A friend of mine recently experienced a series of unexpected, yet predictable problems when he decided to drive the local store on the coldest day of the year. What was supposed to be a short trip in the neighborhood turned into a day’s worth of hassles that he wasn’t prepared to encounter. While none of these things caused him to face any danger, it’s easy to draw parallels between his misadventures and problems that could quickly devolve into a survival situation.
Doomed from the Start
It all started before he left the house and decided not to bring his hat, gloves, boots or heavy jacket. He wasn’t planning on being gone long, and he would be in the comfort of his heated car for most of the time, so why bother bundling up, right? He also didn’t take a look at his car before heading out, otherwise he would have noticed that one of his rear tires was almost flat.
It wasn’t until he turned onto the main road and started to feel that all-too-familiar thump that he realized he needed air. Fortunately there was a gas station nearby and he was able to get to an air pump right away. He got out, put in the quarters to turn on the machine and started to connect the hose to the tire. However, it was freezing outside, and he didn’t have a good jacket and gloves. Within seconds he started to lose sensation in his fingers as the bare skin was being exposed to the metal on the nozzle and the cold air outside.
He started to struggle with keeping the hose attached and lever depressed at the same time. Consequently, the timer went out on the air pump before he as able to completely-fill the tire. He was also out of quarters, had no cash in his pocket to make change, and the ATM machine at the gas station was out of service.
Now he was suddenly faced with some difficult choices that most of us can relate to. He didn’t want to drive too much on the flat tire, but he didn’t want to change the tire in the freezing cold either. He decided to take his chances and drive to a gas station about a mile away that had a free air pump. He got there without incident, filled his tire, made a quick check for leaks, and continued driving to the store. About halfway there, the tire went completely flat, and he was forced to pull off to the side of the road.
More Unexpected Surprises
He opened his trunk to retrieve the jack, lug wrench and spare only to be reminded that he lent his good, hydraulic jack to a friend a couple of months ago and forgot to put it back. He was left with one of those basic, stock jacks that take forever to set up and use. He also discovered that his spare was flat as well.
Now he was stuck. He could drive to the closest tire shop which was about three miles away, but it was late on a Sunday and he wasn’t sure if it was still open. He decided to err on the side of caution and call a tow truck, which was probably a smart move considering the kind of luck he’s been experiencing so far. However, when he went to grab his phone, he realized that he left it at home. Seriously.
To make a long story short, he had to walk a mile in sub-zero weather, in a light jacket, without a hat or gloves, in order to get to a store where he could use a phone. The towing company said that help would arrive in an hour, but he ended up waiting for more than two. He called a cab to take him back to the car, but then he had to pay the driver to wait for the tow truck in order to be able to stay warm.
It was after dark by the time he got home, his family was worried because he was gone and out of touch for so long, and he was a couple of hundred dollars poorer as well.
Lessons for Us
Unfortunately, all of this could have been avoided if he took some basic, common-sense precautions before pulling out of the driveway, and that’s the lesson to be learned from his misadventure. It’s also important to remember that things could have been a lot worse if the circumstances were just a little bit different.
Winter driving is inherently-risky, no matter how far we may be traveling. Make sure that you are always dressed for the weather and that you’re vehicle is properly-equipped and maintained before heading out. These simple steps can go a long way with ensuring that you get to your destination and back home safely.