Emergencies are always unanticipated. Road users only realise the importance of a vehicle safety kit once it’s too late.
Vehicle breakdowns are more common than the average road user expects. In fact, car failures generally occur in the most undesirable contexts – a scorching-hot deserted location with no cell phone signal to contact your roadside assistance.
To ease your stress, a vehicle emergency safety kit can drive down the hassles of road injury or a car breakdown. It has been statistically recorded that 1 out of 3 road users encounter a road glitches such as the common flat tyre, dead battery or mechanical issues. Majority of road accidents have also led to road injury. For those who have experienced these on one or more occasions, you will know how frustrating it must be to wait on the side of the road for someone to bring you a spare wheel or jump-start cables. You have probably even struggled to get signal and have had to walk to your nearest fueling station.
Why put yourself through the hassle, when carrying a road safety kit in your boot is a much simpler solution to future automotive issue or injury encounters?
Even though roadside assistance can seem like the more convenient option, but is it convenient to your pocket? You can save some cash by mustering your own road safety kit. Spend your roadside assistance funds on taking your car for maintenance service checkups and repair what needs repairing. This will, in turn, reduce the risk of car accidents from an unexpected tyre burst that resulted in your vehicle skidding into another road user, as well as lessen the risk of vehicle breakdowns along the way. If you’ve got extra money, you can oil the kit with some extra safety supplies.
Car accident injuries can range from:
- Minor injuries – Cuts, bruises and scrapes.
- Moderate injuries – Broken limbs.
- Momentous injuries – Fatal injuries or life-changing injuries.
If you’ve already got a road safety and medical aid kit in your vehicle, maybe you’ve missed a few vital supplies that will enhance your road safety.
In the headlights of ER24 paramedics, CarZar has compiled a list of essential emergency supplies to ensure you’re prepared for any road injury or car breakdown:
- Medical accessories: Plasters, safety pins, scissors, tweezers, gauze swabs, eye pad, roll of bandages, triangular bandage, latex gloves, CPR mouthpiece
- Medical emollients: First aid dressing, personal prescription medication such as an asthma pump, burn dressing, antiseptic cream, antiseptic wound cleaner, sunscreen, water
- Paperwork: Personal information
It is important to ensure your safety first. If you haven’t been injured during a road accident but the other driver suffers severe injury, ensure that you are wearing the medical latex gloves before seeing to them. If the person has sustained a deep cut gushing out blood, rinse the wound with water and apply direct pressure with the bandage until your most convenient emergency service arrives.
In terms of burn wounds, the best effective solution during a burn emergency is to rinse the wound with cool water and expend the use of an approved burn dressing. However, if the burn has resulted in blistering and peeling skin, medical help needs to be contacted ASAP, as it may result in an unpleasant affection.
Some of us retain nothing in the trunk, in terms of a vehicle safety kit. CarZar values road safety with a list of car breakdown supplies:
- Electrical: Flashlight, battery-powered radio.
- Spare battery. If not, jumper cables and hitch another driver, to help power up your car dead battery.
- Spare tyre. If not, a tyre inflator and sealer will be good enough to get your to an auto-repair shop.
- Tyre pressure gauge: Checking tyre pressure regularly will improve your vehicle’s handling and fuel economy, thus reducing tyre breakdown risks.
- Seat belt cutter and window breaker: This should be kept in your vehicle’s glove compartment
- Food: In case you have to wait hours before help comes along.
- Extra safety necessities: Fire extinguisher, paper map, flares for night time breakdowns, car’s manual, blanket for wintery breakdowns, change of clothes in case you’re caught up fixing your vehicle in the rain.
Although these supplies can seem unnecessary as you might be thinking, “I will never get caught up in a road emergency”, it is better to be road safety-prepared than having regrets – survival kits are especially crucial emergency supplies, when taking long road trips exploring South Africa with family and friends, during times such as during festive holidays.
Avoid bumps and glitches in your travel plans. CarZar advises all road users to travel with a road safety and medical kit. There is nothing like being in a car accident or having to pull up on the side of the road due to a breakdown, and have no emergency supplies in your trunk to help pull yourself and your family or friends through the unneeded road experience.
#ZARyoursafety with CarZar and carry an auto-safety kit to U-turn your road safety risks seamlessly.
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