being completely candid.
But with that being said, even if you're running into the gas station real quick
to buy your smokes or whatever it is, please don't leave your children unattended in the car,
(50:54):
unattended in their vehicle, and please don't leave your pets unattended in the vehicle.
So I think with that, that concludes our episode talking about all things safety
in and around our vehicles.
We've talked about everything outside the car that you should check regularly
to ensure that you're safe and as ready for any road trip as you possibly can.
(51:18):
We've talked about the two or three important things that you should do under
the hood from time to time.
And then we've talked about what to keep in the car, either inside the cabin
closer to you or in the trunk.
The trunk Trunk becomes a giant keeper of all things needed on road trips for sure.
And then we've talked about just several random miscellaneous safety tips and
(51:42):
tactics to follow when we're in the car.
And I hope you can take away at least one thing that maybe you haven't thought
about or haven't employed for yourself yet.
Or maybe you haven't been sure what
to do or what you should take and keep with you or how to go about it.
And look if you find our podcast valuable and informative please please please
(52:03):
share them with your friends and family because we want to get this information
out there more frequently and,
we want people to know about us and know what we're doing so if you would tell
your friends and family we would greatly appreciate it and we thank you for
being here with us and we'll look forward to talking to you the next time thanks so much.
(52:24):
Music.
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