Staying Safe in Everyday Situations

Having emergency plans for the places you often visit is crucial because emergencies and disasters can strike unexpectedly. By planning in advance, you ensure that your family will be equipped with the knowledge and resources needed to stay safe, no matter where they are.

Emergency Planning
5-Step Planning for Away From Home Emergencies

Step #1 Identify locations

Where do you and members of your family spend much of your time? Examples are your car, work, school, daycare, babysitter’s house, extended family members’ homes, church, sports arenas and playing fields, entertainment locations such as theaters, shopping malls, or utilizing other transportation methods such as trains or buses. Learn more about making emergency kits for places you most frequent.

Step #2 Gather all information

Do these locations have emergency plans, protocols, and procedures in place such as evacuation or sheltering in place? If the answer is yes, find out, in detail, what they are and incorporate your plan into the larger, existing plan. If they do not have an existing plan, create your own (refer to Step #4 below for creating a plan if no existing protocols are in place). While you’re at it, ask them to consider coming up with a plan for their location. This ultimately could help many other people.

Step #3 Consider all specifics

Different locations, buildings, and environments surrounding these areas may require specific types of emergency responses when it comes to warning and evacuating people. Find out all the details.

Step #4 Create a plan for each location

Once you have this information for each location you and your family frequent, create a general emergency plan for each. Here are some questions to consider while forming your plans:

  • How will you and others get local alerts or warnings while you are there?
  • Where is the building’s alarm or alert systems located?
  • Where are the exits, including alternate exits?
  • What are the key supplies you and others would need for temporary sheltering?

Step #5 Go over plans with family members

Just as you go over your home emergency plans with your family members, explain to each family member what to expect and how to respond to different types of emergencies that could happen at locations where they spend much of their time. Go over these individual plans a few times a year.

Tip: Along with making plans for emergencies that happen away from home, there are various kits that you can create for this very purpose. Here you will learn how to create an auto kit, get back home kit, school kit, and office kit.

Emergency Planning
Auto Plan

We spend so much time in our cars. This location is an absolute must when it comes to emergency preparedness for several reasons. It ensures your safety, helps prevent breakdowns, and prepares you for unexpected situations such as severe weather or emergencies.

Storing helpful items can get a bit trickier due to fluctuating temperatures, but preparedness is much more than stuff to store. It’s about making solid plans and thinking ahead. It’s about doing things throughout our week that can help us should an emergency or disaster befall us while we are in our car.

Like many other things, car travel itself carries its inherent risks. Here are some ways you can make car travel safer for you and your family.

Avoiding mechanical problems

  • Keeping up with regular maintenance can go a long way in avoiding mechanical problems. Find a reputable mechanic that you can trust and stay on top of regular maintenance. Make sure to include a battery and fluid levels check, and that your tires are always properly inflated.
  • Place a sticker on your windshield to remind you to make an appointment the next time maintenance is due. This should include a battery and fluid levels check.
  • If you plan to drive long distances, give your car a thorough diagnostic check.

Weather prep

Prepare your car for the upcoming season.

Winter
  • Check your tire tread depth and install winter tires if necessary.
  • Replace windshield-wiper fluid with a wintertime mixture.
  • Check the antifreeze level and add more as necessary.
Summer
  • Make sure your AC is functioning.
  • Check coolant levels in your radiator and all other fluid levels to help your car’s engine deal with hotter temperatures.
  • Check tire pressure as increased temperatures can increase pressure.

Items to keep with your car

  • Auto Kit: Each car should have its own emergency kit with items like jumper cables, flares, and more. Have an itemized list of what is in your car’s emergency kit. Whenever you use an item from your kit, replace it immediately.

  • Papers & Documents: Always carry the essential papers and documents for your car. These include vehicle registration, your insurance card, your roadside assistance card, and a printed emergency list of people to call in case there is an emergency, and you can't get into your phone.

  • Food & Water: Store food and water that can withstand extremely cold and hot temperatures. Food bars such as Mainstay, SOS, Millennium and others are shelf-stable, last for 5 years, and can be stored in a hot car. Datrex Emergency Purified Drinking Water Pouches have a 5-year shelf-life and can also be stored in a hot car.

Always be on the lookout

Always be aware of your surroundings. Be prepared to escape a bad situation by knowing a viable way out.

  • If an errant driver pulls in front of you, be prepared to safely act.
  • Know the trouble spots that could pose safety issues like a dam or bridge failure potentially caused by a disaster, or areas prone to landslides, etc. Have detours in mind for these areas.
  • When traveling through less populated areas, determine the potential risks and ways to get help along your route.

Communicate your travel with others

  • Before you leave for vacation or an extended drive, inform friends or relatives both at home and at the destination of your planned route and estimated arrival time.
  • Communicate before you leave and when you arrive. If there is an emergency, and they have not heard from you, they can tell the authorities where to look.
  • If you get caught in bad weather, your car breaks down, or you’re delayed for any other reason, inform your contacts as soon as possible.

Gasoline

Fill your tank when it's at least half empty.

  • You're less likely to run out of fuel during unexpected delays, heavy traffic, or severe weather.
  • You can avoid long lines and the stress of waiting at the pump during peak times or emergencies.
  • A fuller tank helps reduce condensation inside the fuel tank, which can protect fuel quality and prevent corrosion.

Get to know all gas stations along your route.

  • Mark gas stations and auto shops along your route, keeping a list of their phone numbers.
  • You’ll know who to call if you have vehicle trouble.
  • If you have roadside assistance, be sure to have the phone number handy.